RIVER ANTOINE - White Rum - Rivers - 69%
River Antoine Estate is an iconic distillery located in Grenada, in the heart of the Caribbean. Founded in 1785, it remains the last distillery in the world to operate entirely without electrical power, thus ensuring a unique artisanal and traditional mastery. The workforce is exclusively local, with 80 employees managing daily operations, while about a hundred families depend on the plantation's agricultural and industrial activities. The sugarcane is cultivated according to strict principles of organic farming, respecting both the land and the environment.
The site is powered by an ancient hydraulic mill: a 6-meter diameter water wheel turning slowly at 15 revolutions per minute. Each day, three trailers of sugarcane are pressed to obtain about 3,000 liters of pure fresh juice. A small wagon transports the bagasse, which serves as natural fertilizer and mulch for the fields, as well as fuel for the distillery's boiler, thus reinforcing the site's circular economy. The original "cooking room" dating from 1785 is still in use: the cane juice is gently heated in five metal pots over bagasse fire, then left to rest for two days. It is then transferred into huge cement vats – nine in total, each capable of holding 11,000 liters, six of which are partially used – where natural fermentation takes place in the open air for 6 to 8 days, depending on climatic conditions.
The River Antoine distillery has two John Dore double-retort pot stills, each with a capacity of over 2,000 liters, in service since the 1980s. These stills have been adapted over time: the first has retorts made by Vendome, while the second is a John Dore-Forsyth-Vendome triptych, the result of an excellent collaboration. Their heating is done by direct fire, with careful temperature control depending on the amount and type of wood burned, ensuring the quality and aromatic richness of the distillate. Once distillation is complete, the rum is gravity-fed into an underground concrete tank before being transferred into plastic barrels where the spirit is reduced to its final bottling strength.
River Antoine is undoubtedly one of the best white rums in the world, a true artisanal treasure of the Caribbean, renowned for its authenticity, aromatic power, and its roots in the traditional rum heritage.
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