As Bonaire is a very dry island, so dry in fact that it is one of the best solar salt producers of the world. The terrain is harsh and as a result no one ever tried to grow sugar here. Now Grenada and most of the other Windward Islands this is not so. With good rainfall over summer when the cane needs to grow and cheep slave labour the islands found their fortune waiting in sugar. When the slaves we’re freed and sugar prices declined the sugar industry all but collapsed. However there are some aspects of the sugar industry that will not go down.... well it’s because it does go down so well especially on the beach at sunset with the fruits of the tropics that it has survived. Rum is the drink of the Caribbean and where ever you go you will find rum punch waiting to wash the sweat of the day away. For the more hardy the rum heads up to 70%+ alcohol and you too can start your fire or run your car on this. All the islands have their grog shops and some more of these than any other shop. Touring around Grenada we visited one of the oldest distilleries on the island. Nothing has changed for centuries and the rum is produced in the same old traditional way. Hand cut cane is brought in and crushed in a large roller that is driven by a water wheel. 
From here it runs down into a building where they heat the sap to evaporate some of the liquid to raise the sugar content.
Now seeing this will more than put you off rum so do not study the next photo too carefully. 
This grey soggy mess then gets pumped into an open vat where it is left for over a week. Who knows what all happens to fall in here but that must account for the little variation in flavour with different batches. The slop is left to be attacked by all the wonderful goodies in the air that help it to turn your stomach... I mean that helps to ferment what’s in the vat (neighbours cat and lost rat included). 
Now just as some would give up hope for this mix it gets pumped out into a large copper still.
Some good old fellow stokes the fire and gets the brew a boiling (not quite as alcohol evaporates at 35Deg)... so let’s say he sets it a simmering and everyone goes to the testing side to wait on the first lethal drops of liquid. 
If they are not lethal enough ie you car won’t start then they send it back into the still to give it another go. Once a crystal clear pure 70%+ proof flows out of the pipe it is then placed in a holding vat to be bottled. Now you would think this was export grade, but due to restrictions on flammable goods on aeroplanes they do have to water it down to below 70% as stipulated by by-law sub section xxx of the aviation.....Yeah right! Oh well it works well on a yacht. When you catch a big fish that is a little less enthusiastic about being on your deck than you are about it... celebrate and pour some on its gills and it soon settles. Cheers!
From here it runs down into a building where they heat the sap to evaporate some of the liquid to raise the sugar content.
Now seeing this will more than put you off rum so do not study the next photo too carefully. 
This grey soggy mess then gets pumped into an open vat where it is left for over a week. Who knows what all happens to fall in here but that must account for the little variation in flavour with different batches. The slop is left to be attacked by all the wonderful goodies in the air that help it to turn your stomach... I mean that helps to ferment what’s in the vat (neighbours cat and lost rat included). 
Now just as some would give up hope for this mix it gets pumped out into a large copper still.
Some good old fellow stokes the fire and gets the brew a boiling (not quite as alcohol evaporates at 35Deg)... so let’s say he sets it a simmering and everyone goes to the testing side to wait on the first lethal drops of liquid. 
If they are not lethal enough ie you car won’t start then they send it back into the still to give it another go. Once a crystal clear pure 70%+ proof flows out of the pipe it is then placed in a holding vat to be bottled. Now you would think this was export grade, but due to restrictions on flammable goods on aeroplanes they do have to water it down to below 70% as stipulated by by-law sub section xxx of the aviation.....Yeah right! Oh well it works well on a yacht. When you catch a big fish that is a little less enthusiastic about being on your deck than you are about it... celebrate and pour some on its gills and it soon settles. Cheers!
The people are very friendly and everyone can speak good English. There is a mix of old and new buildings around with many modern flats along the waterfront. There has been a lot of activity as the large cruise ships pull in here and disgorge their load into waiting taxis and the streets of Bonaire. 
