Rémy denies Mount Gay distillery closure

Rémy Cointreau has insisted its Mount Gay rum distillery in Barbados remains in operation following reports in the local press that it was to close.

Last week reports in the island’s local press sparked rumours that the Mount Gay Distillery – Barbados’s oldest rum distillery – was to close due to financial difficulties.

However Rémy Cointreau, which owns the Mount Gay brand, confirmed it is in fact The Rum Refinery – which provides liquid for Mount Gay Rum along with the Mount Gay Distillery itself – which had temporarily ceased production.

Raphael Grisoni, managing director of Mount Gay Distilleries Limited, said: “The operations of Mount Gay Distilleries Limited have not been affected by recent events within The Rum Refinery of Mount Gay Limited, and our production of Mount Gay Rum continues as normal.”

Despite a “historical and supply relationship” between the two distilleries, a spokesperson added that the two distilleries are “not synonymous” and are “two separate and distinct entities”.

Barbados Today had reported that a letter was sent to The Rum Refinery workers stating that the distillery “had ceased its operations, pending a decision by the shareholders on the future of the company”, but did not make clear the independence of this distillery to the Mount Gay Distillery itself, leading to confusion among members of the trade and public.

Both distilleries are based in Mount Gay in St Lucy and The Rum Refinery is part of Mount Gay Limited.

Mount Gay Distilleries was acquired French spirits company Rémy Cointreau in 1989.