 Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum 63% | |
| Type | Rum |
|---|---|
| Region of origin | Jamaica |
| Introduced | 1825 |
J. Wray and Nephew Ltd. is a distiller, blender, and bottler of rum, originating and operating in Jamaica.
| Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum 63% | |
| Type | Rum |
|---|---|
| Region of origin | Jamaica |
| Introduced | 1825 |
J. Wray and Nephew Ltd. is a distiller, blender, and bottler of rum, originating and operating in Jamaica.
The history of J. Wray and Nephew began in 1825 when company founder John Wray opened 'The Shakespeare Tavern' in Kingston, Jamaica. Kingston grew steadily and eventually became Jamaica's capital in 1877, and The Shakespeare Tavern became highly successful.
In 1860 Wray brought in his nephew, Charles James Ward, to run the business side of the company. Ward was a dynamic and gifted entrepreneur, and under his leadership J. Wray and Nephew began a period of growth and prosperity. Wray retired in 1862 and died in 1870 leaving Ward as the sole proprietor of the business. [1]
Ward developed the tavern and liquor-dealing concern into one of Jamaica's largest exporting commercial enterprises. At the International Exhibition held in London in 1862, J. Wray and Nephew won three gold medals for its 10-, 15- and 25-year-old rums. The Company's rums also won several awards and prizes at international exhibitions in Paris – 1878, Amsterdam – 1883, New Orleans – 1885 and Jamaica 1891.
In 1916, Lindo Brothers & Co purchased Wray & Nephew. Almost immediately thereafter, the new company, J. Wray & Nephew Ltd., purchased the Appleton Estates, a plantation which had produced rum throughout the period of chattel slavery. The Appleton Estate distillery was established in 1749. [2]
In 1997, Joy Spence was made the master blender at J. Wray and Nephew – the first woman ever to occupy this position in the industry. [3]
At the end of 2012, the Campari Group purchased Wray & Nephew. [4] In 2021, the company launched Wray Forward, a program to support UK Black founders and businesses. [5]
Rums currently produced by J. Wray & Nephew include: [1]
| Brand | Notes |
|---|---|
| Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum | ABV 63%. Widely popular in Jamaica, often mixed by locals with Ting ('Wray & Ting'), sometimes used in rituals. [6] |
| J. Wray Gold Jamaican Rum | |
| Sainsbury's Superior Dark Rum | Gold medal, Rum category, 2010 International Wine and Spirit Awards [7] |
| Coruba Jamaica Rum | |
| Appleton Special Jamaica Rum | |
| Appleton Estates Jamaica Rums | Brands : Signature, Magnum Tonic Wine, 8 Year Old Reserve, 12 Year Old Rare Casks, 15 Year Old Black River Casks, Master Blender's Legacy, 21 Year Old Nassau Valley Casks, Blackwell Rum. The Estate encompasses over 4,452 ha (11,000 acres) of sugarcane, a sugarcane refinery, and the distillery. [8] |
| Koko Kanu | |
| Old Tom Gin |
Rare 1940s bottles of Wray and Nephew rum are valued at $54,000 a bottle. [9]
Bundaberg Rum, colloquially known as Bundy, is a dark rum owned by Diageo. It is produced in Bundaberg East, Queensland, Australia, by the Bundaberg Distilling Company. In 2010, the Bundaberg Distilling Company was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
Bacardi Limited is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardí brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 by Facundo Bacardí Massó, Bacardi Limited has been family-owned for seven generations, and employs more than 8,000 people with sales in approximately 170 countries. Bacardi Limited is the group of companies as a whole and includes Bacardi International Limited.
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. When Canadian distillers began adding small amounts of highly-flavourful rye grain to their mashes, people began demanding this new rye-flavoured whisky, referring to it simply as "rye". Today, as for the past two centuries, the terms "rye whisky" and "Canadian whisky" are used interchangeably in Canada and refer to exactly the same product, which generally is made with only a small amount of rye grain.
The Glenlivet distillery is a distillery near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky. It is the oldest legal distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. It was founded in 1824 and has operated almost continuously since.
Diageo plc is a British multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits. Distilleries owned by Diageo produce 40% of all Scotch whisky with over 24 brands, such as Johnnie Walker, J&B and Old Parr.
A master blender is an individual who develops specific blended spirits using a combination of spirits with different characteristics. For example, in the Scotch whisky industry, master blenders choose which single malts and grain whiskies to combine to make particular brands of blended whisky. A master blender is not the same thing as a master distiller, although one person may do both jobs at small craft distilleries. As the name suggests, the blender creates blends using spirits from different casks and is responsible for making sure the product remains consistent across different batches, while the distiller is either directly responsible for the mashing and distilling of spirits or simply holds the title as the administrative and marketing figurehead of the company.
Glen Grant distillery was founded in 1840 in Rothes, Speyside, and produces single malt Scotch whisky.
Forty Creek is a brand of Canadian whisky produced by the Italian beverage company Campari Group. The distillery is located in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. The brand and its distillery were privately launched in 1992 by John Hall, a first-generation whisky maker and the owner of Kittling Ridge Wines & Spirits, and were purchased by Campari Group in March 2014 for CA$186 million. Forty Creek Barrel Select is the main whisky produced under the Forty Creek brand name.
Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded beverage industry. It produces spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature product, Campari, its portfolio has been extended to include over 50 brands, including Aperol, Appleton, Cinzano, SKYY vodka, Espolón, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, and Forty Creek whisky.
As of 2006 most distilled spirits labelled as "whisky" in India were a form of Indian-made foreign liquor, commonly blends based on neutral spirits that are distilled from fermented molasses with only a small portion consisting of traditional malt whisky, usually about 10 to 12 percent. Outside India, such a drink would more likely be labelled a rum. According to the Scotch Whisky Association's 2013 annual report, unlike in the European Union (EU), "there is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky." Such molasses-based blends made up 90 percent of the spirits consumed as "whisky" in India in 2004, although whisky wholly distilled from malt and other grains, was also manufactured and sold. By 2004 shortages of wheat had been overcome and India was one of the largest producers. Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland in 2004. After expanding in Europe it was launched in India in 2010.
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Philippines, where Tanduay Distillers, the largest producer of rum worldwide, has its headquarters.
Desnoes and Geddes Limited (D&G) is a Jamaican brewer and beverage producer, best known for Red Stripe lager. It was formed in 1918 by Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes who combined their two shops into one business, originally producing soft drinks and distributing imported alcohol, and later opening the Surrey Brewery in Kingston.
Suntory Global Spirits, formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is the American subsidiary of the Japanese beverage company Suntory. The company produces alcoholic beverages.
Blackwell Rum is a Jamaican brand of rum, manufactured by J. Wray & Nephew Ltd.
The UK RumFest is a festival promoting rum and related alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom. The festival claims to be the largest exhibition of rum culture in the world.
Joy Spence is a Jamaican chemist and master blender at Appleton Estate. She was the first female master blender in the spirits industry.
Percy Lindo was a Jamaican banker, planter, industrialist and Member of the Legislative Council of Jamaica.
Roy Lindo (1910–1962) was a Jamaican industrialist, planter, political economist and politician.