Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
precursor. You'll stand next to the giant
waterwheel that powered the distillery's
mill, see the cooper's shop where aging
barrels were made, and visit a typical cot-
tage where the distiller lived. Dray horses
rattle into the courtyard pulling wagons
piled with sacks of Irish barley, some of
which is malted and the rest left green to
produce Jameson's distinctively complex
flavor. In the brew house you can see
Jameson's original huge gleaming copper
pot still, the largest in the world. Of course
this tour ends with—you guessed it—a
generous tasting session.
Hmmm . . . come to think of it, why not
do both tours?
The Old Jameson Distillery,
Bow St.,
Smithfield Village (
&
353/1/807-2355;
www.jamesonwhiskey.com).
Jameson
Heritage Center,
Distillery Rd., Midleton
(
&
3353/21/461-3594;
www.jameson
whiskey.com).
(
Dublin/Cork (11km/7 miles).
L
$
Abbott Lodge,
87-88 Lower
Gardiner St., Dublin (
&
1/836-5548;
www.
abbott-lodge.com). $$$
Hayfield Manor
Hotel,
Perrott Ave., Cork (
&
800/525-
4800
or 353/21/431-5600; www.hayfield
manor.ie).
Distilleries
413
Cruzan Rum Distillery
Yo Ho Ho & a Barrel of Rum
St. Croix, Virgin Islands
It's no accident that most Caribbean
resorts welcome guests with a refreshing
glass of planter's punch, that delicious
concoction of tropical fruit juices and rum.
For better or worse, the history of the
Caribbean is spiked with rum. When the
islands' early European settlers discov-
ered that their plantation slaves were
enjoying a potent drink made from fer-
mented molasses, the dregs of the sugar
cane refining process, they spied a new
commercial opportunity. Distilling that
drink into a liquor, they sold it all over the
world (for years the British Royal Navy
seemed powered largely by ship's grog).
The booming sugar trade created a need
for more African slaves, pirates arrived to
prey on lucrative slave and rum cargoes,
and the tropical islands' culture was
changed forever.
The site of Columbus's first landfall in the
New World, St. Croix had many different
rulers over the years—the Spanish, the
Dutch, the English, the French, even the
Knights of Malta—but after the Danish took
over in 1733, St. Croix really boomed. Sugar
cane was its claim to fame (only Barbados
produced more sugar) and at one point,
some 150 St. Croix plantations had facto-
ries for making molasses and rum.
The sole survivor today is the Cruzan
distillery (pronounced
cru
-cian, the nick-
name for St. Croix residents), founded in
1760 on the island's lush western end. Still
owned by the Nelthorpp family, Cruzan
has grown into one of the world's most
respected brands, producing a variety of
dark and light rums. Its finest, the 12-year
Cruzan Single Barrel, has won the title of
world's best rum in various competitions.
Exploring the property on a half-hour
guided tour, you'll see remnants of the
Estate Diamond plantation's original
buildings—the manorial green wooden
great house, a 19th-century square stone
chimney, the ruined base of an old wind-
mill (St. Croix was once thickly dotted with
windmills). As you tour the small plant,
