St. Vincent Distillers | 5
portant dynamic in the nation’s economy.
St. Vincent is unique, however, in that it
has long produced a white overproof rum
that is a staple in Vincy culture – it was a
bronze winner in the overproof category in
the 2014 World Rum Awards. In the past,
though, Sunset Rum (as it is known locally),
took precedence over the distillery’s export
products because of its overwhelming popu-
larity. Pushed to the side were superior dark
rums, which languished until Greaves came
along.
The history of SVDL goes back to the
early 1900s, when the owner of the former
Mt. Bentinck Estate, located on the wind-
ward side of the island about 20 miles from
Kingstown, decided to take advantage of the
ready supply of molasses from the sugar fac-
tory next door and establish a distillery. For
decades, the Mt. Bentinck distillery served
the community well, changing hands several
times until 1970, when shares in the estate
-- which at the time included the distillery
-- were sold to the government. The govern-
