ANGOSTURA DISTILLERY AND ITS MUSEUM

Located at the foot of Laventille, the Angostura distillery, which distills most of Trinidad's rum, has been making the famous bitter that has earned it international renown since the early ^19th century. The distillery now boasts a museum that traces the milestones in the Siegert family saga, named after the inventor of bitter. The tour ends with a rum tasting and sale. The story of the Siegert family is the epitome of those self-made men who came from Europe to make their fortune in the tropics. Originally, Johann Siegert, a German surgeon born in Silesia in 1796, enlisted in Bolivar's army after fighting Napoleon's troops at Waterloo. He was appointed surgeon-in-chief by Bolivar, and took up his post in the small Venezuelan town of Angostura, since renamed Ciudad Bolivar. To better treat his patients, he began making concoctions from Amazonian herbs and medicinal plants. In 1824, he invented "Amargo Aromatico", which became the famous Angostura bitter . Dr. Siegert's bitter became increasingly well-known and appreciated for its healing properties. Sailors soon took it upon themselves to spread its fame throughout the region. On the death of the patriarch, the Siegert family decided to move to Trinidad to take up rum distilling. Nevertheless, they continued to produce the famous beverage, the secret of which they jealously guarded. She made it known at major international trade fairs and jealously defended her brand rights, fighting off all imitations. During the Second World War, American soldiers quickly developed a taste for Angostura-flavored rum and Coke. When they returned home, they popularized the bitter, establishing its reputation once and for all. The money earned enabled the company to invest fully in rum production and become Trinidad's largest distillery. It joined forces with Bacardi in the 1990s, and is now mainly involved in exports. However, the secret of making bitter is still particularly well guarded: only five people in the world know part of the recipe. Without ever crossing paths, these insiders successively enter the blending chamber, each contributing their partial knowledge to the composition of the aromatic blend, ready for distillation.