• Calwood Rum Distillery

    August 23, 2024 in British Virgin Islands ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    So, I heard there was this rum distillery on the island, and I was like, "I want to go!" And then we found out it's the only one that's been in operation since it opened over 400 years ago, and we were like, "we have to go. "
    This place has been around since the 1600s, and they still make rum the traditional way. They even have the original boiler.
    It used to be a plantation and distillery, but now they buy sugarcane from local farmers. The rum is only available on Tortola because they can not produce enough to export elsewhere.
    We got a tour of the facility, which looks as old as it is. But it was quite interesting seeing the old crusher and the diesel engine (added in the 60s) that runs it. We were also shown something large covered by a tarp and told it was the steam engine that powered the crusher for a while. Before that, it was donkeys.
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