A major Caribbean rum distillery has been sold.

French company Maison Ferrand has acquired the historic West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados.

Ferrand is the owner of the Plantation rum brand which specializes in high-end rums from around the wider Americas region and first launched in 2003. The company has grown to become one of the world’s highest-quality rum brands in recent years.

Ferrand produces Cognac and gin at its facility in Cognac, France; this is its first distillery acquisition outside of France.

The West Indies Rum Distillery, which first opened in 1893, produces largely produces bulk rums, including rums for Cockspur and Malibu.

“We are production guys and having our own distillery in the Caribbean has been a dream for many years,” says Alexandre Gabriel, proprietor of Maison Ferrand. “It is like getting married, we wanted to find a great match, one for life and we have found it in West Indies Rum Distillery and the exceptional rum makers there. The team there is as passionate as we are and we can’t wait to start producing delicious rum together.”

The acquisition includes West Indies Rum Distillery’s one-third ownership of the National Jamaican Rum Company with Monymusk Distillery and Long Pond Distillery.

The company says that the distillery has some of the oldest stills in the Caribbean (including one that is possibly the region’s oldest and has been dormant for almost a century.

Plantation has long sourced its rums from around the region, but this will be its first directly-owned distillery.

“We control the production of our Ferrand Cognac and Citadelle Gin because we own the facilities in Cognac. We love challenging ourselves to make the best there is and it requires total commitment,” Gabriel said. “We wanted the same holistic involvement for our Plantation rum so this investment is the natural course of things for us. We are both excited and humbled by what lies ahead.

In a statement, West Indies Rum Distillery said it was the preferred rum production partner for a number of other companies and “will continue to honor their relationships and contracts with them.”