St. Vincent Distillers Limited

plants; construction of two molasses storage tanks (in Kingstown and at the Georgetown distillery); construction of a generator shed; and purchase of a new spirit head and one new, stainless steel condenser – just to name a few! “We did a massive overhaul over a nine-year period that proved very successful,” Greaves reports. “Also around that time, we improved our labelling and increased awareness of our local produced brands of rum. We commenced expo ventures and started exporting and marketing more aggressively. As a result, the success of our rums has been tremendous. They are continuously winning gold medal awards, regionally and internationally; particularly, our Captain Bligh XO aged rum – having won the prestigious award of World’s Best Rum 2014 in London at the World Rum Awards in the U.K.” In 10 years, St. Vincent Distillers progressed from a small distillery producing rum solely for the local market, to an internationally recognized producer and exporter. All brands are now exported to the U.S., U.K., Germany, BVI, Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua, and Australia. The biggest challenge, right now, is obtaining molasses. Most of the Caribbean islands no longer grow sugar (the base for making rum), so the OECS distilleries have to import molasses from further afield, like Mexico. Even Guyana, one of the last large Caribbean islands to produce sugar on a big scale, has recently shut down three factories. “That’s why we no longer get sugar from them,” says Greaves. “So, it’s a huge concern. Rum, of course, sells, so that isn’t a worry. It’s definitely the drink of choice now, globally. But looking further ahead, we have to be innovative if we’re going to continue to get molasses. Places like India, Fiji, Mexico still grow sugar, so once we can get a broker to buy it on the world-wide market, it shouldn’t be a problem.” Imports of molasses now arrive by ship in Kingstown, where they’re pumped into the St. Vincent Distillers storage tank. A company-owned tanker then transports it to the distillery plant in Georgetown. The drive takes about an hour, and the tanker will do up to three trips a day. According to Greaves, “We normally produce about 66,000 La Soufriere Volcano