By Alexander Britell
“Old Grog is a gentleman’s rum,” Alison tells me, pouring more of the amber spirit.
It’s easy to like a rum with a name like Old Grog, the latter a tribute to the old casks of Grenadian rum that were once shipped to King George III, marked GROG, or “Georgius Rex Old Grenada.”
While Clarke’s Court opened in 1937, this authentic distillery in the heart of Grenada is an earnest tribute to that storied history of Caribbean rummaking, with a wide selection of rums made from molasses from flavored varieties to excellent aged sippers. (The company actually made sugarcane-juice rum from cane until 2002 before the molasses shift).
The scene is Nick’s Barrel House, the terrific visitor center at the Clarke’s Court distillery and bottling center in a lush corner of Grenada (and just a short jaunt from Grand Anse Beach.
Sampling rum at Nick’s.
Unlike too many distillery visitor centers, this feels, happily, more like a bar, with chairs made of barrels, walls covered in rum and a very visitor-friendly sampling that gives you the chance to try just about everything they make here, from smooth white rums to golden rums infused with nutmeg.
And the prices here are as good as you’ll find, particularly on Clarke’s Court’s flagship rum, the superb #37 Blend.
Plainly, it’s a must-visit stop on any journey to Grenada.