Foursquare Rum Distillery and Heritage Park
 Photo: Rob Mcgonigle The
Foursquare Plantation in St. Philip, was a sugar plantation in the mid
1600s. It produced sugar and fancy molasses, used in baking and Black
strip molasses used for making rum, which it was also producing in the
1700s. Some of the buildings on the plantation are over 200 years old.
It was one of the plantations damaged in the Bussa uprising in 1816. In 1996, the plantation was completely renovated and became The Foursquare Rum Distillery and Heritage Park. The
heritage park offers a tour of the distillery, there is an art gallery,
an amphitheatre, children's amusement park, folk and sugar museums and
duty free shops as well as a cafe. The distillery was built on
the site of the sugar factory, which had been closed in the 1980s.
When it was renovated, state of the art distilling and environmentally
friendly equipment was installed and it has become one of the most
modern distilleries in Barbados as well as being the only remaining
Barbadian owned rum manufacturer in Barbados. What is so
unusual about the park is the amphitheatre, called the Cane Pit
Theatre, it is the original cane storage pit used hundreds of years
ago. Its now a place for theatrical performances and it has seating
for about 250 patrons, with a stage and dressing rooms. There
are items on display, at the plantation that recall its sugar cane
producing era. Sadly the original windmill is long gone! In
the Art Gallery & Studios, visitors can interact with the artists
who display their work, in several mediums - photography, sculpture,
painting and prints. Visit the Foursquare Rum Distillery and Heritage Park the next time you are in Barbados. Call 420-1977 | 
