REMY COINTREAU, the French alcoholic beverage company that owns Mount Gay Distilleries, has purchased the 330-acre Mount Gay plantation for about $9.7 million.
The acquisition, which followed the same company’s $19 million capture of the Mount Gay Rum Refinery in May last year, signals its intention to expand rum production in Barbados.
That’s based on reports from several international spirits industry journals and information from Remy Cointreau’s two most recent financial statements.
According to the information, the purchase of the northern plantation took place in January, and Mount Gay is planning to use it to develop a “luxury rum brand”, said Remy Cointreau chief executive officer Valerie Chapoulaud-Floquet.
“We saw this unique opportunity as a sign to pursue our goal to create a true luxury rum brand. Here in Barbados, we now gather together all the elements to foster the legacy of Mount Gay Distilleries: authenticity, history and land, with a single estate rum, a genuine Barbados historical ‘chateau’. This is just the start of another exciting adventure for Mount Gay Distilleries and Remy Cointreau,” she said.
Officials said the acquisition included the sugar cane plantation that supplied the distillery during the period its rum production was being refined by Sir John Gay Alleyne in the 18th century.
News of this development comes at a time when Remy Cointreau is reporting increased international sales for Mount Gay Rum.
“Mount Gay achieved double digit growth over this first quarter, thanks to very favourable mix effects (success of the Black Barrel and XO qualities), in the [United States], as well as in travel retail, Barbados and France,” the company said in its financial statement for the three month period ended June 30.