CAMBRIDGE 2005 STCE Jamaican Rum from the land of intense experiences and full bodied rums. In the early 19th century, Jamaica was the largest rum producer in the world, with more than a hundred sugar estates and just as many distilleries. Like the other ex-British colonies– Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana– Jamaica has been historically a supplier of rum for the British blenders in Europe and distilleries did not release official house bottlings. British blenders would buy different rums from many distilleries in all colonies, and bring the fresh (unaged) liquid to Europe for blending and for ageing. The different provenances ensured different styles, and so many combinations were possible for blenders to use to create brands in the European market.
Long Pond and Hampden are the only two distilleries still operating in the parish of Trelawny today. Trelawny is located in the northwest of Jamaica, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. It’s a flat, fertile land with a a mountainous, green landscape to the south. This landscape is home to the last Jamaican crocodiles, the Jamaican swallowtail (the largest butterfly in the northern hemisphere), and 26 species of endemic birds.
Long Pond is a very old plantation that started producing sugar in 1780, but it is not certain when they first began producing rums. Today Long Pond and Hampden represent the heritage of the old high ester Jamaican tradition.
