http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2014/03/10/payment-panic/
Mount Gay workers fearful after closure of distillery
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Capn's Log: Note! After followup, this article by Barbados TODAY was retracted. The distillery still operates under the ownership of Remy.
Mount Gay problems
The plot thickens: It seems that the BRAND Mount Gay will/is continuing strong - just that the old distillery/refinery, where the rum distillate has come from, is shut since December, with workers being laid off from the distillery. Remy-Cointreau keeps the brand very much alive.
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2014/03/11/ ... es-limited
Now then - question is, where does the distillate rum used for the brand come from in the future, if not from their own old distillery? Overall, Barbados rum is struggling, as is Caricom rum in general. The US subsidies are working wonders...
Lets keep in mind a few facts:
1) Barbados and Caricom are trying to fight the US subsidies, but find their production is too expensive for a number of reasons, so they cannot compete. Energy, power is costly on the islands.
2) Another costly thing is raw material, as it is NOT for the most part local any more. Hasn't been in decades. The sugar industry, i.e. cane fields, have been run down for local reasons both in Barbados and in Trinidad, and vast majority of cane, and/or molasses they use, is no longer coming from the "origin".
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2013/04/11/giddy-over-rum
"Among the Barbados industry players expressing concern about these subsidies are Goddard Enterprises Limited Martin Pritchard, whose company owns The West Indies Rum Distillery Limited, a longstanding rum producer here. “I have drank quite a bit of rum in my time throughout the region as well as in Latin America and I would say that Barbados produces the best rum in the world, there is no doubt about that. Unfortunately, we have very high costs here, our molasses really most of it has to be imported, the local sugar industry cannot supply molasses to our distillery at the West Indies Rum Distillery and hence I would say 90 per cent of our input molasses has to be imported,” Pritchard said." "Barbados at the moment imports between 75 and 80 per cent of its molasses needs, which means that the local industry produces only 20 to 25 per cent."
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsite ... wsID=21176
How Bajan is Bajan rum, which is made from molasses made on the island from imported Brazilian cane - or in fact from molasses made from Brazilian cane, which has been refined to molasses elsewhere?
Another interesting article on the decline of Bajan sugar cane. It is interesting that whilst it is clear that low sugar prices (due to beet sugar being dog-cheap) have caused many Caribbean islands to all but fully stop sugar cane cultivation - and yet still the value of the molasses, and the subsequent rum industry, seems to be missing from the economists' calculations often completely.
http://thekiwibarbadian.weebly.com/5/po ... rcane.html
For comparison, in Trinidad local race-based politics caused the stop of sugar cane production almost completely. See below how the importation of foreign-made molasses (Brazil, Mexico?) has grown since 2005:
http://www.indexmundi.com/trade/imports ... ity=170310
Again, please remember, this is ready-made molasses - not raw sugar cane (which also arrives, for local refinement to sugar and molasses).
Finally, here below is the graph showing Brazil, Barbados and Trinidad sugar cane production 1961 - 2013 - guess who has benefited from size, and US blocking many economic supports European Union also gave to their old small colonies in the Caribbean - and guess where most of the molasses is coming from nowadays for ALL rum made in West Indies:
(Actually, ALL Latin-American countries' graphs look similar to Brazil, whereas ALL Caribbean graphs look similar to Barbados - including Cubas. I think "Cuban" rum uses molasses from Latin America...Shush!!!)
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2014/03/11/ ... es-limited
Now then - question is, where does the distillate rum used for the brand come from in the future, if not from their own old distillery? Overall, Barbados rum is struggling, as is Caricom rum in general. The US subsidies are working wonders...
Lets keep in mind a few facts:
1) Barbados and Caricom are trying to fight the US subsidies, but find their production is too expensive for a number of reasons, so they cannot compete. Energy, power is costly on the islands.
2) Another costly thing is raw material, as it is NOT for the most part local any more. Hasn't been in decades. The sugar industry, i.e. cane fields, have been run down for local reasons both in Barbados and in Trinidad, and vast majority of cane, and/or molasses they use, is no longer coming from the "origin".
http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2013/04/11/giddy-over-rum
"Among the Barbados industry players expressing concern about these subsidies are Goddard Enterprises Limited Martin Pritchard, whose company owns The West Indies Rum Distillery Limited, a longstanding rum producer here. “I have drank quite a bit of rum in my time throughout the region as well as in Latin America and I would say that Barbados produces the best rum in the world, there is no doubt about that. Unfortunately, we have very high costs here, our molasses really most of it has to be imported, the local sugar industry cannot supply molasses to our distillery at the West Indies Rum Distillery and hence I would say 90 per cent of our input molasses has to be imported,” Pritchard said." "Barbados at the moment imports between 75 and 80 per cent of its molasses needs, which means that the local industry produces only 20 to 25 per cent."
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsite ... wsID=21176
How Bajan is Bajan rum, which is made from molasses made on the island from imported Brazilian cane - or in fact from molasses made from Brazilian cane, which has been refined to molasses elsewhere?
Another interesting article on the decline of Bajan sugar cane. It is interesting that whilst it is clear that low sugar prices (due to beet sugar being dog-cheap) have caused many Caribbean islands to all but fully stop sugar cane cultivation - and yet still the value of the molasses, and the subsequent rum industry, seems to be missing from the economists' calculations often completely.
http://thekiwibarbadian.weebly.com/5/po ... rcane.html
For comparison, in Trinidad local race-based politics caused the stop of sugar cane production almost completely. See below how the importation of foreign-made molasses (Brazil, Mexico?) has grown since 2005:
http://www.indexmundi.com/trade/imports ... ity=170310
Again, please remember, this is ready-made molasses - not raw sugar cane (which also arrives, for local refinement to sugar and molasses).
