The Tribune

The John Watling’s Distillery yesterday confirmed it had opened its Buena Vista Estate to complimentary tours, having to-date sold more than 4,000 bottles of its rum.

The historic Estate, founded in 1789, and overlooks Nassau Harbour and is the location where Bahamians hand-craft the compan’s small-batch Pale, Amber and Buena Vista rums.

The Estate features a production and museum-like tour, shopping and signature Bahamian cocktails at its Red Turtle Tavern. Within walking distance from the cruise ship port, it is is open from 10am-6pm, seven days a week.

“It is very important to us that John Watling’s Distillery and the Buena Vista Estate celebrate the rich history and heritage of the Bahamas. We have made sure that everything from our distillery to our rums is of the highest quality,” said Jose B. Portuondo, one of the founding partners.

“John Watling’s Distillery is a must-see stop in Nassau. In fact, visitors will find a multi-sensory experience which features history, architecture, natural beauty, sweeping views of the harbour and the chance to take home a bottle of John Watling’s rum”.

John Watling’s Distillery worked with the Antiquities, Monuments and Museum sCorporation (AMMC), the National Insurance Board (NIB), N&M Architects and Coastline Construction to refurbish the Buena Vista Estate to its original splendor.

The restoration also includes the construction of a 10,000 square foot, purpose-built barrel ageing and production facility as its storehouse.

Set on more than two acres of lush tropical gardens, The Buena Vista Estate has been part of Nassau, New Providence and the Bahamas since 1789. Construction started on the house the same year as the US Constitution was enacted; George Washington was elected pesident of the United States, and the French Revolution began.

The Estate has previously hosted the likes of Robert Mitchum and Bobby Kennedy through to Ed Sullivan and Joan Crawford. Buena Vista made its Hollywood debut when it was featured in the James Bond film, Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig.

The Distillery will be open to visitors daily, and will feature complimentary tours showcasing the history and heritage of the Bahamas. The tour begins in the entrance lobby of the Buena Vista house and includes antiques and prints dating back more than 300 years.

Photographic exhibits and displays have been provided by the descendants of the Buena Vista’s long list of residents, which includes Royal Governors, Chief Justices and Knights of the British Empire.

The tour then continues to the storehouse, where guests see how John Watling’s rums are bottled the old-fashioned way by Bahamian hands. They will see more than 1,000 ageing white oak barrels that fill the air with the ‘Angel’s Share’, which is the portion lost to evaporation during the many years the rum rests in the barrel.

Outside, visitors will also be able to see the newly discovered 200-year-old water well cut out of solid limestone, measuring 7.4 feet in diameter and 65 feet deep.

The well is situated in the area between the Buena Vista home and the Distillery, and it is thought it was carved out by slaves sometime from the inception of Buena Vista in 1789 to the enactment of the British Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.

The Distillery’s five founding members, Pepin and Leon Argamasilla; Jose and Mario Portuondo; and Guillermo Garcia-Lay, are also sixth generation members of a rum-producing family with more than a half century of ties to the Bahamas.

The rums began selling in March 2013, and are currently available on New Providence and several Family Islands.

They are fermented and distilled from hand-cut, freshly pressed sugar cane molasses, and all products made at John Watling’s Distillery are handcrafted and hand-packaged by Bahamian hands. Local materials and traditional English rum-making methods are used in production, and the bottles are adorned with a section of Sisal Plait that is woven by hand in the Bahamian islands of south Andros and Cat Island.