In Pursuit of Excellence
With Westerhall Estate Rum,
you can be assured the
product will match
the experience
gaining local market share. Increased tourism
on the island has led to growth and diversity
and the local producers are taking advantage
of this.
Mr. Williams on the progression of his role
“I started as the Assistant Manager and I
initially was working in production. I was
very involved the distilling side of things, and
later transferred into the blending and the
developing of new products.”
Today Graham oversees the general
management of the business, and you don’t
have to be in Grenada very long before one of
his products crosses your path. “The Company
has grown significantly since 1986, he states
“I still oversee product development and
spearhead any new product and I continue
to be the primary blender and a part of a
panel that controls the blends. It’s no longer
necessary for me to be involved in the actual
process every time as the company is well
functioning with a factory manager, marketing
and sales managers. “
“
“Locally the rum industry in Grenada
continues to be very competitive, basically
it’s a wide open market by that I mean
there’s no preferential treatment to local
manufacturers. Mr. Williams provides the
landscape. “The local rum scene players are
three main companies; Grenada Distillers,
Westerhall Estate and River Antoine. There
are also numerous private labels on the island
belonging in the “cottage type industry”
category. This in Mr. Williams opinion is
just frustrating the market as these labels
come and go frequently, some with no stated
address.
the police. When the rate was lowered to zero
in the 1980’s to help combat smuggling, the
incentive to enforce the law became less and
the amendments to the regulation of 2010,
made oversite of production less controlled. “There is a call internationally for increased
regulation and taxation on alcohol, including
adding warning labeling requirements,
instating drunk driving laws, and age limits for
consumption of alcohol. customer to binge drink, I don’t want my
consumer to die, I want them to be around for
many years, so drink responsibly. Drink the
rum and mash up the place is NOT what we
want.”
The previous Excise Tax Act regulated the
manufactured alcohol, by defining how rum
was to be produced, thus insuring that the
equipment used to produced alcohol was safe,
effective and properly designed. This insured
that the public was protected, and that the
quality of rum produced was safe to consume.
Distilleries where regulated by customs and
all rum produced was tested by them before
it was released for public consumption. “We
look forward to more regulation of the local
industry to assist with insuring that better
safety and sanitary conditions are enforced
on the industry, and hope that the authorities
will recognize that they have a responsibility
to protect its citizens against the availability to
potentially poisonous alcohol being available
in local rum shops and bars.” Additionally, the responsibility for alerting With a Rum producing plant that has
these types of regulations to the public will
fall on the Ministry of Health. “The world is
obviously getting more sensitive to the effects of
alcohol on society. As well as alcohol concerning
diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even
cancer. So while I won’t say necessarily that
I welcome the regulation, I’m not against it
because we all have to be responsible for the
products that we sell and it has to also bring
others into line and under control.” Williams is anxiously awaiting on what
could be a real game changer for the industry Drink responsibly and use alcohol in
a sustainable manner. “I don’t want my
“
Increased tourism on the island had led to
growth and diversity, and the local producers
are taking advantage of this
“
“
In Pursuit of Excellence
now reached capacity and a clear need for
expansion, Williams is eying expansion
of his facilities. Success for Westerhall
Estates remains a moving target, “We’re at a
disadvantage not being a primary producer,
but we also have an advantage because we’re
only limited by our own imagination. We are
blenders of product and we believe we know
the rum our consumers want.
With Westerhall, you can be assured the
product will match the experience …and that
will be Exc75ellent…but hey …Don’t take
our word for it …Experience it for yourself! BG
“There is very limited regulation of the
industry by relevant authorities. It seems as
if you want to have a rum brand, you make a
label and stick it on a bottle and that’s all it
takes. In terms of oversight from Government
it’s very inconsistent to say the least.”
He also maintains there’s a major problem
with bush rum in Grenada. “There’s a high
prevalence on the island and it can be very
easily purchased in the local island rum
shops” Mountain Dew or Babash as it is
sometimes called, has always existed, but has
become more open in recent times. It seems
to go hand in hand with an excise tax law that
in Grenada regulated the industry and was
administered by the customs department and
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