English Harbour

English Harbour is the flagship rum brand produced at Antigua Distillery Limited, a unique rum distillery on the island of Antigua, founded in 1932–1933 by a group of local merchants with Portuguese roots. This distillery developed in the former port of Saint John's, but its main production capacity was moved to Rat Island, where it still stands today.

From the beginning, the distillery focused on the high-quality production of rum from imported molasses (mainly from Guyana and the Dominican Republic). After fermentation lasting 36 – 48 hours at a temperature of up to 32°C, a so-called ‘molasses wine’ with an alcohol content of around 6,5 % is produced.

The centrepiece of production is a unique hybrid copper column still, a combination of the French four-column Savalle and British John Dore stills, which was added in 1991. It is a rarity in the world of rum and the only 100% copper column of its kind in the Caribbean. Thanks to this equipment, the distillates achieve a high degree (up to ~95% ABV), after which the rums are diluted to approx. 70 % before being aged in barrels.

The English Harbour brand was officially launched in the 1990s (around 1993–1996) as a significant transformation from the previous Caballero and Cavalier rums.