Antigua suggestions?

[cigar-aficionado]

Going to be in Antigua in January for vacation and wondered if anyone could enlighten me about the local rums as I've only ever tried the English Harbour one.
Are there any more and are there any distilleries that I can visit on the island? Our group are hoping to visit St Kitts as well so any info on that would be good. Many thanks in advance chaps:D

[Hank Koestner]

I believe the Santero rums are from Antigua, but I am not 100% sure. I could be wrong on this.:confused: They would deserve a look, based on what I have read. I do know that Cavalier is made on Antigua, but I have no info on this rum. It is my understanding that they make local brews in St. Kitts that are quite strong, and they add "spice" frequently to tone them down. I would try to taste and return with the English Harbour 21 from Antigua. I hear this rum is incredible.:)

[cigar-aficionado]

Cheers Hank, that's one to look out for then:)

[knight of the rum table]

I read in a review of the English Harbor Aged Rum on the DNR rum reviews that the Extra Old 21 yr was discontinued. I guess they were recently st the distilery. As to the Santero rum I believe they are from Columbia SA.
Wishing your save and happy travels.

[Hank Koestner]

I dont know why i thought Santero was from Antigua, but I looked it up and it is from Columbia as our friend the Knight has said!

[Berbician]

Cavalier is made by the same people (Antigua Distillery Ltd) who make English Harbour. I'm not all that impressed by Cavalier Dark, but Cavalier Light is quite interesting - I believe that this rum is aged for several years and then filtered to remove the colour. Incidentally, there is a wonderful liquor store in St John's - I can't remember the exact name, but I'm pretty sure that it's owned by a family of Madeiran descent.

Sugar is no longer produced in St Kitts - it became unprofitable - and I would imagine that the same goes for rum. However, it is still possible to get Kittitian rum in both St Kitts and Nevis. I was there earlier this year and most of the supermarkets still had bottles of Belmont White and Dark. I tried the Belmont Dark several years ago, and while it was nothing extraordinary, it was perfectly drinkable. CSR, on the other hand, is much more difficult to find. Technically, CSR (Cane Spirit Rothschild) wasn't actually a rum (for reasons that escape me), and it was made, from sugar cane juice and not molasses, by a subsidiary of DDL (Demerara Distillers Limited) who make the wonderful El Dorado rums in Guyana.

[Edward Hamilton]

Just off the cruise ship dock there are a couple of liquor stores, Quin Farara's and Manuel Dias. Both of these stores have incredible selections of rums from not only Antigua but many of the other islands as well. If you have some time, take a bus to Bolans and stop at the Bolans Post Office where Bushy sells the coldest beer on the island and his own blend of Antigua Rum.

[cigar-aficionado]

Many thanks for that ED...will most certainly visit Bolans and the liquor stores. I always like to bring some special stuff back from holidays and this place sounds just the right thing for me:D