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Versailles
Versailles was a rum distillery in Guyana that was located on the estate of the same name along the banks of the Demerara river. It was nationalised by the government in 1976 when they bought it from Booker Brothers, McConnell & Co and process of consolidation followed that saw the Versailles distillery closed down in 1978. The estate itself continued to produce sugar until 1990.
The distillery remains famous however as its name lives on as a reference to its single wooden pot still. One of the last of its type in the world, it was moved initially to Enmore distillery and then from Uitvlugt to Diamond where it continues to produce the Versailles distillery marques to this day.
While not marketed as brand per se, the Versailles name is reserved by Demerara Distillers Ltd for rum produced on the estate's original single wooden pot still. The are mostly denoted by the mark VSG (a reference to Versailles and the Schoon Ord and Goed Fortuin estates that merged with it). Several other marks are also associated with the still however, mostly through third-party cask brokers that subsequently appear on independent bottlings.
The first official bottling to reference Versailles and VSG was released in 2007 as part of the collaborative efforts of DDL and the Italian distributor, Velier SpA. A second followed in 2014, this time as a component of an experimental Blended in the Barrel bottling. The DDL partnership with Velier ended that year in advance of the company opting to market its rum by itself, expanding its flagship El Dorado brand to include single mark and subsequent Blended in the Barrel bottlings via premium limited edition releases.
1976-1978
Former Stills
VSG Single wooden pot still
-1978