Founded in 1984,
Tortuga Rum Company has grown to become the largest duty-free liquor
business in the Cayman Islands. Husband and wife team Robert
and Carlene Hamaty, started the company while they were both employed
by the island's national airline, Cayman Airways. While piloting
for Cayman Airways (formerly Air Jamaica), Robert noticed passengers
boarding his plane carrying Bermuda Rum. Realizing Bermuda
did not have the resources to distill their own rum, he investigated
only to discover that it was actually made in Jamaica and shipped
to Bermuda to be bottled.
That was when he
decided the Cayman Islands should have their own rum too, and the idea
of Tortuga Rum was culminated. Tortuga Rum is a combination of Jamaican
Rum and Barbados Rum specially blended for the Cayman Islands, therefore,
it is like no other. The name Tortuga, chosen by Robbie and Carlene,
was derived from the original name given to the Cayman Islands, Las
Tortugas, meaning "The Turtles". The Hamatys, having
no marketing or promotional experience at that time, overcame many obstacles
and setbacks and pushed forward, seeing the opportunity to sell local
products duty-free to visitors to the island, by both air and sea. They
opened their first Tortuga Duty-Free Liquor store in 1987 while they
were still employed by Cayman Airways. Not long after, a second
waterfront store was opened.
In 1990, Robert Hamaty's career as an airline captain unfortunately
came to an end due to medical reasons. This was when he decided
to give the company his undivided attention and plunged full force
into the marketing and promotion of Tortuga Rum Co. Meanwhile,
back in 1987, Carlene started baking rum cakes at home, using a family
recipe that had been handed down through generation. She, of
course, used Tortuga Rum as the main ingredient. Encouraged by
rave reviews from friends, Carlene began testing the cake on the local
market. It made its first "public" appearance on the
dessert menu of a local restaurant, and was an instant hit! The
demand for rum cakes became so great that in 1990 a 1,700 square-foot
commercial bakery was established.
The trademark ingredient is a generous amount of premium five-year
old, oak barrel aged Tortuga Gold Rum, not available to the public. Each
cake is individually hand-glazed with this rum before packaging. Although
the authentic Tortuga Rum Cake contains no preservatives, a vacuum-sealing
process ensures a shelf life of six months and will keep indefinitely
if refrigerated or frozen.
Following the golden original flavor, decadent Tortuga Chocolate Cake
was introduced in February of 1998 and quickly matched popularity. In
1999, Tortuga Blue Mountain Coffee Rum Cake made its debut and in 2000,
Tortuga Banana Rum Cake and Tortuga Coconut Rum Cake.
Although Tortuga Rum Cake has become world-famous, the recipe still
remains a secret! Many requests have been made over the years
for the recipe to the Authentic & Original Tortuga Rum Cake, some
as prestigious as Gourmet Magazine. But all who inquire are politely
declined, as this secret recipe has never been disclosed to the public.
To date, Tortuga Rum Co., Ltd. has expanded their product line to include
a delectable selection of candies, sauces, coffees, rum punch, honeys,
jelly and plum pudding. Visit our product line to view the entire
selection of delectable treats.
Now Tortuga Rum Gourmet Products are being offered to you in the United
States by USI International, Inc. Our CEO, Gunter Woog was so impressed
by the Tortuga Rum Products after visiting Cayman Islands, he decided
to become a distributor of their fine products. USI has made
buying individual Tortuga Rum Products for yourself or for friends
easy and enjoyable. We are proud to offer this quality selection
of gourmet products to you in your own home.
