IN its heyday, the thriving sugar industry across the Caribbean bore more than just cane fruit. Sugar factories left molasses in their wake and from the factories came distilleries, which produced what the world knows today as rum.

While the exact origins of rum are debated, the unique flavour profile of Jamaican rums over the centuries has built a reputation like none other, and among the contributors is the National Rums of Jamaica (NRJ).

Home to Monymusk Plantation Rum, Clarendon Distillers Limited, and Long Pond Distillers Limited, NRJ was established in 1980 when the Government decided to separate its ailing sugar factories from its rum producing distilleries.

Being wholly Government-owned at the time, the spirits company made a name for itself producing rum in bulk. A model that was maintained for three decades and, according to NRJ’s CEO Martha Miller, it was a model that worked well for the company.

With its unique, pungent taste of spices and the smooth, full-bodied characteristics which connoisseurs came to associate with it, rum from Jamaica was a coveted commodity. So National Rums found its niche; supplying to other major brands and bringing that one-of-a-kind taste and experience to the rest of the world.

Renowned alcohol brands and companies like Diageo and Sazerac, which own other brands such as Myers’ Rum and Captain Morgan, are just two of the famous names NRJ has worked with.

A quiet giant, NRJ had an impact that exceeded the years of the company itself. Its Long Pond Distillery is more than 250 years old and is still producing pot-still rums with complicated flavour profiles.

Coupled with the contributions of the similarly impressive, 200-plus-year-old Clarendon Distillery, NRJ cemented itself in the tale of the funky, spicy, emboldening liquor that continues to be told in movies, boardrooms, and exotic cocktail bars across the globe.

Kicking operations up a notch in 2011, Monymusk Plantation Rum was established and NRJ began making its own branded bottled rums and expressions.

There is the classic ‘White Overproof’, the ‘Special Gold’, and ‘Classic Gold’, which are all perfect for mixing, a ten-year-old ‘Special Reserve’ and a liqueur called ‘Whispering Breeze’ which has become popular among the younger crowd.

Meanwhile, the Trelawny-based Long Pond Distillery, produced a 15-year-old special edition, Long Pond ITP -15, in 2021.

NRJ continues to build a special part of the island’s rum culture abroad and its successes have come full circle — back to the grounds of the cane fields and distilleries in Clark’s Town and Lionel Town, where it all began.

The company has a growing and developing team, mostly from the neighbouring communities and while it builds a reputation for itself through rum, Miller shares that it is just as keen on building the communities that made it successful.

“From direct and indirect employment, expanding land under cane production, and giving back through school and environment initiatives, NRJ has set out to expand its impact in all that it does, at home and abroad,” said Miller.

The company, now partly owned by Demerara Distillers Limited and West Indies Rum Distilleries Limited, continues to make strides and when asked what the ultimate goal is, Miller said, “It is for more people to recognise the hidden gem that is National Rums of Jamaica