The House of Angostura is Trinidad and Tobago’s only rum distillery.
They’re known for a wide range of rum but far more famous for their brand of Aromatic Bitters that has become a staple in the world of mixology and the defacto bitters brand. Novices use it for classics like the whisky old fashioned and Manhattan, while the creators of craft cocktails incorporate it into award winning creations at competitions like The Global Cocktail Challenge.
On more touristic islands like Saint Lucia or Barbados it’s possible to arrange a tour of a rum distillery on the same day. A tour of Angostura is different and requires some pre-planning. It’s definitely worth it though, whether you’re a rum enthusiast or simply interested in the history of Trinidad.
On approaching the distillery, Angostura can be identified by the towering distillation columns against the backdrop of the Northern Range.
There are also rum shops decorated with signs for brands of popular local white rums. Forres Park Puncheon Rum is a high proof light rum named for the estate where it originated, and the large oak casks that it was allowed to rest in briefly before ageing.
White Oak Rum is aged in oak barrels for a few years before the color is removed through charcoal filtration. It’s light with notes of citrus and the barest hint of vanilla. They’re both popular on the island as mixers.
The tour begins at their Museum, where a collection of historic artifacts tells the story of the company. There are patents for the bitters, a Royal Warrant from The Queen, and bottles of discontinued brands.
Relics from the War for Venezuela’s Independence from Spain gives insight into the skirmishes fought in tropical conditions of South America that lead to the invention of Angostura Bitters.
-bolivar-
Developed by Doctor Johann Siegert to aid soldiers of Simon Bolivar who were unaccustomed to the climate, it became popular with sailors, and eventually an essential item for every bar.
Trinidad’s relationship with Spain actually predates this war since the island was a Spanish Colony for far longer than it was a possession of the British Crown. Hispanic culture is still a powerful influence on the culinary landscape, reflected in dishes like “pastelles” which are tamales wrapped in banana leaves.
-cannon-
This influence is also reflected in the island’s rum; the rum distilled at Angostura is lighter than the rum from traditional Barbadian producers like Foursquare and Mount Gay. It’s closer in profile to Spanish-style rum from companies like Bacardi and Don Q.
The tour continues from the museum to the production area, and depending on the day guests get to see an element of rum production; from blending to bottling.
-bitters sign-
Following the tour, the Master Blender at the distillery leads a tasting session and talks about how using a modern multi-column still is a part of Angostura’s dry and floral style of rum.
The tasting commences with samples of unaged light and heavy rum while small staves of an oak barrel are passed around to give some context.
The light rum is almost indistinguishable from Forres Park Puncheon, there’s icing sugar on the nose and on the palette along with dry notes of olive brine.
The heavy rum is more interesting, similar to Saint Nicholas Abbey White Rum, it’s complex with an almost creamy mouthfeel.
-unaged distillate-
Angostura 7 Year Old Rum is next. A minimum of seven years in once-used Bourbon barrels allows the flavors to develop in complex notes of brown sugar, wood, and orange blossoms with a background of smoke.
7 year old
The tasting continues with Angostura 1919, a tribute to a product of the same name first blended by J.B Fernandes with an interesting origin story.
When the Trinidad Government Rum Bond was burnt in 1932, the stock of aged rum stored there was thought by most to be ruined. Fernandes bought the casks, blended them and labeled them simply with the year that the casks were filled.
Heavily charred casks, along with barrels of heavy Caroni pot still rum had to be blended with lighter rum to balance the notes of smoke and darker nuances. Fernandes 1919 was Trinidad’s first vintage rum release, and when stocks ran out it was replaced by Fernandes VAT 19 Rum.
Angostura 1919 is a tribute to this blending tradition, it’s silky with mild notes of toasted coconut and chocolate ganache.
-1919-
The rum tasting concludes with Angostura 1787, the most recent addition to the range of premium rums. This rum is named for the year when the first sugar mill on the island was built. Plantations on the island were more focused on cocoa and coffee, and sugar only became an important export for Trinidad almost a century after rum was invented in Barbados.
The rum has deep notes of salted caramel and baked tropical fruit, with a long finish of mineral and molasses. This smooth finish comes from the addition of toasted sugar to the aged rum during blending. While common in South American rum companies, this practice is not done in more traditional rum producing islands like Barbados or Jamaica.
1787-
Following the rum tasting is a cocktail session with Raymond Edwards, an award-winning Mixologist who has represented Angostura at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, and the World Spirits Academy in Austria.
Edwards discusses “swizzle sticks” and the different devices used across the world to stir drinks. He also goes into details on combining “Strong, sweet, sour, and weak” components into delicious concoctions.
The lesson comes together in the Queen’s Park Swizzle, a drink that harkens to the era of early jet-set travel when hotels would offer exotic libations like the Jungle Bird or the Singapore Sling to their guests.
Edwards presents a cocktail that uses both rum and bitters called the
The drink was invented and named after a hotel in Trinidad’s Capital City, and the building can still be seen on the journey to a beach on Trinidad’s North Coast like Maracas Bay or Paria Beach.
-swizzle stuff-
Guests get the chance to build a drink with Angostura 7 Year Old Rum, Demarara simple syrup, fresh lime juice, and mint leaves with generous dashes of Angostura Aromatic Bitters. It’s swizzled with a bois lele and then packed with crushed ice.
-mixing swizzle-
Oils from the mint leaves, and zest of the squeezed lie rounds the bitters into a complex tartness. Balance comes from the demerara syrup and aged rum that offers oak and molasses to bring out the spiciness of the bitters. Every sip is rewarding and increasingly complex.
-swizzle on the table-
The final sip marks the end of an amazing cocktail, and the Angostura Tour and Tasting. Both bitter-sweet, flavor-filled uniquely Trinidadian experiences.
cestlavibe 