South Pacific 2005 Plantation 15 Year Old

Launched in 2003, Plantation Rum is a brand owned by the well-established cognac producer, Cognac Ferrand. Established in 1989, Maison Ferrand has used its extensive contacts in the spirits industry to source some exceptional casks of rum. The company also has privileged access to those in the warehouses of Clarendon and Long Pond in Jamaica, through its acquisition of the West India Rum Distillery (WIRD) and the shares in National Rums of Jamaica that came with it. Its ownership of the Bajan WIRD distillery has seen it increasingly involved in rum production as well as bottling in recent years. In June 2020 it was announced that Plantation Rum would be changing its name to support the global dialogue around racial equality, with the company accepting the hurtful connotations that the word “plantation” can evoke.

This is Fiji Islands rum, distilled in 2005 by Rum Co. of Fiji at their South Pacific distillery.

The South Pacific distillery is located in Lautoka on the island of Fifi and began production in 1980 in order to reduce their need for imported spirits like whisky and gin. The decision to make rum in addition was logical given the country had an active sugar industry to provide it with molasses. Today it is a subsidiary of the Australian brewer, the Fosters group, who bought the Willowbank distillery in New Zealand from Seagram in 1997, moving its pot stills to South Pacific the same year. In addition, rum is also distilled on a three-column continuous still.

This was distilled of their triple-column still and double aged, first in bourbon wood in Fiji for 14 years, and then for a further year in a Ferrand cask in France. It was bottled in 2020 from just 28 casks.