Captain Morgan Distillery Tour and Tasting
We are all about trying out the local food and drinks when we travel, and who doesn’t want to drink rum in the Caribbean?! We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the distillery of the iconic Captain Morgan rum for a tour and tasting, but it ended up not being what we were expecting at all…
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Where is the Captain Morgan Distillery?
The Captain Morgan rum distillery is located on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, which is part of the US Virgin Islands. Saint Croix is actually the largest of the US Virgin Islands, but it’s still only 84 square miles, making it reasonable to get around even if you’re only there for less than 1 day like we were on the cruise.
St. Croix has two major towns, Frederiksted and Christiansted, and the Captain Morgan distillery is about halfway between them in an area called Kingshill. Any taxi driver on the island will know where it is (if they don’t, find a different cab).
How to Get to the Captain Morgan Distillery
From the cruise ship port in Frederiksted, the Captain Morgan Distillery only about a 20 minute drive away. St. Croix is much more flat than most other Caribbean islands, so it’s an easy, smooth ride. Since we went as a group of 12, we easily found a big, white taxi van just off the Frederiksted Pier.
You can expect to haggle for a taxi in St. Croix, and the larger the group you have, the easier it will be. Prices are charged per person and the taxis are not metered, so make sure that you negotiate the price before you get in the vehicle. For our group of 12, the taxi driver said it would cost $10 per person to take us from the Frederiksted Pier to the Captain Morgan distillery, but we talked him down to $7 per person.
Upon dropping us off at the distillery, our driver asked if he should pick us back up after our tour there and take us back, which was our experience in St. Maarten as well. If your driver doesn’t offer, feel free to ask, and if they’re unavailable, you can always ask them to call someone else or you can ask for the people in the distillery to call a taxi, but you may end up with a lot less flexibility on price in that scenario. In our case, we were able to negotiate for our taxi driver to pick us up after the distillery tour, take us to Rainbow Beach, and then take us back to the cruise ship later on. It worked out perfectly and only cost us $22 per person:
$7 from Frederiksted Pier to the Captain Morgan Distillery
$10 from the Captain Morgan Distillery to Rainbow Beach
$5 from Rainbow Beach to Frederiksted Pier
But keep in mind that the prices you can get will differ depending on your group size, the time of year, and your haggling abilities. Also, the cabs on the island are cash only.
How to Make a Tasting Reservation at the Captain Morgan Distillery
Before you make your way to the Captain Morgan distillery for a tour & tasting, you should call ahead and make an appointment. Even though they say they allow walk-ins, space for the tours and tastings are limited, so reserving your spot ahead of time will ensure that you don’t go all the way there for nothing.
They currently do not have a system for booking online, so you’ll either have to call or email them to make a reservation. Visit this page on their website for the latest info. In my experience with making a reservation, calling is best. My emails were never returned.
In addition to my emails requesting a reservation not being returned, the people I spoke to on the phone led me to believe that my group of 12 would have a private tour and tasting, but when we approached the staff at the distillery about it once we were there and other strangers started showing up too, the staff looked at me like I was crazy for suggesting such a thing. So if you think you have a private reservation, get it in writing.
The cost is $15 per person, which you pay upon arrival at the distillery by cash or credit card. There is no charge at the time of making the reservation.
Our Experience
Before I say anything else, let me make this clear: this is NOT a tour of the distillery. In fact, this is not a “tour” at all. By tour, they mean that they have a visitor center with a museum-like exhibit about the history of the brand and the rum-making process. The “tour” is someone walking you through the ingredients of their rum and how they make it, while standing stationary in the visitor center in front of a display. So if you’re expecting a distillery tour like we were, this is not that.
Due to covid, we were told upon arrival to have our temperatures checked by an automated machine that scans your forehead, but no one was actually there checking to make sure the machine said we were fine, so it’s really just based on the honor system and peer pressure. One of the biggest reasons why I wanted a private tour for our group was to limit exposure, so the fact that the employees weren’t there to enforce the temperature checks when other people started showing up really bothered me. This was in December 2021, mind you, so the temperature checks may not be a thing anymore.
The visitor center exhibits also include some interactive elements, conversation starters, and a few great photo opportunities, as well as a gift shop, so while the presentation and tasting are set to take 40 minutes, I suggest allotting 1 hour so you have time to see everything and take pictures. I found the evolution of the brand logo to be particularly interesting.
After the presentation (what they call the “tour”), we were led to the tasting room behind the gift shop. The tasting room had a bunch of small tables that could seat anywhere from 2-6 people each, and there was already a tasting guide print-out at each seat for us to follow along with tasting notes for the Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, the White Rum, and a Private Stock Rum.
The tour guide walked us through tasting each of the 3 rums, explaining what made each special, then introduced us to 6 or so more options of flavored and black rums, of which we each got to choose 2 to taste. I believe the tasting pours are only about a ¾ oz each, so seeing as how a “shot” in America is 1.5oz, that would mean you’re essentially getting 2.5 “drinks” for $15. If my measurements of their pours are correct, that’s not a bad deal!
After you’ve done your 5 rum tastings, they also offer several rum cocktails for additional purchase in the tasting room as you finish up for only $5 each! But beware: this is NOT a time to lounge. As all the other guests left and our group was gathering their things, I went to use the restroom and left my drink on the table next to my things, but the staff took my half-finished drink while I was in the restroom. They obviously didn’t want us to hang around, and that just felt like the cherry on top of the bad experience with temperature checks, the misunderstanding about the tour being private, and it not actually being a tour. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and just relax on the beach.
Our Verdict
If you go into this thinking of it as a tasting and not a tour, I think you’ll enjoy it, but even so, I don’t think it’s worth your time if you only have 8ish hours on the island while you’re visiting on a cruise because it’s not like this is your only opportunity to drink Captain Morgan rum. However, if you’re staying on the island for several days, this would be a nice way to spend a little time on one of those days while seeing more of the island between Frederiksted and Christiansted.
Quick Reference Guide
What | |
Where | St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, halfway between Frederiksted and Christiansted |
How to Get There | Public transit option or taxi info with time & cost expectation from a popular starting point (such as a cruise port) |
Time Commitment | 1 hour |
Cost | $15 per person - You can pay in cash or card when you arrive |
Reservation Info | You must call or email ahead to reserve a time slot, as some times are reserved for excursions through cruise lines. Calling is best; my emails were never returned. Phone: (340) 713-5654 Email: Wanda.Evangelista@diageo.com |
Our Verdict | Not worth your time unless you’re staying on the island for multiple days. The staff is condescending and their poor communication is unacceptable. Spend your day sipping rum punch on the beach instead! |
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