The new visitor center at Diageo’s Captain Morgan rum distillery gives a capsule look at the history of the Virgin Islands and of rum – but at its opening Tuesday there was plenty of thought to the future.
And that future included this three-word challenge from officials of the second largest selling rum brand in the world to the leader – "Watch out, Bacardi!"
A host of company and public officials and community members were on hand for the opening of The Captain Morgan Experience, a $5 million, 7,500-square-foot visitor center at the facility, which for the last 17 months has produced all the Captain Morgan’s rum for the world.
The opening was the latest development in the company’s history with the U.S. Virgin islands, but not necessarily the last. The ceremony came three years, 10 months and a day after the announcement that Diageo had agreed to build the distillery on St. Croix. It was two years and one month after the company broke ground on the facility, with Gov. John deJongh Jr., Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis and Diageo reps wielding gold-colored shovels, then striking the "Captain Morgan" pose. And it was 17 months after the facility was opened on a timetable that many observers in the Virgin Islands had said was impossibly short.
But the company came through, hitting its self-imposed deadlines, coming in on time and under budget.
In working with Diageo over the years, deJongh said, "There are very few ‘can’ts’ along the way." That kind of attitude makes them an ideal corporate partner for the territory and a model of how to move forward, he said.
The partnership formed between the Virgin Islands government and Diageo Brands “required us to be competitive, to believe in ourselves and to have faith in the largest spirit company in the world,” de Jongh said.
And it’s more than the 85 jobs Diageo has created, or the $185 million it invested, or the $650,000 it has contributed to programs in the community, the governor added. On the day Hovensa announced it was closing its refinery on St. Croix, causing an economic upheaval, the governor said the first phone call he received was from Diageo officials asking what they could do to help the territory move forward.
David Gosnell, president of Diageo Global Supply, called Tuesday’s event "an opportunity to celebrate what’s been accomplished in the last two years and to look forward to what’s to come."
It was Gosnell who threw down the gauntlet to the brand that holds the title of top-selling rum in the world. Diageo’s goal for Captain Morgan is to continue growing the brand until it supplants Bacardi at the top of the list.
The facility is already well on its way, he said, producing one and a half million proof gallons of run a month. If all that rum were bottled and the bottles laid end to end, he said they would stretch all the way to New York and back. Every month.
In the meantime, he said later, plans continue to be developed for growing the brand and adding to the investment on the island. While he said he can’t discuss what those talks cover, he said he expects to be back on St. Croix before the year is out.
Dan Kirby, who as vice president of Diageo USVI runs the plant and is the local face of Captain Morgan on St. Croix, said his goal is simple.
"To get this plant running on all cylinders and make it one of the most productive distilleries in the world," he said.
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony in which the officials slashed the ribbon with cutlasses, energetic tour guide John Starr led people through the exhibits.
From the outside, the light grey cube of the building is not terribly imposing. Standing next to the steel towers of the distillery, the visitors center doesn’t look as large as it proves to be on the inside. But once through the doors, the visitor is treated to a colorful look at the past.
Bob White, a local resident and history buff, called the display "a very good snapshot" of the history of the island from before Europeans arrived, the colonial period up to its purchase by the United States in 1917, and its growth as a U.S. territory.
A movie theater can seat 200 on rows of padded benches, and on Tuesday it was showing a history of the building of the distillery and visitor center, focusing on the Captain Morgan character interacting with Kirby and Lt. Gov. Francis, and leading the company employees in a dance.
But the accent of the center is on the rum, of course. The displays include both a short history of rum and of the historical privateer Henry Morgan, who after his audacious raids on Maracaibo and Panama City ended up as lieutenant governor of Jamaica, charged with stamping out the pirate trade. There are also interactive, touch-screen displays.
The center also includes a bar, where Tuesday two bartenders from Diageo’s New York operation were mixing rum daiquiris and other rum-based concoctions. And through the next doorway was a gift shop where visitors can buy T-shirts, hats and other goods branded with the Captain Morgan logo, as well as rum.
DeJongh likened the Captain Morgan Experience to other Diageo centers which focus on brand development – including the Johnny Walker House in Shanghai, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and the Scotch Whisky Heritage Center in Edinburgh.
David Cutter, chairman of the board of Diageo USVI, said he expects the facility to become a destination tourist attraction.
Diageo is working with local taxis, tour operators, cruise ships, airlines and hotels to help generate traffic. The visitor center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, featuring a roughly 40-minute tour.
The admission fee will be $3 for local residents, seniors and children and $10 for other adults. Only visitors 18 years of age or older will be permitted to sample the rum. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
The visitor center is available for special events. For more information, call 713-5654.
