A new rum pot still is coming to the West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD), producer of more than 82 per cent of all Barbados rum and distillers of the internationally awarded Plantation Rum.
Assembled by legendary coppersmith John Dore & Co, one of the most famous distillation companies in the world, the new equipment has been dubbed the ‘Hot Pot Still’ in tribute to the popular Hot Pot beach in Brighton, St Michael where WIRD is located.
“We have been working on this project for quite some time and we are very excited to see it come to fruition. This is an investment not only for WIRD but for all fans and stakeholders of Barbados rum,” said Don Benn, Master Distiller for more than 20 years at WIRD. “This will help us greatly in reconnecting with our past Rum production methods as we will be distilling Rum as it was done in the early days of rum production in Barbados 1750s.
“Our new Hot Pot Still is a distillation system inspired by 18th century techniques, and all the old copper pieces and rivets were actually handcrafted in keeping with tradition. We are assembling the equipment at this moment and we are very excited about what the future holds.”
This pot still is very special, as it’s based on old blueprints and documents that were found in the Distiller’s Vault at the distillery. The distillery’s objective being to bring back the heritage of more than 125 years of distillation.
“The Hot Pot Still was designed and crafted to be a ‘dream still’ using the most interesting and fascinating parts of each blueprint found. It was also produced using reclaimed riveted copper, so there is an element of sustainability and this sits squarely in line with WIRD’s green philosophy,” Benn said.
“It has been an exciting process, and we have incorporated some of the best elements of what we found in the Distiller’s Vault to create a one-off dream still of which we can all be proud,” he said.
“It also provides us with more distilling capacity and we will be using the highest quality molasses available. So we are optimistic of distilling additional rums with a unique organoleptic profile that’s closer to the rums that were produced in the 18th century. This will be our primary focus for the Hot Pot Still, and we are excited to share the results with the world while creating meaningful jobs and increasing foreign exchange earnings for Barbados.” (PR)
