The Wingfield Rum Distillery is on the same hill as the Romney Manor.
This beautiful property is inside a rainforest and was part of the original property of Chief Tegraman, who was killed during the battle with British and French forces in the mid-1600s.
Sam Jefferson II was the beneficiary of the land grant. He later sold 10 hectares to the Earl of Romney, who cultivated tobacco but switched to the more high-value sugar cane and its byproducts, including rum.
Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, mainly as a by-product of the islands’ sugar cane. It is made of fermented and distilled sugarcane molasses, then aged in oak barrels.
St. Kitts no longer produces sugar cane, I wonder where Wingfield Rum Distillery gets its supply of molasses.
I joined the Caribelle Batik making tour but little did I know that we would be also be joining the rum tasting tour which was only behind the Romney Manor Estate. Romney Manor is currently owned by Maurice Widdowson who initially leased the property in 1976 for four years.
There was another group who was ahead of us and they were already having fun drinking rum despite the heat. My perception is when you drink liquor, your body will feel hot. Ang init dito, parang gusto ko ice cold water. Sila din pala feeling hot kaya as soon as we boarded the van, they requested the driver to bring us to the street vendor selling coconut water. I got excited. Buko! Buko juice!
We stopped in front of this van. Akala ko merong na ambush. Nay ko. Apparently this is the coconut stand. The vendor ran to get straws. He got lucky, he made a bulk sale today, we were 11 I think. For the record, this island is peaceful, walang gun for hire dito.
