If you’re a spirits aficionado, you know that plenty of nations have their own landmark brands. In Belize, the Travellers Liquors family of libations stands atop the nation’s burgeoning industry for myriad reasons. But perhaps the most important is this brand’s heritage. A family enterprise, Travellers was launched decades ago by legendary Master Blender Omario Perdomo in 1953, and it remains in the hands of the Perdomo family to this day. Meanwhile, it’s the variety of libations that this company continues to produce over the years that makes this one award-winning enterprise.
Travellers: Belize’s Master Blenders
The master blender is to rum what the master distiller is to American whiskey…blending rums of different ages to produce a smooth finished product with the desired taste profile is part science and part art, and it takes decades to perfect.”
Of course, the Perdomo family did not rely solely on their reputation to excel at their craft. And when they announced a major upgrade in the Travellers distillation facility in 1992, it wasn’t just to bottle more spirits. Travellers, the family announced, would be pioneering new ways of producing their products. Firstly, they would be eliminating the acids competitors use to speed up the fermentation process. Further, the company’s original product, rum, would only be produced using naturally fermented high-test molasses.
Travellers saw continued success as the brand moved from local to international. This led to a dramatic expansion of products that include vodka, liqueurs, and wines, but the company stars remain their eclectic selection of rums.
Boasting Innovation and Creativity
Among the wide array of products produced by Travellers that are more than sip-worthy are:
1981: A tribute to Belize’s Independence, this first-ever cask-strength special edition was introduced in 2005 after 15 years of aging in ex-bourbon casks followed by 6 months of storage in casks once used for sherry.
Similar: Travellers Liquors Unveils Two New Special Edition Rums
Don Omario’s Vintage Rum: An homage to the founder’s first Belize enterprise – a bar called Travellers. It was hand-crafted and first aged by the Master Blender himself.
Aged dark rums: These legendary rums include the company’s One Barrel, Three Barrel, Five Barrel, and piece de resistance, Tiburon Rum, the premium small batch offering that merited the launch of its own website.
Belizean Rum: A gold rum with bottling that is so festive, it inspired the creation of music by Belizean Calypso mega-star Lord Rhaburn.
A Belize Distillery with Its Own Rum Museum
Photo by the Belize Tourism Board
Visiting Belize would not be complete without sampling the nation’s finest rums and other libations produced by Travellers. Take a trip to the company’s Heritage Rum Museum in Belize City. Here, you can learn a bit of history and then end things off with some fun sampling.
Book a tour by contacting the museum at (501) 223-2855 or [email protected]. Bring your curiosity, refined palate, and enthusiasm with you when you come. This could be the most fabulous and spirited museum tour you’ve ever experienced!
Featured Photo by Island Bway Photography
