A H Riise Rum
A H Riise RumA.H Riise developed his rum in the Danish West Indies. Thanks to A.H Riises decedent Peter Kelstrup, we know a great deal about how the famous pharmacist developed his renown rum brands. The history behind the production of rum on the West Indies is quite dramatic.Initially, when Denmark colonized the West Indian islands of St. John and St. Thomas, they were uninhabited. Gradually Denmark introduced a new variety of crops, established plantations with slave labor- and ran into numerous conflicts and confrontations with rivaling nations. The first Danish Governor of the West Indies rather unconventionally granted pirates the right to sail under the Danish flag to increase the fleet. In the capital of St. Thomas you can find “Skytsborg”- Blackbeards Castle, named after the famous pirate. This unusual practice was put to a stop around 1755 when the Danish state overtook the administration of the Danish West Indies.This included St. Croix that had been taken over by the Crown in 1733 from the Danish West India and Guinea Company. |