A FAMILY RUN RUM LEGEND IN ST. CROIX STARTS A FUND TO HELP THE CARIBBEAN PLAN FOR FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL DISRUPTION

BY EVAN MONROE

Since the first decades of the 1800s, the Nelthropp Family has made St. Croix its home, and has produced some of the world’s most remarkable rum there under the name Cruzan (a moniker derived from the term for the island’s native population the “Crucians.”) Still family operated, though now a part of the Beam Suntory family, the company’s increasingly climatically vulnerable position in the Caribbean has been a topic of parent company conversation and planning and has now spurred it to create a novel investment program, a bulwark against the inevitable future storms akin to Hurricane Maria, which did so much damage to Puerto Rico and other communities.

In June, Cruzan announced the launch of the Island Spirit Fund, which supports disaster relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands and across the United States, helping “rebuild and renew communities impacted by storms of all kinds,” according to a company statement. Established in partnership with Global Giving (a non profit that connects donors with grassroots projects around the world), the Fund’s central mission is the issuance of grants to local organizations in affected areas for both short term recovery and long term stability projects, including environmental rebuilding, community planning, workforce development, and job creation. Relief also includes food and other supplies and volunteer support.

As founding sponsor, Cruzan has committed $1 from every case of rum sold to the Fund, which is expected to generate nearly $1 million this year alone. Coupled with case matching donations from distributor partners and public fundraising, the company aims to raise $2 million by the end of this year.

“Last year, our island of St. Croix faced many challenges in the wake of Maria, but the resiliency of the Crucian people and our sense of community never wavered,” said Gary Nelthropp, the company’s master distiller. “That’s what we like to call ‘island spirit,’ and I’m honoured to help extend it to others, ensuring that no community, near or far, weathers a storm alone.”
“We’re proud to support our Cruzan family and neighbours in the U.S. Virgin Islands and beyond with the launch of the Fund,” said Rashidi Hodari, Cruzan’s VP of marketing. “Our roots in the Caribbean run deep, of course, and by joining together, we’re able to provide much needed physical and emotional support in the initial days, weeks and months following a disaster.”

For INDUSTRY’s professional taste testers, there’s simply no better way to help potentially storm battered communities prepare than with Cruzan’s Single Barrel one of the most remarkable buys out there at $27. Among the most contest awarded super premium rums in the world, it’s a hand crafted blend of aged rums 5 to 12 years old, which is then aged further in American white oak, resulting in smooth yet complex sipping that just about anywhere else would be twice the price.