Page 76 - Issues131-133

Mount Gay distillery was established in
Barbados in 1703. This makes it the oldest
commercial rum distillery in the world. There were a
number of different owners in the
early years until John Sobers
bought it in 1747 and stabilised the
company (sorry about the pun). He
brought in Sir John Gay Alleyne as
manager and he revolutionised the
company. He brought in new crop
strains and improved both yields
and the production process. So well
respected was Sir Alleyne that
upon his death in 1801 the
company was named after him. No
sugar is added to the rum making it
drier than many of it’s competitors.
Remy Cointreau have owned the
company since 1989.

Miniatures of Negrita rum
maybe harder to find than
previously in these culturally
sensitive times. Many English speaking countries,
especially the UK and America, find the label
offensive (there are much more offensive rum labels
– by modern standards – than these Frank – hint for
another article – Editor). Despite the lack of sales in
these counties the company sells over 1 million
cases annually. The biggest markets are France,
Spain, Finland and many African countries. Negrita
is actually a term of endearment in Central and
South America.

Bardinet started
experimenting with
cane sugar alcohol
in 1857 for their
liqueurs. They used
rums from Martinique and Reunion which were French colonies.
The lady with the bandana appeared in the 1880’s and became
known as La Negrita. The brand is still owned by Bardinet.

I do not know how much they sell in Cambodia but apparently it is
given to women after they have given birth to re-energise them.

There is not much you can say after that so we will leave it until
miNiZ133.

Frank Wynn

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