Cruzan Rum
A St. Croix Tradition

(click on each photo to enlarge)

Since the early 17th century, St. Croix has been making use of its natural resources locally as well as exporting them worldwide. A fine example of this is the refining of sugar cane (once St. Croix's primary cash crop) to produce rum. At one time, over 150 plantations were producing molasses and rum at their factories. Today, the tradition of making rum on St. Croix is carried on by the Nelthropp family . Their brand, Cruzan Rum, has been voted one of the best in the world. With visiting friends, I had the opportunity to play touristand tour the rum distillery to discover what goes into making a world-class rum.

Entering the distillery, we observed remnants of the original plantation, Estate Diamond. An old sugar mill now serves as a cistern for the distillery. An imposing, large green building, once the estate's greathouse, now serves as the distillery's main office. A 19th century chimney is now enclosed and houses the boilers. Like the times, things must change. Additional office space had to be added to the grounds to accommodate their employees, but other than that, the past of this plantation has been well preserved by the use of the existing buildings.

Our guide was Karen Low, one of the four Nelthropps working at the family distillery. She explained that the first necessary ingredient is sugar cane, the juice of which is turned into molasses, transferred to distillery tanks, and diluted with rain water and then boiled at 400°. The mixture is then cooled to room temperature and transferred to the "Seed tanks."Six pounds of yeast and more rain waterare then added to total 500 gallons of the "mixture."

Sixteen hours later, 750 billion yeast cultures are alive and working in each gallon. This is then transferred to fermentors. More water is added. The yeast eats the sugar, converting it into alcohol. The remaining mix is three parts water, and one part molasses. The mixture is now called "beer"(not like the kind found in your friendly tavern, but, it is brown and foamy). Only 10% of this mixture is used in the rum.Next, the actual distilling begins.

The first column, called the beer still, boils the mix at 220 degrees so that the alcohol vaporizes, floats to the top in gas form and, once at the top, is trapped and cooled to return to its liquid state. Then it is sent to the second column, rectifying 189 proof rum. In the second column, more rain water is added, bringing the proof to 142.

A third column cleans the rum, and removes the fusel oil. Fusel oil is what causes hangovers, so there you go, another reason to drink Cruzan Rum... no hangovers! When released from the third column, the mix is clear. The color is given to the dark rum by the barrels in which it is stored.

The American made charred white oak barrells are bought from companies like Jack Daniels and are steamed upon arrival to remove any residue flavors from its prime use. The rum is then stored in the barrels for anywhere from 2 to12 years. The golden color is given to the rum over this time. Light and dark rum is made using the rum from barrels that have been stored between 2 to 4 years. An extra filtering process eliminates the color to produce the light rum. When the rum has been aged and it is time to be de-barreled, it is rolled, and the barrels beaten to release the cork.The rum is then drained into a holding tank, more water is added (diluting the rum to 80 proof) and charcoal filtered to remove any last impurities. The light rum sits in the filter system longer to remove the color.

A cadre of workers ensures that labels are placed on the bottles, the caps are tight, and the bottles are secured into boxes. Each barrel yields 36 cases of rum. An average of 1,100 cases of Cruzan Rum a day are bottled, labeled, and tightened for disbursement. Fifteen percent of the rum stays here in the local market while the other 85 percent is sent to the United States and beyond. At the pavilion, the final stop on the tour, our guide became our bartender and we got to taste the smooth and pure rum.Children are welcome (but not to the rum).Estate Diamond Rum, named after the estate in which the distillery resides, is aged 5 to12 years. A single barrel rum, aged for approximately 12 years, is also available, as are many flavored rums. Citrus, coconut, banana, orange, spiced, pineapple, and rum cream. We came, we tasted, and we bought. We bought gifts for friends and of course for ourselves. We made a promise that from here on out, we were going to drink our fair share of frozen delights, in a selfless effort to support Cruzan Rum and the local economy.

A special thank you to Karen for taking time out of her day to show us around and answer our many questions. We will stick to our promise...you make it, we drink it. Thank you for all your hard work!If you would like some recipes, please click here to visit Cruzan Rum's website.

Photos and Text by Leslie Hillyer © gotostcroix.com. All rights reserved.