Finally, here below is the graph showing Brazil, Barbados and Trinidad sugar cane production 1961 - 2013 - guess who has benefited from size, and US blocking many economic supports European Union also gave to their old small colonies in the Caribbean - and guess where most of the molasses is coming from nowadays for ALL rum made in West Indies:
(Actually, ALL Latin-American countries' graphs look similar to Brazil, whereas ALL Caribbean graphs look similar to Barbados - including Cubas. I think "Cuban" rum uses molasses from Latin America...Shush!!!)
It's like watching a car crash in slow motion. A shame for yet another industry that will be inevitably ruined by greed. The distillery's did not stand strong together the customers ignorant or apathetic and those who weren't ignorant were either powerless or self serving. I have given up on rum except for a very small group of brands and when I am occasionally asked to recommend a rum I normally say just drink scotch'
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Capn's Log: da'rum has been nothing less than outspoken and clear. He is right, again. Trust me, he has been a major player in defense of rum. I hate to say it but the real truth is that a collection of real rum is pitifully small. We have over 150 and how many would we buy again? Ten might suffice, but this would not include JaRiMi's independents whose products will remain available, but only for a time...
*******
Capn's Log: da'rum has been nothing less than outspoken and clear. He is right, again. Trust me, he has been a major player in defense of rum. I hate to say it but the real truth is that a collection of real rum is pitifully small. We have over 150 and how many would we buy again? Ten might suffice, but this would not include JaRiMi's independents whose products will remain available, but only for a time...
in goes your eye out
Da'rum: what's a rum refinery? Does that mean our dear Mt Gay is safe and sound? Remy Cointreau are no bit players, and Mt Gay appears to be their only rum...
Re Jimbo: From my collection I'd re-buy:
MGXO (while supplies last, but my area seems to have tons of it about)
Appleton Extra
WN Overproof
Smith & Cross
Scarlet Ibis
Anything Foursquare
Anything Barbancourt, or other agricoles
Pusser's
Gosling's Old
Lemon Hart 151 (indispensable for Tiki drinks)
Flor de Caña Extra Dry or Palo Viejo Blanco (my go-to white mixing rums)
Sea Wynde (is this even made anymore?)
Myer's Legend (ditto)
As anyone reading my posts should know, I really wish I could get my hands on some indies!
Re Jimbo: From my collection I'd re-buy:
MGXO (while supplies last, but my area seems to have tons of it about)
Appleton Extra
WN Overproof
Smith & Cross
Scarlet Ibis
Anything Foursquare
Anything Barbancourt, or other agricoles
Pusser's
Gosling's Old
Lemon Hart 151 (indispensable for Tiki drinks)
Flor de Caña Extra Dry or Palo Viejo Blanco (my go-to white mixing rums)
Sea Wynde (is this even made anymore?)
Myer's Legend (ditto)
As anyone reading my posts should know, I really wish I could get my hands on some indies!
Not sure what a rum refinery is except to say it's a refinery dedicated to processing cane for a distillery. As the article says the refinery is not financially linked with the distilery. Jaramai mentioned that the distillery was going to source their molasses from elsewhere. So this is all abit of crossed wires. The fact that the refinery has been sent to wreck and ruin is in itself a result of US and multi national interference but it is not the distillery and for that, for the moment, is a good thing.
in goes your eye out
Sorry, but this to my knowledge is precisely the rum DISTILLERY (also known as rum refinery). So the old, actual distillery is closed, as far as I know. They are not speaking of "sugar refinery", and the buildings shown for this plant are not a simple sugar refinery - but actually host a distillery, with column stills also.
Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd is just a company name, and does not refer to the actual distillery where they sourced (most) of their rum from. It is the company that makes the PRODUCT - not the distillery.
Please see also:
http://www.therumcollective.com/2010/12 ... tours.html
Quote: "So, to summarize and possibly clarify any confusion, Mount Gay Rum is distilled at The Rum Refinery of Mount Gay and then sent to the Mount Gay Distillery & Visitor Center for blending, bottling and distribution."
This is not the only place I see this definition (but I do hope I am wrong, of course - haven't been walking there, so I can only claim 99% accuracy).
However, reading the comments of the workers, they were specifically involved in DISTILLING - nt just sugar refining. Terminology can trick us..
As said, the BRAND and blending continues, but again - where does the rum that is blended to make a PRODUCT come from in the future?
And yes, we can debate on how much it depends on where the cane is grown, what cane variety is used, etc etc - I just wanted to point out that in most cases in the Caribbean, it has certainly been a while since the cane - and molasses - was local any more. Important? Mybe not, but worth knowing maybe. From growers of cane, makers of molasses and rum, into importers of cane and molasses, and makers of - well, at least some of the bulk rum blended into a bottled product...
Speaking with the Count earlier, I pointed out that here's where legal and other terminology gets tricky. What is Bajan rum? Rum distilled in Barbados? Rum BLENDED in Barbados? Matured in Barbados? From Bajan-made molasses? Or cane grown on the island? And where on the bottle does it actually SAY "produce of Barbados"? Or does it just say "Barbados Rum"? Or Barbados - and Rum?
Brands, and companies do not necessarily mean a DISTILLERY - OR NATION. Bulk rum sales is a big business. Let me give an example: Borgoe comes from Surinam, but it contains rum from Trinidad (or did at least some years ago). Is it "Surinam Rum"? Or what? (The origin of rum in a blend is not published information btw).
For centuries, blending has been an art in rum - and in whisky. But in whisky, you do not get blends containing whiskies from a dozen or so nations. In rum, you do. Nowadays, look where cane is grown - not so much in the Caribbean which we so like to identify to rum. So the world changes...