Recommended Experience – John Watling’s Distillery

I sip on bartender’s Wilfred Sands’ famous Rum Dum, tasting hints of John Watling’s Pale and Amber Rum – family to the rums now fondly referred to as “The Spirit of The Bahamas.” Overhead I hear the Bahamian sounds of the 1930s and quietly think to myself, while the breeze sweeping over Nassau’s harbour hasn’t likely changed much in the past 224 years the view looking out to it certainly has. Almost in perfect tune with the thought a Bahamian woman, cane in hand, walks in to the distillery’s Red Turtle Tavern and says, “I remember the good ole’ days.” Not surprising she should as here, at the Buena Vista Estate, the good ole’ days can not easily be forgotten; even now that it’s the homestead to John Watling’s Distillery, a site where Bahamians hand-craft small-batch Pale, Amber and Buena Vista rums. Behind several coats of fresh paint and well-appointed crown molding, stands – rightfully in tact, the skeleton of what once was. As I relinquish my corner table in the Red Turtle Tavern I begin a complimentary tour of the historically accurate restoration of the Buena Vista Estate, which was completed to include interiors of leather spun fans, an original fireplace, antiques and floor-to-ceiling prints of the old Bahamas – many which date back more than 300 years. Referring to the cliche saying that here “the old meets new” would be quite the understatement as within these walls, where they exist in perfect synchrony, the line of rums have been available for no more than two months. That however is not what strikes me most. It’s the respectful nod to Bahamian history that John Watling’s Distillery gives – going so far as to embossing each bottle with 1789, the year the Buena Vista Estate was built. Which is admittedly what led me to recognize John Watling’s strength in numbers – as seen here:

2 – Years the John Watling’s “Pale” rum has aged in American White Oak Barrels to give it that cane and molasses aroma with herbal notes and a smooth taste with a crispy and dry finish.

3 – Years the John Watling’s “Amber” rum has aged in American White Oak Barrels to give it that nutty walnut aroma with hints of vanilla and a smooth taste with a round warming finish.

Buena Vista in the early 1950s and Buena Vista today, as home to John Watling’s Distillery. 4 – Years the Buena Vista building was unoccupied before the estate was restored to become John Watling’s Distillery. 

4.5 – Inches of sisal plait wrapped around each bottle neck, as sourced and hand-woven in the Bahamian Islands of South Andros and Cat Island. 

5 – Stages of the hand-bottling process

5 – Years the John Watling’s “Buena Vista Estate” rum has aged in American White Oak Barrels.

6 – Barrels line the back bar of the Red Turtle Tavern. 

10 – Steps in the production process.

1. Sourcing the finest hand cut sugar cane
2. Transforming the hand cut sugar cane into molasses
3. Fermenting the molasses into alcohol
4. Distilling the fermented molasses in order to separate the alcohol from the waste
5. Pre-blending the different distillates before it is aged
6. Charcoal filtering the pre-blended distillate before it is aged
7. Aged from one to six years
8. Blending the distillate with Bahamian water to reduce the strength to 40% alcohol
9. Hand-filling each bottle
10. Hand-labelling each

15 – Minute walk from Nassau’s Cruise Port: Festival Place to John Watling’s Distillery on Delancy St.

23 – Roosters roaming about the property freely, creating a feeling of nostalgia for a time gone by.

24– Planks of original Abaco Pine can be found behind the retail check-out counter.

40 – Stops on the self-guided tour of John Watling’s Distillery.

175 – Years of rum-making experience went in to creating John Watling’s rum, as the five founding members; Pepin and Leon Argamasilla, Jose and Mario Portuondo and Guillermo Garcia-Lay, of John Watling’s Distillery are also sixth generation members of the Bacardi rum-producing family, who have more than a half century tie to The Bahamas.

200 – Age of the water-well discovered on property as cut out of solid limestone, measuring 7.4 feet in diameter and 65 feet deep. Assumed to be hand carved by slaves sometime from the inception of the Buena Vista Estate in 1789 to the enactment of the British Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.

216 – Ageing white oak barrels that fill the distillery’s air with ‘Angel’s Share,’ which is the portion of rum lost to evaporation during the many years the rum rests in the barrel.

312 – Bottles hand-filled, corked and stamped each day.

750ml – Of rum is poured in each hand-filled, hand-corked and hand-labeled bottle of John Watling’s Rum.

1,600 – Ounces of Rum Dums that inventor Uncle Will (Wilfred Sands) shakes per day.

1789 – The year the Buena Vista Estate was first built by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen DeLance, who following the revolutionary war was appointed Chief Justice of The Bahamas. Construction started on the house the same year as the United States Constitution was enacted; George Washington was elected President of the United States, and the start of the French Revolution. The estate was described by The Islander Magazine in 1974 to be ” grounds (which) mark the history of a nation, times of battle, slaves and the building of old forts.”

2006 – The year Buena Vista Estate made its Hollywood debut in the James Bond film Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig.

4,000 – Bottles of John Watling’s rum have been sold to date.

5,000 – Gallons of water are held in the on-property cedar tank.

 8,640 – Square footage of storage space

101,930.4 – Square footage of property on which John Watling’s Distillery operates.

That said, be sure to include John Watling’s Distillery on your Nassau, New Providence Island Itinerary.

P.S. John Watling’s Distillery is also a beautiful location for an intimate Island “I Do” affair.