Clarke’s Court

Woburn area of St. David’s parish,
Grenada
Grenada

Type: Wine Tasting
Cost: EC$5 per person.

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Clarke’s Court is in the Woburn area of St. David’s parish. Approaching from either direction, you can see the cane fields. If you’re not familiar with sugar cane, it is a tall, slender stalk growing straight up to a height of six or seven feet. The leaves are sharp and can easily slash through clothing or skin. Large trucks transport the cane from the fields to the distillery. They are weighed upon arrival before unloading. The cane is then fed onto a conveyor belt, bringing it inside the building, where steam-powered knives strip the cane. The stalks are then crushed, squeezing out the juice. The waste cane is thrown into boilers as fuel. The remaining juice is mixed with white lime and water in heated tanks. The lime and sediment sink to the bottom and the juice is extracted through evaporation into another tank. The product at this stage is a sugar syrup, to which yeast is added. Fermentation takes three days, at which time it is 12% alcohol. This mixture is distilled to a 96% alcohol content and then blended down to a 69% solution. It rests in holding tanks for six weeks, before being tested by government inspectors, and is then bottled for consumption. Much of the machinery in the distillery is British-made. The weighbridge was built by H. Pooley & Son in 1935, the boilers made by Mirrlees Watson & Co. of Glasgow, and other workings from Birmingham and London. Engineering museums in Great Britain would cherish these pieces and perhaps be surprised that they are still in use and producing 40,000 gallons of rum every year. Much of the machinery in the distillery is British-made. The weighbridge was built by H. Pooley & Son in 1935, the boilers made by Mirrlees Watson & Co. of Glasgow, and other workings from Birmingham and London. Engineering museums in Great Britain would cherish these pieces and perhaps be surprised that they are still in use and producing 40,000 gallons of rum every year.