Discover the rums of Saint Lucia - Chairman's Reserve
A passion for rum was born
Laurie Barnard, the late Chairman of St Lucia Distillers, inspired and created the iconic Chairman's Reserve brand in 1999. His vision to define and reinvent the St. Lucia rum category was unlike anything rum had seen before or since. While other distilleries were purchasing column stills to increase production, Laurie invested in eclectic barrel types, small stills, custom yeast strains and sugar cane. He believed that the best rum was not achieved from a single barrel, but by blending a variety of ingredients of different ages, finishes, styles and base ingredients.
Laurie was born in Saint Lucia in 1945 and wasted no time following in his father's footsteps in the agricultural industry. At the age of 18, he began working alongside his father Denis on the farm where he managed the sugar cane and banana business. Soon after, in 1969, he became the GM of a large farm that became the largest banana farm in the Winard Islands, employing more than 500 people. At the same time, he took charge of the distillery and began to cultivate his love of rum and the endless possibilities it provided.
Raw Materials
Molasses
Molasses from the Dominican Republic is brought in three times a year on a large tanker and pumped into the tanks at the distillery through a kilometre-long pipeline.
Sugar cane
In keeping with the Chairman's Reserve brand philosophy and focusing on the art of blending, a small percentage of sugar cane spirit is added to some Chairman's Reserve expressions, namely 1931 and Legacy. This sugar cane is grown adjacent to the distillery and was brought in from Barbados by Laurie Barnard in 2004.
Source of water
Water from the Roseau River is collected in the Beru pond just over a kilometre from the distillery and is used for fermentation and cooling of the equipment. The yeasts love the minerals that are naturally present in this soft water, which helps to create favourable esters.
Rainwater is collected from the roofs of the facility. Approximately 3.5 million gallons of water per year is collected and used in the blending of rums. This water is ideal for blending due to its lower mineral content.
Fermentation
St. Lucia Distillers uses two different types of yeast, but all the aged rum is fermented with its own yeast strain, which has been isolated from a small sugar cane field at the distillery.
Fermentation takes 36 hours in 8 open concrete fermentation tanks. Before it is ready for distillation, the mash is fermented to an alcohol content of 7 %.
Saint Lucia - the pearl of the Caribbean.
Distillation
Saint Lucia Distillers has a variety of pot stills that are used in the distillation process:
The Vendome Still has a capacity of 1 364 litres. Installed in 2003, it is a hybrid still with 9 plates and uses batch distillation.
The John Dore II Still has a capacity of 6 000 litres and was installed in 2005.
The John Dore I Still has a capacity of 450 litres and was installed in 1998.
The Coffey column Still, commissioned in 1985, has a daily capacity of 4 500 lPA. The Still 2 columns have a 45 plate rectification column.
Ageing
Chairman's Reserve is mostly aged in bourbon barrels, although there is a small percentage of 1931 rum aged in port barrels.
Saint Lucia's warm tropical climate is an ideal environment for aging, giving the wood maximum extraction in minimal time.
We recommend to taste unique rums Chairman's Reserve!
