New rum distillery to open in Barbados

Barbados sees the opening of its first new rum distillery in years. St Nicholas Abbey opens on Cherry Tree Hill in the north of the island at the end of March, the final part in a massive renovation project undertaken by local architect and rum aficionado Larry Warren, who bought the property in 2006.

He has already opened up the Jacobean plantation house on the same site (now one of the island's best tourist attractions), and has replanted the 225 acres of sugar cane, which will be used to make the rum once harvest is underway.

The distillery, which makes use of a new copper still and the existing machinery - a fully restored steam-driven mill, the last in the Caribbean, made in 1890 by English manufacturer Fletchers of Derby, will be the fourth on the island and Warren has recruited the talents of charismatic Barbadian rum producer Richard Seale to advise on the project.

Once the spirit is made, it will be bottled in bourbon oak barrels and aged for ten years, benefiting from the cool temperatures of the plantation's highland location. Full tours will be offered once production is up and running - don't miss his mother Hazel's molasses cookies sold in the café, which are worth the trip alone. "It's not about making money - it's about doing the right thing," says Warren.

St Nicholas Abbey, Cherry Tree Hill, St Peter, Barbados, 422-8725, www.stnicholasabbey.com

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