Since the 17th century, St. Croix has been producing rum. At one time over 150 plantations were producing molasses and rum at their factories. Cruzan Rum is still being made here, and we decided to take a tour to learn more about the history of the island. We went on a day when they were not making rum, so it was called a "dry run" tour. Most of the year, production is under way and you actually see the workers in action.

Sign directing us to Cruzan Rum's visitors pavilion.

Old Sugar Mill surrounded by all the Flags of the Countries that have owned St. Croix. Mills were originally operated by animal power, and later by wind power, literally becoming windmills.

The Great House (home of the plantation owner)

Carriage House

Sign at the Visitor's Pavilion 

The tour guide explained that the first necessary ingredient to making rum is sugar cane. The juice from the sugar cane is extracted by mashing the cane. The juice is boiled to concentrate it, promoting sugar crystallization. The result of the first boiling is cane syrup. The residue is boiled a second time and the sugar is extracted, resulting in molasses. This process is no longer done due to the absence of sugar cane production on the island.

Today, molasses is imported and transferred to the seed tanks. Rainwater is added and boiled at 400 degrees. It remains there for 16-48 hours. The mixture is then cooled to room temperature and transferred to the fermentors. Yeast and more rainwater are then added to total 500 gallons of the mixture. When the actual distilling begins, nearly all impurities are removed from the rum. This removal of impurities is what makes Cruzan Rum the best in the world (or so they claim). When the distillation process is complete, the rum is clear. 

The golden brown color of rum is attained by the barrels in which it is stored. The barrels used are those made in the United States. They are purchased from Jim Beam, having been used only once. They are steamed upon arrival to remove any residue flavors from the bourbon previously stored in them. The rum is then stored in the barrels for anywhere from 1 to 12 years. The time spent in the barrels mellows the flavor of the rum and gives it the rich golden color. The longer the storage time, the more evaporation takes place, and the stronger the rum becomes. An extra filtering process eliminates the color to produce the light (clear) rum. Once the rum is aged, it is loaded into tankers and shipped to the states to be packaged and distributed.

Many flavors are added to the light rum: mango, key lime, pineapple, coconut, banana, orange, raspberry, strawberry, spiced, and Velvet Cinn, a cinnamon flavored rum cream. The labels are colored the appropriate color so that the clear rum appears to be colored as well. 

For a time, St. Croix was one of the wealthiest sugar islands in the West Indies. In 1803 the island's population was 30,000, of whom 26,500 were slaves who planted, harvested, and processed cane to produce sugar, molasses and rum. Overall, this is a sad legacy.

At the tour's end, we enjoyed a fruit punch.