Yo-Ho 'hic' Ho and a Bottle of 'hic' Rhum - LJ Silver

Rumour had it that with a little coaxing one might gain entry to the local Rhum Distillery for a look around, and with even more luck a 'taster' or two may be forthcoming. At normal pace the walk would take no more than 20 minutes, but of course at 'birding' speed a good deal longer.

First off GREY KINGBIRD was added to the List,

but there were no surprises finding PALMCHAT.

HISPANIOLAN LIZARD CUCKOO
is a little more difficult, but has become a daily sighting.

 

 A lucky look at the easily identifiable WHITE-NECKED CROW

when they are in full 'guttural' voice, and

 

 

this fine specimen male

AMERICAN KESTREL

was the second addition today.

This is also the nearest I have been to 

PALM CROW.

BUTTERFLY

while today these 'spotted' LIZARDs

seemed to be covering the forest floor.

 

Some Blooming nice Creepers just before arrival at the

 Sugar Cane Fields

 

 the Raw Materials

 some of which has been recently Cropped.

Looking to the distance and seeing this pall of 'white smoke', I could only conclude that they had either elected a Haitian Pope or the 'first mash' of the day was underway at the Distillery?

 

 

Met at the Main Gate by the Security Officer

there seemed little doubt that I would gain entry,

being directed to the Office Complex to be met by 

Alan - Head of Human Resources.

He in turn introduced me to Felix, one of his staff,

 

who would act as Tour Guide.

Not of a lot of interest, these are new hoppers about to be fitted.

In the yard piles of freshly cut Cane were being

 

fork-lifted into the

Hopper

 

feeding the Conveyer Belt to the Crusher.

While the residue fibers were carted off elsewhere

the juice was filtered into these tanks

looking totally unpalatable.

From there the juice is pumped to settling tanks for a 24 hours lay-over

while 'fella my lad' keeps the area clear of what is left of the cane.

 

The liquor then finds its way into these

VATs where under the watchful eye of the

CHIEF DISTILLER

(Felix left)

it is mixed with 96° proof alcohol.

I was, of course, saving myself for later so only supped a pint! 

Felix bathed my hand in this and apart from the terrific smell,

the alcohol evaporated in under 10 seconds.

Here it stands for 72 hours before being

 

 

 

decanted into these French White Oak Tuns

for further fermentation.

 No other wood is used in the process,

especially these Barrels where 'aging' takes place,

(20 years in the case of the *****)

Packaging is produced in Venezuela,

 

and Bottles in Costa Rica.

 

These are firstly loaded into the system and

sent for 'washing' in 'hot rhum', which is recycled only for washing,

(the only time I have voluntarily taken 6 showers in one day)

before being filled with the 'darker than amber' nectar!

Caps are fitted before

carriage to the

 

Packaging Section

and onward to distribution.

When we arrived at this neat little al fresco bar I thought,

time for a little Yo-Ho-Ho but no such luck.

Straight past the Loading Bay for the residue cane

used for animal feed,

and into the street - not a 'HIC' to be heard!
A unique experience for me, having drunk a bath-full of the stuff in my time,
and most enlightening and interesting, despite the lack of a 'tot'!