Barbados is arguably the birthplace of rum, claiming the world’s oldest commercial distillery. So it would be rude (unless you’re tea-total) not to sample the substance while on the island. Opportunities for tasting the spirit abound, from knocking back the rougher varieties in the local rum shop to making your way down the cocktail list – mojitos, mai-tais and daiquiris are all rum-based – at one of the many beach bars. Or, if you want to learn more about the production process and hone your rum-tasting skills, then a distillery tour is a must. Three of the island’s main distilleries – Mount Gay, Foursquare and St Nicholas Abbey – all do their own tours, and collectively boast several world-class, award-winning rums.

Origins of rum

Rum has been central to Barbadian life for over three centuries. The favoured tipple of pirates and British and US naval officers, its history is also inextricably linked to slavery – a fact that most rum tours gloss over – since rum is the potent by-product of sugar-cane production. Like the manufacturing of sugar, the knowledge of how to make rum probably came to Barbados from Brazil. These days, production is more mechanised, and more scientific but the basic distillation process has remained much the same: molasses extracted from the cane are fermented, distilled and aged. Over twenty tonnes of sugar cane are needed to produce a single bottle of rum! With a dwindling sugar industry, it’s no surprise that Barbados now has to import most of the molasses needed to make one of its most lucrative exports.