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Cruzan Rum Distillery

By Chris Goodier

St. Croix has been acclaimed for its fine rums since the 18th century, when sugar cane fields sprawled across the island. Danish landowners reaped fortunes by selling their sugar, molasses and rum to eager buyers in Europe and the American colonies, and General George Washington even rationed St. Croix rum to his Continental Army.

The Nelthropp family began making rum in the early 1800s and was poised to resume production as soon as the American prohibition ended in 1933. Family members still oversee operation of the Cruzan Rum Distillery — the last remaining rum factory on the U.S. Virgin Islands — and gather daily to taste and fine-tune the product.

You can take a close look at the process that turns molasses, rain water and yeast into the island's favorite export on a tour of the distillery. A guide will lead you up ladders to catwalks, where you can peer into huge open vats of fragrant, boiling brew. Gazing up at giant stills, you'll learn how a master distiller removes the fusel oil that causes hangovers. After walking through warehouses where rum is aged in wooden barrels and filtered through charcoal, adults are invited to belly up to the bar for generous samples of the product while kids have a soft drink.

Tours are offered continuously on weekdays (except for holidays) from 9-11:30 a.m. and from 1-4:15 p.m. The cost is $4 for adults and $1 for minors ages 6-18. Shorts or slacks are recommended tour garb. Estate Diamond, Route 64, west of the airport near Frederiksted. www.cruzanrum.com

Planters' Punch

In the 18th century, planters came home from the fields, put their feet up and sipped a potent brew at the end of the day. Try this at home:

2 oz. Cruzan Dark Rum
1?2 oz. Cointreau liqueur
11?2 oz. orange juice
11?2 oz. pineapple juice
1?2 oz. lime juice
1 tbsp. fine sugar or sugar syrup (optional)
Dash of grenadine

Mix with ice, pour into a tall glass, float a little more dark rum on top and serve garnished with a maraschino cherry and slice of orange.