In high spirits on a Barbados rum tour: Travel Weekly

It was 11 a.m. on a sunny morning in Barbados, and normally I would have been in, on or under the waters of the Caribbean Sea. Or maybe at a site inspection of a new hotel at that time of day.

But on this day, I was seated on a bar stool in the tasting room of the Foursquare Rum Distillery, located on eight acres of a former sugar plantation in the parish of St. Philip on the southeastern coast of the island.

I hadn't bellied up to the bar alone. I was part of a small group exploring the island that morning with stops that included Foursquare, sightseeing along the rugged east coast near Bathsheba and visits to some local rum shops on the west coast.

First a taste, then a tour

Six sample glasses were lined up on the bar in front of each of us. Lea, the bartender, held up different bottles as she poured about two swallows' worth into each glass while maintaining a running dialogue.

"A typical white rum is not aged. However, you can also have aged white rum. Ours ages for three years and is filtered through a charcoal filter. Lots of us here on the island drink fruit juices with white rum. No additives go into any of our rums here at the distillery. There are more than 150 different rum blends produced by Foursquare, most of which are exported," she said.

"Old Brigand, also known by locals as The One Eye Man, is used in eggnog and soup. R. L. Seale's rum has a bigger bite and a lighter, buttery flavor. Doorly's Extra Old rum is a blend of matured rums transferred to a sherry cask. Shibboleth rum is aged 16 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Let it sit a few seconds to a minute after your first sip before sipping again," Lea instructed us.

She poured four different times, six shots each with a different batch of rums. Our group was getting very merry by this time.

The tastings included Velvet Falernum, a sweet liqueur from the early 1800s that Lea said "is good for mixing cocktails and what the locals sip for colds (tastes like a spice drop). Locals also add Falernum to beer to make Bajan Champagne."

Lea, the bartender at Foursquare Rum Distillery on the southeast coast of Barbados, presides over tasting sessions for visitors. Photo Credit: Gay Nagle Myers

After the rum "class," we toured the modern distillery housed in the original sugar factory built in 1737, now housing rows and rows of oak barrels and large, gleaming copper stills swathed with tubing, pipes and temperature gauges.

Large panels were strategically scattered throughout the distillery, explaining the process of rum production. The heady aroma of the production process filled the air.

Foursquare is open daily, admission is free for the self-guided tour, and the tasting session led by Lea is $45 per person.

Barbados' rum history

Barbados claims to be the birthplace of rum. Other islands in the West Indies may dispute that claim, but one of the earliest mentions of the drink, described as kill-devils, was found in the records of Barbados in the 1650s. By 1657, it was simply called rum but later was dubbed black gold for the revenue it brought to the island.

The sugarcane plant was introduced by the Jewish community who fled South America and settled in Barbados in the 17th century.

During the period of enslavement and colonialism, sugarcane became the primary crop, creating significant wealth for the British plantation owners.

Thousands of enslaved people worked the land and harvested the crops. Some historians claim that it was the slaves who discovered that an alcoholic beverage could be produced by fermenting the cane juice and molasses.

Outside the Nigel Benn Aunty Rum Shop in St. Andrew’s Parish on Barbados' north coast. Photo Credit: Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI)

Today, there are several rum distilleries on Barbados in addition to Foursquare, including St. Nicholas Abbey, Mount Gay, West Indies and Cockspur.

I'd visited Mount Gay on an earlier visit on one of the guided rum tours offered by local operators. The distillery still uses the original well that was dug in the early 18th century. Filtered by the island's coral stone formations, it's the naturally purified water along with molasses that make up the key ingredient in the distillery's rum.

Barbados rum shops, a must-see

What's fun to do is to stop in at any of the many rum shops on the island, said to number more than 2,000, places where locals gather, play dominoes, exchange gossip, have a nip and snack on barbecued pigs' tails and ham cutter sandwiches, a traditional favorite on the island. Most shops charge approximately $2.50 per rum shot.

Each shop is packed with the island-produced rums as well as rums from around the Caribbean, sold in half pints up to flasks.

"Find a rum shop, and you'll always see a church nearby" was what Dana Knight, proprietor of the Sunset Vybz rum shop, told me when I stopped by her shop in the village of Westburg in St. Michael's parish on the west coast.

Aunty Lucille, long-time proprietor of the Old Brigand rum bar in the village of Shorey in St. Andrews' parish on the northeastern coast, enjoys what she does. "I like good people, I like friendly people, and they all like rum," she said.

Count me in as one of them.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with further information on the rums in the tastings at the Foursquare Rum Distillery.