Scotch Whisky Producer Kilchoman Announces Plans to Build Rum Distillery in Barbados

Bentley Mansion in the Parish of St. Philip, Barbados. (Kilchoman Distillery)

Kilchoman Distillery from Islay, Scotland has recently announced plans to build a brand new rum distillery on the island of Barbados. The whisky producer has received planning permission for the Caribbean rum facility and shared the news via Twitter. 

Kilchoman Distillery is an independent family-run distillery, founded in 2005 by Anthony Wills. The distillery is known for its single malt whiskey produced on the Scottish Island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides. 

The whisky maker is currently working towards the goal of building a brand new distillery for rum in Barbados. The distillery will be built on the nine acres of land purchased in the Parish of St. Philip containing the now derelict, Bently Mansion. The plans for the property include a mill, a cask warehouse and the distillery, complete with two copper pot stills.

? EXCITING NEWS – The Barbados Rum Project – We are delighted to announce planning permission has been received to build a rum distillery on the island of Barbados!

Anthony Wills will be teaming up with Frank Ward, former Mount Gay Managing Director, who will be consulting on… pic.twitter.com/Ga3FwBrMpD

— Kilchoman Distillery (@Kilchomanwhisky) May 19, 2023

For the rum production sugarcane will be purchased from the local fields surrounding Bentley Mansion. The fresh sugarcane will be crushed on site to produce rum from sugar cane juice as well as cane syrup. The distillery will make, mature and bottle its own rum on-site. 

Wills will be teaming up with Frank Ward who was formerly the managing director of the famous Barbados rum brand, Mount Gay. Ward’s knowledge and expertise in rum will be put to use by consulting on the project as well as advising on specific rum production methods. 

Wills commented, “This is an exciting development for Kilchoman and we look forward to sharing more news as the project takes shape.”

Kilchoman has a network of distributors from its whisky production which is currently available in 50 countries. The brand plans to utilize these same distributors to share its rum with the world. 

Read Next:

New Releases From Mark Reynier’s Renegade Distillery Spotlight Terroir Driven Rums

Whiskey Raiders Launches Premium Bottle of the Month Club

Here at The Daily Pour, we do more than write about current events in spirit. We are the only media property reviewing spirits and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the spirit world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of spirit in your morning email, sign up for our Whiskey Deal of the Day Newsletter