Chairman’s Reserve 1931 Rum is crafted by St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies who have emerged from a tradition of the on-site, house-special rum production that was a common feature of the West Indian sugar plantation. Sugar’s by-product, molasses was fermented and distilled to rum, the demand for which has been a constant through the fluctuations of West Indian plantation economies. By the late 1950s, two distilleries remained, one at Dennery, the site of the Barnard family plantation, and the other Geest-owned at Roseau, the location of the now St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies.
St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies was formed in 1972 when the two distilleries amalgamated producing a now-discontinued blend of rum whose name reflected the merger, Denros Bounty Rum. The Barnard family bought out the Geest shares in 1992 and in 1997 sold shares to Trinidad-based Angostura Ltd., giving the company a wider regional presence and the capital to pursue the product development philosophy which has since characterised St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies. In 2005 the Barnard family, planters and rum distillers for over a century sold to CLICO, with third generation rum-maker Laurie Barnard staying on as Managing Director.
St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies, in the thirty nine (39) years since its inception, has grown from producing a single-label mass-market rum to a portfolio of premium rums and liqueurs. Today, St Lucia Distillers Group of Companies boasts a range of over 25 rum and rum-related products which have performed exceptionally and won honours at international competitions.
Committed to innovation and quality, Saint Lucia Distillers is a small rum distillery situated in the scenically beautiful and agriculturally rich valley of Roseau on the Caribbean island of St Lucia. A passionate team of distillers, blenders, engineers, technicians and administrative staff work together to produce some of the world’s best rums.
The timeline of the renowned Chairman’s Reserve rum starts in 1931 when Denis Barnard builds a Distillery at Dennery, on the eastern coast of the island. Saint Lucia Distillers is formed in Roseau valley in 1972 as a result of a merger of the only two remaining distilleries remaining on St. Lucia – The Dennery Distillery and the Geest Distillery. In 1999, Rum revolutionary and “Chairman” of St. Lucia Distillers, Laurie Barnard, son of Denis, launches Chairman’s Reserve – considered one of the best blended rums in the world. Chairman’s Reserve is known by rum enthusiasts as a “single blended” rum as it is a blend of column and pot still rum from the same distillery.
Chairman’s Reserve 1931 Rum expression is considered the jewel in the crown of the acclaimed Chairman’s Reserve range.
Website: www.chairmansreserverum.com
