Fiji

The Fiji archipelago consists of more than 300 islands located in the South Pacific, betweenAustralia and Tahiti. Colonised by the British in the mid-18th century, it gained independence in 1970. The endemic cane was already prized by the Fijians, but it was of course the British who developed its cultivation through large-scale plantations. The main island soon became a major sugar resource, with overthirty factories by the end of the 19th century, including the largest in the southern hemisphere. The sugar crisis did not spare the archipelago, and like everywhere else, production was concentrated in large units, until it reached the number of 4 sugar factories at present.

As a result ofEnglish tradition, most sugar factories also had their own distilleries, and the highly flavoured rums from Fiji were the ingredients of choice for the rums of the sailors in the Royal Navy.

The only distillery in operation today was started in 1980. It is the South Pacific distillery, which produces molasses rums in Lautoka, the second largest city of the country. They are mostly blends of column distilled rums and rums distilled in traditional stills (in this case, a steel pot-still recovered from the closure of a New Zealand whisky distillery). They are reduced with pure water from this volcanic island and filtered with coconut shell charcoal.

The main brands linked to this distillery are Holley Dollar, Bounty, Bati and Rum Co, but its rums have been popularised in France with bottlings from La Compagnie des Indes, TCRL, Berry Bros, Kill Devil, Plantation or Samaroli. These independent bottlers generally choose pure pot-still rums, which results in very aromatic, fruity and full-bodied expressions that are sometimes reminiscent of Port Mourant still rums or even some Jamaicans. Read less