Westerhall Estate: A Taste of Grenadian Rum Heritage

Westerhall Estate, located in Becke Moui, St. David's, Grenada, offers a captivating glimpse into the island's rich rum-making heritage. Operating since the 1900s, the estate spans 500 acres and is home to the oldest working waterway in the Western Hemisphere.Visitors can embark on an educational tour of the distillery, observing the traditional rum-making process and exploring the grounds, which still showcase remnants of old artifacts, ruins, and equipment once used in the refinery process, such as copper kettles. Westerhall Estate produces rum using free-run sugar cane juice, unlike most Caribbean distilleries that use molasses. The fermented wash is distilled through a copper-pot still. The waters of Grenada are naturally infused with spices such as nutmeg, which are filtered into the rum during the blending process, giving it a distinctively Grenadian taste.The estate was once a thriving sugar cane plantation, also growing spice trees, cocoa trees, and fruit trees. Westerhall was purchased by Sir William Johnstone in the late 1700s, and the name is believed to come from his ancestral home in Scotland. The Williams & Wells families have owned the estate since the early 1940s.At the end of the tour, visitors can enjoy a sampling of the various rums under the Westerhall portfolio. Westerhall rums have garnered international acclaim.