Rum production has been a rich and exciting part of Virgin Islands history for centuries Old Estate Rums has recreated the lost art of blending, resulting in a rich, satisfying sipping experience reminiscent of the 1800’s.
Our featured St. Thomas estates — Botany Bay, Perseverance Bay and Havensight — were famous for blending premium rums into one-of-a-kind bottlings each unique in its craft and distinct taste.
Our three modern-day artisan blends, that are the namesake of these historical estates, are developed with the same care and craftsmanship that will transport you back to when rum was traded in small lots and used to celebrate special family occasions and visiting dignitaries.
History in a Bottle
Back in the mid-1700s, the Virgin Islands were sugar producers and exporters to Europe, the Caribbean and the fledgling American colonies. When oversupply caused the sugar market to collapse in the 1820s, the islands turned to rum production to fill the void.
It was a natural evolution because young, unaged rum —was the by-product of sugar production. Formed as part of the liquid boiled off during the process of crushing the cane to create brown sugar, it would be rum, not sugar that would transform the economy of the Virgin Islands.
We like to think of our Old Estate blended rums as “a bit of history in a bottle”, reminiscent of what you might have drunk in the 1800s, when swashbuckling St. Thomas rum traders bought and sold rums from the different islands.
Then — as now — only the most premium rums from around the world and throughout the Caribbean were combined to create their private reserves. By blending the best of those small batches, the estates of the Virgin Islands produced superior rums, as coveted in the drawing rooms of Europe as fine whiskeys or brandies.
Today, each estate featured by Old Estate Rums is registered by the National Registry of Historic Places of the US Department of the Interior. Our beautiful labels feature historically significant depictions of St. Thomas by Danish artist Fritz Melbye, a former student of Camille Pissarro, who traveled widely throughout the Caribbean painting seascapes and harbor scenes.
