The West Indies Rum Distillery is situated in Brighton, Black Rock in the southern parish of St. Michael on the island of Barbados. Its origins date back to 1893 when George Stade and his brother realized their dream of crafting Barbados rum of epic quality and exporting it back to their German homeland.
The West Indies Rum Distillery uses several methods of distillation, from the modern four column continuous still to their old traditional pot stills, as well as the only remaining Vulcan triple chamber still in the world.
These varied stills allow for slight variations in the quality of Rums. The West Indies Rum Distillery produces for all of the bottlers in Barbados, excluding Mount Gay and a handful of other foreign entities.
There are several traditional Rums that they produce that are wholeheartedly Barbados from distillation to bottling: Malibu, Gilbey's, and Popov. The facility can crank out a maximum capacity of nine million liters every year and boasts a storage capacity of over one and a half million liters.
In 2017 the distillery entered a partnership with Maison Ferrand via Ferrand's owner and Master Blender Alexandre Gabriel, a long-time fan of the operation. This means that a lot of Plantation Rum is now produced right there.
In 2020, a new visitor center has opened on the premises with guided tours and tastings of the various Rums produced at the facility, as well as educating and providing visitors with insight into the rich Rum-making history of Barbados.