West Indies Rum Distillery Limited

What it is

The West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD), also known as Stade’s Rum Distillery, is located in Blackrock, Barbados, and was established in 1893 by George Stade. It produces its own brands of rum, provides rum for other brands, and its production accounts for around 85% of Barbados’ rum.

With around 62 employees, WIRD’s operation includes a distillery, an aging and distribution warehouse, and a bottling plant, with a production capacity of approximately 9,000,000 litres of pure alcohol a year and warehouse space for 1,500,000 litres in stainless steel tanks and 20,000 American White Oak barrels. WIRD also owns 33.3% of National Rums of Jamaica, which runs the Clarendon and Long Pond distilleries.

The distillery is home to two brands: Planteray, one of the world’s most iconic premium rums, which won Rum Brand of the Year at The Spirits Business Awards 2024, and the historic Stade’s Rum, revived to tell the story of this remarkable place.

Who owns it

Goddard Enterprises Limited sold its 92% stake in the 124-year-old West Indies Rum Distillery to French company Maison Ferrand for about US$25.7 million in 2017. Following a compulsory buy-out of remaining public shareholders, the shares were delisted from the Barbados Stock Exchange on 22 February 2018.

The purchase marked Maison Ferrand’s first distillery acquisition outside of France. Maison Ferrand is the owner of the Planteray rum brand, with global distribution in 68 countries.

The precise current ownership split within Maison Ferrand is not disclosed in available sources.

Who runs it

Alexandre Gabriel, owner and master blender of Maison Ferrand, is the parent-company principal, while Andrew Hassell serves as managing director of the distillery. Don Benn is the award-winning master distiller on site.

Lana Dottin serves as accountant at the distillery. No group CFO or chair is separately disclosed for WIRD in available sources.

The money, in plain words

Because WIRD is now privately held, it files no public accounts. No revenue, profit margin, or balance-sheet figures are available to verify from primary sources.

What is known is the strategic direction: WIRD has committed to reinvesting all profits back into the distillery in Barbados, growing its operations and targeting a 40% increase in employment.

The distillery’s six operational stills can make at least 15 million litres of pure alcohol per year, placing WIRD among the Caribbean’s largest rum makers; and the distillery has been laying down far more casks since Gabriel acquired it, with nearly every space now filled with rum aging in barrels. Around 40,000 casks of WIRD-distilled rum are currently aging in Barbados, and that number is expected to grow substantially.

That growing stock of aged rum represents rising asset value — the longer it sleeps, the more it is worth.

What it is doing now

In July 2026, Stade’s West Indies Rum Distillery’s Citadelle Bajan won a Gold Medal at the 2026 Gin Masters, earning Barbados international recognition for its distilling industry. Citadelle Bajan, distilled at Stade’s in Barbados, is a limited edition that extends Maison Ferrand’s Citadelle Gin brand into the Caribbean.

This follows the January 2024 global rename of Plantation Rum to Planteray Rum, with the first product under the new name — Planteray Cut & Dry Coconut Rum — marking the result of four years of experimentation combining Barbadian rum with locally sourced coconuts. The distillery is also on track to be 100% carbon-neutral by 2030, using photovoltaic panels to generate electricity on site.

What to watch

• Geographical Indication (GI) dispute: WIRD produces around 80% of the island’s rum, but a proposed Barbados GI could force Maison Ferrand to remove “Barbados” from its Planteray labelling because some expressions use secondary ageing outside Barbados and added sugar. The outcome will directly affect the brand’s most valuable assets.
• Aged-stock value: With 40,000-plus barrels maturing and capacity still growing, WIRD’s balance sheet is building quietly. If Maison Ferrand ever seeks outside investors or exits, those stocks are the primary prize.
• Diversification: WIRD is now distilling gin as well as rum, broadening beyond its core. Whether the distillery becomes a full multi-spirit platform — or a niche prestige rum address — is the key strategic question for the decade.
• Transparency: As a private company, WIRD discloses no public financials. Any future regulatory change in Barbados requiring greater disclosure, or a potential parent-company transaction, would be the trigger for the first real look at the numbers.

This is news, not investment advice.