Barbadian Rum

Rum as a commercial product begins in Barbados: sugar arrived in the 1640s, distillation of the molasses followed almost immediately, and the earliest references to the spirit anywhere describe it being made here. Mount Gay holds a deed dated 1703 and claims on that basis to be the oldest rum brand in the world, though the distillery's continuous operation is a more complicated story than the marketing suggests. The Barbadian style blends pot-still and column-still spirit, which gives it more body than a light Spanish-style rum and less funk than a Jamaican one, and it is aged in used bourbon barrels in tropical heat.

What's there

• The 1703 deed - the basis of the oldest-brand claim.
• Pot and column blending - what defines the Barbadian style.
• The distillery tours - Mount Gay in St Lucy and the Bridgetown visitor centre.
• Foursquare and St Nicholas Abbey - the smaller producers worth seeking out.

When to go

Year-round. Distillery tours run on weekdays and generally need booking. The working distillery in St Lucy gives a better tour than the Bridgetown visitor centre, which is a tasting room. Rum is far cheaper in supermarkets than at the airport.

Practical notes

The main visitor centre in Bridgetown is a tasting and brand experience rather than a distillery; the actual production is in St Lucy and tours there are less frequent. The oldest-brand claim rests on a deed rather than continuous production and is contested. Some Barbadian rums are lightly sweetened, which purists object to.

Nearby

St Nicholas Abbey in the north makes its own; Foursquare is in St Philip.