Distillery Tours

I was in London last April visiting a friend who was living there for the year, and, it being that time of year, we decided we would be unable to forgive ourselves if we did not head over to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day.

The day after the festivities, we had a flight back to London at seven in the evening, but that left the entire day to recover and see the rest of the sights in Dublin. My two companions, being girls, decided to check out the local shopping. I, being hung over, decided that their giddiness was taxing my tolerance. I ventured off to tour the Old Jameson Distillery, and catch a little hair of the dog, while they browsed and purchased to their hearts’ delight.

The Old Jameson Distillery was the site of the distillation of Jameson’s products from the company’s founding in 1780 until, as best I can tell, the Irish Distillers Group was formed in 1966 and production shifted to the Midleton facility.

The Midleton distillery now produces all mass market Irish whiskey with the exception of Bushmills. The old distillery in Dublin has been converted into a tourist destination.

During the February school vacation here in Massachusetts our family took an eastern Caribbean cruise, with stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, St Thomas, La Romana, Dominican Republic and Grand Turk.

This was to be a great opportunity to relax as a family and also visit some of the great rum producing areas of the Caribbean.  I knew that the Bacardi distillery was near San Juan so I checked into visiting the facility.

I am a big fan of rum, but not a big fan of the Bacardi line of rums but I figured it would be fun to see the mega-facility anyway and it would be better than anything else I could do in San Juan, aside from shop for other local rums, which I should be able to do on my way back to the ship anyway!

Unfortunately we were going to be docked in Old San Juan at night and the distillery visiting hours were only until 5PM. I was a bit disappointed but then received the list of tours offered by the cruise line and alas, there was a private after hour’s tour of the distillery.

It was a bit pricey but after looking at the limited options offered for San Juan (tour of Old San Juan, or shopping tour) I decided I should do it, especially since I never made it to the distillery in Nassau on last years’ vacation. My wife and daughter had no interest in going, so I signed up alone.

Short & Sweet: A Tour Of The Pyrat Rum Factory

During my most recent trip to the Caribbean, I had the opportunity to do something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while: get an inside look at rum making in the islands.

The island of Anguilla lies just to the north of the French-Dutch island of St. Martin/St. Maarten, accessible by ferry from the French town of Marigot.  The island is British territory, roughly 16 miles (25 km) long and 3 miles (just under 5 km) wide at its widest point.  It boasts 33 white, sandy beaches and a peaceful island atmosphere for its 12,000 residents and many visitors.

The island is also home to the Anguilla Rums Ltd.

Located just to the east of Sandy Ground (on the northwestern side of the island) is a small, yellow building with brown shudders and a blue sign containing the image of a single bottle of Pyrat XO Reserve rum. This is the home of Anguilla Rums Ltd., makers of Pyrat Rum.

Like many rum manufacturers, Anguilla Rums allows for tours of their facility – provided you have an appointment.  Visitors are allowed in to the tasting room any time, but if you have the desire to see a few details of how their operation works, you need to call ahead.  I setup our appointment about a week prior to our arrival with no trouble whatsoever.