BAJAN SUN MAGAZINE
OCT 2014
BARBADOS
AND RUM
T
hree well-known international rum brands
originate here in Barbados: Mount Gay,
Cockspur and Doorly's. The coconut-flavored, rumbased liqueur 'Malibu' is also produced on the island.
Barbados played a major part in the British West
Indies' sugar production, which had reached 25,000
tons by the turn of the 18th Century – more than all of
the Dutch-owned and French-owned Caribbean islands
combined. With such vast quantities of sugar cane
being grown in a small space, rum naturally evolved as
a valuable by-product. It remains an important part of
the island’s culture and economy today.
Most rum is made from molasses, a thick, black, sweet
syrup whose name comes from the Latin mel, meaning
'honey' (via Portuguese melaco). Molasses is made by
repeatedly boiling cane juice in order to extract sugar
crystals - it is a pr