The Caribbean is the birthplace of rum. So if you happen to find yourself on an island with a rum distillery, like I did on the island of Grenada, a tour and tasting at a distillery is a must. There are three active rum distilleries. Two are a must to visit and one has some yummy rums but a rather lacklustre tour. I will leave you to guess which one is the distillery with the lacklustre tour, but I will tell you about the two with a tour you won't forget.

River Antoine Distillery

River Antoine Distillery, located in northeast Grenada, makes rum unlike most rum creators today: the traditional, and some might say, the sweeter way of making rum.

Most commercial rum is made from molasses, a byproduct of sugar cane production, and is heavily distilled. River Antoine is different.

River Antoine’s rum is made from sugarcane juice squeezed out using the oldest and only water-propelled mill in the Caribbean. What is left from following mainly unchanged production practices is a more complex tasting spirit with earthy and heartier undertones. On a tour of the River Antoine Distillery, you will get to see how the rum is made using hundreds of years old practices and hear the distillery’s history. In addition, you will get to taste the two different proofs of rums made at the distillery. Want to know the proper way to taste rum? Click on the video below, and watch my tour guide, Simon, guide me on the way to properly enjoy rum.

You can book a tour at River Antoine by calling +1-473-442-7109 or reach out to Soi the Hiker on Instagram or Facebook. If you reach out to Soi, who was my guide and also works at River Antoine, tell him Edna recommended you. Ask if you can combine the tour with a hike of Mount Quai Quai, doing the hike first because the rum is not for the faint at heart.

Renegade Distillery

While River Antoine is steeped in tradition and history, Renegade Rum Distillery is the complete opposite, except its rum is also made from cane juice and not from molasses. Renegade is Grenada’s new technology advance and industry-changing distillery.

It is premium aged rum you will want to sip slowly like whisky; at least, that is what I was told.

During my tour, the first batch was still being aged nice and slow in french oak barrels. However, it is not just the technology that makes the distillery interesting. All the distillers apart from Devon, the head distiller, are women known as Ladies in Rum. The distillery is also trying to do its best to be environmentally conscious, which is an aspect slowly being embraced in Grenada. Let me show you around; click on the video below.

The rum produced will be primarily for the export market. Then again, it is the fact that all three distilleries have particular markets why there is hardly any competition between the companies. The distillers all know each other and are friends. Now I just need to find out which locations in Grenada will manage to have some on stock so I can tell you about it. Better yet, visit the distillery itself, take a tour and sample the rum. You can book a tour by calling +1-473-443-5477 or sending an e-maill to info@renegaderum.com.

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