Westerhall Estate Rum Distillery

We visited the Westerhall Estate to check out the source of the rum that we sip on from time to time. They have nice staff there and they gave us a very informative tour that we have shared here.

Westerhall Estate Plantation was established in the late 1700's and became a thriving sugar cane plantation for making sugar, along with growing spice trees, cocoa trees, and fruit trees.

Westerhall Estate is located close to the south shore of Grenada in the Parish of St David – see map. Bus route #2 takes you right there.

The various rums they make here are some of the best tasting in the Caribbean. Yes, we know this from first hand experience. We enjoyed a tour of their little museum that had Carib pottery relics about the history and traditions of indigenous Grenada, and also early colonial artifacts that truly belong in a museum.

In the mid 19th century, the world market value of sugar dropped due to sugar beet introduction with low labour costs during production, but work in the Westerhall plantation carried on until the early 20th century. With the slowing of sugar production, some of the buildings were not maintained and others were left to the elements. Then in 2004, Hurricane Ivan hovered over Grenada, and in a devastating blow, left behind the current ruins you see in the photos that follow.

The giant water wheel was driven by continuous flow from an aqueduct. There is a river up the hill to right of the photo where the river water was redirected onto the aqueduct - the high wall on the right of this photo is the top of the aqueduct and part of the wall is missing / removed, but the water ran right along the top and spilled onto the big wheel to turn it. The water wheel was used to operate a large sugar cane press for extracting juice to make sugar.

Aqueduct wall.... the water ran in a trench at the top from the river.

The main furnace used for boiling the sugar cane juices. They made sugar while the world market demand was there and when the prices dropped they switched to making rum from the molasses.

Manual sugar cane press in the foreground with the water wheel in the background. The waterwheel drove a huge cane press that fed the juices into a large holding tank.

In the far top of this photo (just under the small blue squares) is a big cistern type container where the raw sugar cane juice is collected after being pressed. The cistern feeds this row of vats (from the far end to the closet one) The furnaces underneath heat the juice. Water vapour is released and sweet sugar juice is left behind. Each vat has a person working a giant ladel to move juice from one vat to the next. The last one (closest) is made of copper as it is the hottest spot in the line. The resulting syrup in this last vat is then emptied and used to make sugar. The roof structure of this portion of the sugar cane factory disappeared during Hurricane Ivan.

A few of the remaining old buildings were refurbished for distilling and bottling rum and they have been doing this since 1801.

Today, the rum heritage continues as Westerhall rum products are hand crafted in the traditional way - long ago abandoned by most modern distilleries. At the outset, all the rum sold from the company was in bulk containers and cask. The average production of the distillery is three barrels per working day.

The main focus of Westerhall Estate operations is blending and bottling rum. They produce six brands, with its flagship brand being Westerhall Plantation Rum (I'm sipping on some right now over ice).

The first bottled product was called Rum Sipper Strong Rum and this was introduced to the local market in 1974. The product grew steadily as the market accepted the convenience of purchasing rum in bottles rather than in bulk containers. In 1999 White Jack Strong Rum was introduced to replace the Rum Sipper Strong Rum brand.

The Jack Iron Rum brand (bottled at 70% Alc/Vol) was launched in 1987 and is still available today in various sized of bottles, or in bulk! You can get five litres for EC$98. Not intended for those with a delicate constitution or those who perhaps are frail or have a gentle approach to life ...but makes great rum punch!

The big five (details below for those who might be wondering) :

1. In 2008 the company introduced Westerhall vintage ten year old rum (bottled at 40% Alc/Vol) for the more discerning connoisseur or individual who demands spirits that have been fully matured to perfection. The name was recently changed to 10XO (ten extra old).

2. Westerhall Dark is a medium bodied rum aged for a minimum of seven years and bottled at 40% by alc vol. This brand has hints of spices along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. This rum is primarily used as added flavour in tropical drinks, mixers and cooking.

3. In 1989 Westerhall Plantation five year old rum was introduced. This brand was developed for export to the US market (bottled at 40% Alc/Vol). It is smooth and delicious. Taster's notes.... “This is one of my favorite light bodied rums. On a hot summer day love to pour a glass and add a few cubes. Find it very smooth and has a wide flavor profile. Pick up motes of toffee, caramel, banana and then a hint of cocoa bean on the back palate.”

4. Launched by the company in 1988, Westerhall Superb Light Rum is a three year aged rum - the first aged dark rum. This is our “go-to” rum for mixed rum drinks here in Grenada.

5. The latest addition in 2011, is a rum called Westerhall 12 Degrees Rum (bottled at 40% Alc/Vol) in 2011 to appeal to the trendy youthful consumer. It is clear and can be used to replace vodka in your favourite mixed bevy. It also tastes good "neat" or over ice. This rum has been double distilled; aged in plain oak casks for a period of two years to achieve a smooth and mellow balance. It is then diluted to 40% Alc/Vol with natural spring water.

We heard at the rum tasting desk that the Westerhall marketing team will be renaming the first four rums to No.10; No.7; No.5; and No.3.

A bit of history:

Slaves were brought in to run the plantation and the leg irons in this photo are hanging in the museum. They are from the Bon Accord Estate in St George's Parish, but similar leg irons were used throughout Grenada during the height of plantation operations.

Westerhall Estate; formerly known as “BACCAYE ESTATE”; was purchased by Sir William Johnstone of Dumfriesshire, Scotland in the late 1700's. The name Westerhall is believed to come from Sir William’s ancestral home in Dumfriesshire, and the name of the estate was duly changed to Westerhall. The estate consisted of 951 acres planted in Sugar Cane, Cocoa and Limes. In 1862 sugar cane processing machinery was purchased from Glasgow, and installed at Westerhall, most of which is still there, although in ruins.

Westerhall was then sold seven times between 1836 and 1965 with parcels of land being removed with each sale. In 1965 the remaining 40 acres of the plantation was purchased by Mr George Williams and Mr John Otway, and became Westerhall Estate Limited. The shareholding of the Company has remained in the immediate Williams/Wells family.