I must say right away that I am absolutely indifferent to rum. That is, I do not drink rum and I am not a fan of rum and a lover of rum.
But! I did not regret for a minute that the Georgetown sightseeing tour brought us to the rum factory, where we spent 30-40 minutes. Because if you don’t want to go to the sea, to the beach, if you have already taken a swim and sunbathed, you are driven by curiosity and a desire to see something new and interesting - go to the rum factory.
Many go there specifically to buy rum and rum cakes. Price - quality there are quite attractive for tourists.
Today I will show you my photos from the factory, as well as photos from the official website of the factory, because, of course, I will not take such cool professional photos that are displayed on the factory website myself on the go in 30 minutes of inspection.
So, the factory of rum and rum cakes TORTUGA.
Maybe there are a lot of people among you who know this brand, but I met him for the first time.
After reading about this brand, I learned that the Tortuga brand of rum and rum cakes has existed since 1984, known to more than 20 million tourists and cruise ship passengers who visit the Cayman Islands.
And rum cakes (Caribbean Rum Cakes) from the Cayman Islands for the eighth year in a row received the first place as the "Best cruise souvenir" according to Porthole Cruise Magazine.
Tortuga products are sold in gift and specialty grocery stores, gourmet stores throughout the Caribbean and North America, and in onboard gift shops on nearly 100 cruise ships and ship to 70 countries worldwide.
In fact, we were brought to the showroom, to the store.
This is not production if you think you will visit the factory to view the production cycle. We thought so too. But no.
You simply visit the store from the factory, where you can buy all the products manufactured at the factory price. Assortment of rum, rum cakes and souvenirs.
The shop is decorated with figurines of pirates and female pirates.
I show a pirate, but I won’t show a pirate with an open neckline, because then you need to show my husband, who put his arms around her and clung to this beauty’s chest. 🤣😊😁
For the curious, I can't help but tell the story of the creation of the brand and the factory.
In 1984, while working for Cayman Airways, Captain Robert Hamati and his wife Carlene, a supervisor, founded the Tortuga Rum Company, Ltd. They introduced the first rums to the Cayman Islands, primarily as a souvenir for the growing tourist and cruise passenger business.
In 1987 they opened the first duty-free liquor store in Tortuga, and later that year introduced the world famous Caribbean rum pie.
For years, Carlin has baked rum pies for special occasions using a family recipe from four generations. Friends in the food business encouraged her to make her part of the Tortuga line. First seen at a local restaurant, her delicious rum cake was an instant hit.
By 1990, demand was so great that the company expanded into a bakery, making its cake the Caribbean's first commercial rum pie.
In 1991, a vacuum seal packing machine was added. This process immediately extended the shelf life of the cakes to twelve months, or indefinitely if refrigerated or frozen, ideal for distribution and shipping anywhere in the world.
In 1997, Tortuga Imports/Tortuga Rum Cake Company opened in Miami, Florida with worldwide distribution, mail order and online sales. The company, led by Robert's daughter Monique and her husband Marcus Simmonds, has been on the INC5000 list of the fastest growing privately held businesses in the United States for several years in a row.
On January 2, 2012, Tortuga Rum, Tortuga Imports, and Tortuga CRC Jamaica and Tortuga Barbados/Baker's Choice franchise bakeries combined their regional interests and merged into a new international food group, Tortuga International Holdings, Limited. At the same time, Jamaica Producers Group, Ltd. (JP), an established international food specialty group, has made a strategic investment in Tortuga International.
Marcus Simmonds was named Chief Executive Officer and Monique Hamati-Simmonds was appointed Marketing Director at Tortuga International. Robert and Carlin Hamati continue to own Tortuga Liquors, their wholesale and retail liquor distributor in Grand Cayman, and are shareholders of Tortuga International.
If we talk about rum cakes (cakes, cakes), then their range is very large, just like the look and packaging. All flavors can be tasted at the tasting right there, just like rum.
By the way, this is another moment of love by tourists of such places: rum tasting.
Where else can you try many types of rum and rum cakes at once? 😊✌
In one of the photos above, I already showed a shelf with rum cakes.
For example, here are some other rum cakes in which packages you can see and buy there.
And here you have small sweets with the taste of various rums.
They also have a large selection of coffees with rum.
I think they do mailing to many countries of the world.
It remains to show you photos of the assortment of rum from the store.
We visited the factory and went to see the local beach.
About our vacation on the beach next time.
To be continued....
All photos are from the author's archive.
Read the beginning of the cruise here:
Western Caribbean Cruise 2018.
Cruise ship "Carnival Magic".
Wedding anniversary on a cruise ship.
Cruising in the Western Caribbean. Day 1.
Cruising in the Western Caribbean. Day 2. Grand Cayman. George town.