St. Lucia Distillers 'The Forgotten Casks' Chairman's Reserve Finest Rum, St. Lucia

St. Lucia Distillers 'The Forgotten Casks' Chairman's Reserve Finest Rum, St. Lucia grew from an unusual chapter in the distillery’s history. After a 2007 fire forced the cellar team to relocate aging barrels, some casks were misplaced and later rediscovered, holding rum considered too mature for the original Chairman’s Reserve blend. Those original barrels have been bottled; today’s Forgotten Casks recreates their character through extra-aged Chairman’s Reserve, combining pot-still and Coffey-still rums for a rich, oak-shaped sipping rum.

Product Details:

• Spirit Type: Aged blended rum
• Base Ingredient: 100% molasses, according to the importer’s technical sheet
• Fermentation: Open fermentation for 36 to 45 hours in concrete tanks, using proprietary yeast and Roseau River water, according to the importer’s technical sheet
• Still Type: Coffey column still and John Dore 2 copper pot still
• Maturation: Aged separately by batch and still type in ex-bourbon barrels, then blended and rested in oak vats for six months
• Age: No age statement. Producer and importer sources give differing component-rum ranges of six to eleven, eight to eleven, and seven to eight years
• ABV: 40%
• Producer: Saint Lucia Distillers
• Owner: Groupe Bernard Hayot
• Master Blender: Deny Duplessis

Sensory Description:

The nose is deep and warming, with sweet raisin, amber honey, vanilla, and a pronounced note of cigar tobacco. Grilled tropical fruit and candied walnut fill out the palate, while soft spice and oak keep the sweetness in balance. It finishes long, with lingering spice, dried-fruit richness, and a mellow warmth.

Awards & Accolades:

• Silver: International Wine & Spirit Competition, 2015
• Silver Outstanding: International Wine & Spirit Competition, 2017
• Silver: International Wine & Spirit Competition, 2018
• Gold Medal, Exceptional, 94 points: Beverage Testing Institute, 2017
• Silver, 90 points: International Wine & Spirit Competition, 2021

Producer’s Background:

Saint Lucia Distillers was formed in 1972 from the merger of the island’s Roseau Bay and Dennery distilleries. Chairman’s Reserve followed in 1999, created by Laurie Barnard as a blend of pot-still and column-still rums, reflecting his belief that blending rums of different styles and ages could deliver more complexity than relying on a single component. The distillery is now owned by Groupe Bernard Hayot, while Saint Lucian master blender Deny Duplessis leads the blending work.

Serving Suggestions:

Pour neat into a tulip-shaped spirits glass or serve over one large cube, giving the rum a few minutes to open. Its grilled-fruit, raisin, and warm-spice notes pair well with dark chocolate, banana or pineapple desserts, and roasted nuts. It is made for sipping, though its structure can also bring depth to a rum Old Fashioned.