Rum of the day 4

Saint Lucia’s Finest Rum, Chairman’s Reserve, is as iconic as the Piton Mountains which adorn its bottle. Pour a glass and you’ll be instantly transported to the gorgeous palm-fringed beaches, miles of lush rainforest, and lively nightlife full of tradition and culture which embody Saint Lucia. You won’t find an age statement on a bottle of Chairman’s Reserve. This is because we believe in the philosophy set forth by the late “Chairman” Laurie Barnard, which this quote of his can best summarize: “We do not put age statements on our rums because we believe passionately that complexity and balance can only be maximized by blending old, complex, but often ‘woody’ rums with fresher but characterful rums.”
Though Laurie passed in 2012, his quality control and blending team continues to embrace the techniques and standards passed down to them through his tutelage. Our head blender, Deny Duplessis, tastes each batch of Chairman’s reserve to ensure that the quality and consistency live up to the internationally recognized name of Chairman’s Reserve – Saint Lucia’s finest rum. St. Lucia Distillers is the last remaining distillery in Saint Lucia and was a result of a merger between the two then remaining distilleries in 1972. Following the collapse of the sugar industry and the last sugar estate closing in Saint Lucia in the 1960s, previous on-island sources of molasses were extinguished. St. Lucia Distillers adapted to the times and began importing molasses from neighboring islands by tanker boat, using the convenient depth of the nearby bay, Roseau Bay, to anchor.
St. Lucia Distillers is globally known for its vast variety of rums due to the many tools at our disposal. Three pot stills, one Coffey column still, different raw materials, a wide variety of barrel types, two different yeast types, unique local herbs and fruits for infusions, and the hot Caribbean sun all make for an array of products of the highest quality – all of which embody the DNA of Saint Lucian rum. RUM BLEND: A marriage of aged rums distilled from Coffey and pot stills. MATURATION: Aged separately by batch and type of still in ex-Bourbon barrels, then blended and rested in oak vats for an additional six months. Average age of the blend is 5 years.

Tasting notes: Rich dark amber in color, typical pot still richness comes through the aromas carried by whiffs of cooked banana, caramelized fruits and spicy oak derived vanilla. A well balanced mid-palate provides structure around flavors of chocolate, golden raisin, tobacco and clove, which dissipates over a long creamy finish.