Angostura Holdings Limited is a Trinidadian company. It is known primarily for its production of the world-famous Angostura bitters, which became popular as one of the many elixirs of life to emerge in the nineteenth century. Started in Venezuela by Dr. J. G. B. Siegert, the company moved to Trinidad in 1875. Bitters remained the primary focus of J. G. B. Siegert and Sons until the 1930s, when Robert Siegert purchased a multi-column still in Leventille, Trinidad, and began to explore the art of rum making. In 1949, they established Trinidad Distillers Limited (TDL) and began producing their White Oak brand. An offshoot variety of White Oak was their Old Oak rum, which came in a multicolored, hand-painted bottle in the form of a limbo drummer complete with a bright yellow hat reminiscent of the bright yellow cap found on bottles of Angostura bitters. In 1973, Trinidad Distillers Limited acquired Fernandes Distillers Limited, a family-owned Trinidadian distillery from Forres Park Estate. The merger added several new rums to TDL, including Fernandes Black Label and Vat 19. In recent years, they have penetrated international rum markets with such fine award-winning aged rums as Angostura 1919 and Angostura 1824. All of Angostura’s rums are column-distilled and aged in bourbon barrels. At their best, they have a medium-rich texture and a unique, and appealing, tarry fruitiness.
See also Angostura bitters and rum.
Parsons, Brad Thomas. Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2011.
Smith, Frederick H. Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005.
By: Frederick H. Smith