We are the spirit of the Seychelles. We fill each bottle with the character of our 100 islands, our craft and our people. The result - a glimpse into our remote paradise. Born on these islands, made from these islands, and welcoming everything and everyone on the horizon to be a part of our journey. Including what we have yet to discover.
Our Story
In 2000, Bernard and his father, Robert, ordered a book on home distillation and began their quest to produce “good” rum. Robert’s father, Grandpappy René Michel d’Offay had rooted his grandchildren’s interest in rum making through his own endeavours making the local Creole speciality, Rum Arrangé. Inspired by the ways in which sailors would preserve fruits and spices in alcohol, Rum Arrangé was made by macerating leaves, fruit, seeds, bark and other ingredients for up to six months after which it was enjoyed as a digestive or sweetened with cane sugar syrup.
With limited access to conventional distillation parts, Bernard and his father used their own backyard swimming pool as an interim cooling tower for their makeshift condenser, went off to their local supermarket to buy yeast and refined sugar, and began experimenting.
They were joined by Bernard’s older brother, Richard, and after more than a year of testing - resulting in both some truly questionable as well as some rather remarkable trial rums - in February 2002 they officially opened Trois Frères Distillery in Seychelles. Soon after, they distilled and delivered their first ever order of Takamaka dark rum.
Over the years, Richard and Bernard have honed their craft through their own sense of curiosity and discovery, but also through the limitations and curve balls that go hand in hand with the remoteness of the Seychelles. It’s impacted how they blend and age their rum, it’s forged the role they play in their community and it’s shaped who they are today as people, and as rum makers.
SEYCHELLES
For centuries, the Seychelles remained virtually unknown. A remote archipelago made up of more than 100 islands, it was 1000 miles away from anywhere, hidden in the vastness of the Indian Ocean.
In 1503 Vasco da Gama recorded the first official sighting of the Seychelles islands and a century later, in 1609, a British trading fleet eventually set foot on Ste. Anne Island. Anchored for ten days, the crew witnessed an island paradise with plentiful freshwater, fish, coconuts, birds, sea turtles and giant tortoises.
“you cannot discern that ever any people had been there before us”
Seychelles was eventually claimed by France in 1756 and under its reign the remote island nation’s agricultural economy began to grow with the planting of cinnamon and other exotic spices. In 1811 Seychelles became a permanent colony of Britain and in the years to come, Victoria – the tiniest capital of the world – began to blossom. After more than two centuries of European reign, Seychelles declared its independence on 29 June 1976.
D’OFFAYS IN SEYCHELLES
The d’Offay family was one of the first families to call Seychelles home. Pierre Louis, who was a French Knight, had served in the Pondichéry Regiment in both India and Mauritius before relocating to Seychelles in 1778. Pierre and his Mauritian wife, Marie Elizabeth began farming land for food and timber and were early neighbours of the Jorre de St. Jorre family who established La Plaine St. André in 1792.
Our Rum
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SEYCHELLES SERIES
The Seychelles Series is where it all begins. Distilled from molasses in our continuous column still, and diluted with natural spring water from our own source up in the fertile green hills of Seychelles National Park, these rums are a true expression of our tropical island paradise.
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ST ANDRÉ
Our St André Series is a collection of four rums that really show what we are about as rum makers. They have been crafted to showcase our rich heritage and Creole traditions while at the same time pushing the boundaries of conventional rum making.
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LE CLOS
Our Le Clos Series is all about discovery. With the rule book thrown out the window, these releases tend to be from either a single or a couple of casks and are bottled at cask strength with nothing added and nothing taken away. Often limited 800 bottles or less, these releases are great examples of the rum we produce.