Meet the rum-maker bringing a taste of Caribbean to the Clyde
IT’S not the most obvious location to offer drinkers a taste of the Caribbean, but a business venture based in Dumbarton is bringing the flavours of the sun-soaked paradise islands to Scotland.
Sylvester Herman is the founder of Island Slice, which makes traditional Caribbean craft rum.
Born in St Lucia, Mr Herman, 38, has been passionate about craft rum and had it engrained in him from a young age to appreciate what rum should be.
The well-travelled St Lucian came to Scotland in 2013 after serving in the British military for four years in Germany.
But despite his best efforts he was unable to find a rum that reminded him of his Caribbean birthplace. So he set out to bring the taste of St Lucia to his new home in Dumbarton.
The recipe comes from his direct descendants who were slaves working in a plantation. The process of making the rum was passed down to him through the generations.
Mr Herman said: “The rum that I am creating is the same rum that was created to take the sting out of slaves whipped backs and allow them to stand in the sun doing what these plantation and estate owners had them do.
“My rum is from the perspectives of the slaves themselves. My greatgrandfather and my father were direct descendants of slaves. I am a direct descendant of slaves.”
When describing the heritage of the drink, it’s clear to see why Mr Herman is so passionate about creating rum in the traditional way it was always meant to be. He said: “I was really exposed to rum when I was 15 and lived with my dad. He owned a rum shop in a small village called Lamáze.
“He made and sold what was called ‘Ubarkowtwe’, which translates to under the counter.
“Because it was from the steel and charcoal filtered, it was quite harsh, and I use that same process that was passed on to him.”
Mr Herman, is very aware of Glasgow’s dark past which contributed to slavery in the Caribbean.
Several city streets are named after estate and plantation owners who ushered in a “golden age” of sugar in the 17th century.
Cochrane Street is named after 18th-century tobacco lord and slavetrader Andrew Cochrane. Buchanan Street is named after Andrew Buchanan, who was once Lord Provost of Glasgow and a plantation owner in Virginia. It is believed he owned more than 300 slaves.
Although Mr Herman recognises this, he doesn’t want the names of these streets torn down. He believes Glasgow should take an honest approach when it comes to the history of street names.
He argues that in order to not forget the past, the street names should have the information on the men behind them displayed in public.
The heritage of Glasgow may be one of many reasons Mr Herman is so passionate about his new business, and he said he chose Dumbarton as his new home as it is next to the same river where some of the ships that transported slaves were built.
However, he doesn’t want his rum to dwell on the past – more so to remember it and celebrate the “better times after the hard times”. He believes education is the key behind that and wants his newly-created drink to contribute to that.
Mr Herman added said: “You don’t want to erase history. I am offering a genuine product and I’m here to offer something from my heritage, because Glasgow is a very welcoming place. I’m going to offer everyone a little slice of my island in Dumbarton and give you a genuine taste of the Caribbean.”
He plans on officially opening this autumn and as well as supplying his rum to wholesalers, will offer tasting experiences for hen and stag dos, and show how he makes his rum.