Old St. Croix (Riise) Family Reserve

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 42% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Family Reserve was created for a gathering of Riise descendants and brings together selected spirits from the Caribbean and Central America. The blend was first composed in 2015 for the family reunion, which takes place every five years. Initially reserved for the descendants of Albert Heinrich Riise, it is now also available beyond the family.

The composition combines spirits from selected casks from different distilleries. It is bottled in small batches of no more than 2,000 numbered bottles. Family Reserve has a reddish-gold colour in the glass. It won gold at the ISW in 2018. It is offered at 42% in a 0.7-litre bottle with gift packaging.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The aroma initially recalls fruit sweets. A more pronounced note follows, bringing out subtle hints of leather and cardamom.
• Palate: Dark spice notes combine with a hint of smoke on the palate. Macerated orange peel and a savoury umami impression complement the flavour.
• Finish: On the finish, Family Reserve recalls a lemon and vanilla cream, accompanied by a delicate cinnamon note.

Distillery/Bottler:

The history of Old St. Croix begins with the Danish pharmacist Albert Heinrich Riise, who opened his pharmacy on St. Thomas in 1838. He used alcohol from locally grown sugar cane in his medicinal preparations. His products included Bay Rum, a hair elixir based on double-distilled rum. This work sparked his interest in rum, for which the neighbouring island of St. Croix supplied sugar cane.

Exports to Europe and the USA led to the internationally oriented brand name Old St. Croix. In 1893, the brand won a gold medal at the World's Fair in Chicago. Following A.H. Riise's return to Denmark and Northern Europe in 2010, the historical name was first revived in the Non Plus Ultra collection in 2021. The brand was renamed Old St. Croix in 2025.

Facts: