Admiral Rodney HMS Formidable 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.
Already a multi-award-winning rum from Saint Lucia, Admiral Rodney has evolved further and has been re-launched with 2 additional portfolio mates to create a range of 3 exquisite rums, including the Admiral Rodney HMS Princessa Rum, Admiral Rodney HMS Royal Oak Rum, and Admiral Rodney HMS Formidable Rum. Admiral Rodney has been labeled by some of the world’s most respected rum aficianados as the best pure rum made on a traditional twin column Coffey still. Staying true to what has made Admiral Rodney such a great success, the three releases of Admiral Rodney are exceptional blends of aged column distilled rums of different age ranges. These rums were withdrawn from the column on lower plates to capture natural characters of the rum, which develops over time aging in oak casks. Each individual expression shows the meticulous talents of the St. Lucia Distiller’s Master Blender, Evanus Harris.
