Cruzan Rum
Cruzan Rum is produced in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Their distillery was founded in 1760 and claims the distinction of “the most honored rum distillery in the world.”
Cruzan Rum has many rum products available:
- Cruzan Estate Light: aged two years.
- Cruzan Estate Dark: aged two years, available in both 80- and 151-proof.
- Cruzan Estate Diamond: aged five years.
- Cruzan 151°
- Cruzan Single Barrel: aged up to 12 years.
- Cruzan Clipper: an overproof amber rum.
- Cruzan Tropical Rums (raspberry, coconut, mango, vanilla, pineapple, banana, orange, black cherry, citrus, and guava)
- Cruzan Rum Cream: a blend of Cruzan light rum, pure Irish cream, caramel, vanilla and other flavors.
- Cruzan Black Strap: a traditional, heavier rum made from the blackstrap molasses of sugar cane, noted for its low content of fusel alcohol.
Cruzan Rum also makes a pure cane distillate alcohol (in 189-proof), which can be found for sale in the medicine sections of many grocery stores in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The brand is pronounced: Cru-Shun (not Cru-Zen)
History
Cruzan's roots are in Old England, but it was from Denmark in the 18th century when the family sailed to the New World and landed in Saint Croix, where they found a home of sugar cane and a new life. Cruzan Rum Distillery was founded in 1760, named after the islanders living there: Cruzans. Saint Croix was a hugely profitable island because of the sugar it can produce and nations, over the years, have battled for the island because of the desire for the converted sugar. Rum was produced in Saint Croix since the time sugar was created.
Since 1760, the Cruzan Rum Distillery has advanced their technology and rum creation from something more crude to a smoother, cleaner rum using new distillation processes. Today, all Cruzan's rum products are made from Molasses; they no longer grow cane on the island, so all molasses are imported.
Today, a large part of their industry arrives from flavored rums. The United States is a large consumer in flavored rums, and Cruzan was one of the firsts (claims to be the first) to produce flavored rums, a trend that has been continued by many rum brands.
Cruzan Rum is owned by Beam Global Spirits & Wines, INC., a subsidiary of Fortune Brands, the company that also owns Hornitos Tequila. For eight generations, through various change in corporate ownership, the distillery has been managed by the Nelthropp family.
Awards
In 2000, Cruzan Single Barrel won “World's Best Rum” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.