Success is Sweet for Tortuga Rum

written by:
Robert Hamaty, Owner/Managing Director, Tortuga Rum Company Ltd.

Tortuga Rum Company Ltd., was the first in the Cayman Islands to have a fully functional E-commerce site with operations being processed through their fulfillment centre, Tortuga Imports Inc in Miami, Florida. This was achieved through the assistance of Megatron and The Bank of Butterfield who were able to provide the facilities for electronic payments to go directly into bank accounts thereby completing the transfer of funds.

The office and distribution centre in Miami handles the constantly growing mail order business and services thousands of repeat customers worldwide. Shoppers can place orders on the complete cyberspace store 24 hours a day from colorful photographs accompanied with detailed descriptions of Tortuga products available for shipping on the secure website www.tortugarums.com

Tortuga Rum Company Ltd., was formed in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands in 1984 by husband and wife, Robert and Carlene Hamaty. They derived the name from the original one given to the Cayman Islands, Las Tortugas, meaning “The Turtles”.

They started the Company with the introduction of only 2 rums, Tortuga Gold and Tortuga Light, blended and bottled exclusively for the newly formed Company.

It was at this time that Carlene started baking rum cakes in her own kitchen using an old family recipe. She sold these cakes to local restaurants to feature as a dessert item. She, of course, used Tortuga Gold Rum. Today Tortuga Rum Company has a 10,000 sq.ft. state of the art bakery producing in excess of 10,000 cakes a day, from the same secret recipe that has been handed down for generations. Each freshly baked cake is hand-glazed with a specially blended premium oak barrel aged 5 year old Tortuga Gold Rum.

Vacuum packing ensures the cakes shelf life of 6 months or more if refrigerated or frozen. They are then heat sealed and boxed for shipping. Tortuga Rum Cakes are available in 7 delicious flavors and come in three sizes : 33oz (large), 16 oz (medium) and 4oz (mini).

The Hamaty’s have dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort into creating their company. They are proud to admit to being the first company to produce rum cake commercially not only in the Cayman Islands but throughout the Caribbean with franchises in Jamaica, Bahamas and Barbados. They are credited to being pioneers of developing a global awareness of Caribbean fancy food items and have been rewarded with unsolicited recognition from prestigious television and radio gourmet food shows around the world. The honor was bestowed on Robert of being nominated for and winning a “Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year” award. Carlene received the “Ambassador of Tourism Award” in recognition of her contribution to the development of Tourism in the Cayman Islands.

From the inception over 20 years ago, Tortuga Rum Company Ltd. is still family owned and operated and has grown to become the largest duty free liquor business in the Cayman Islands and the name “Tortuga” has become synonymous with one of the world’s finest confections: The authentic and original Tortuga Rum Cake: The Cayman Island’s #1 Export and souvenir item.

The sweet smell of success!


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