AH Riise Family Reserve

AH Riise Family Reserve

AH Riise Family Reserve is exclusive Rome was created as a tribute to one of the most significant and enterprising Danes, Apothecary and State Councilor AH Riise, who lived and worked on the former Danish West Indies in the period 1838 to 1878.

Scent: Blackcurrant, orange with fresh fruits that mix with coconut.
Taste: Sweet and creamy with banana, liqueur, orange, spices and vanilla that combine in a pleasant taste experience.
Aftertaste: Long and thick syrup comes in the middle of the tongue.

AH Riise:

The first Pharmacy at Skt. Thomas became a Cand. Pharm Albert Heinrich Riise, who by royal decree in 1838 was given the privilege of running a pharmacy in the capital of the Danish West Indies, Charlotte Amalie. He originally came from Ærø, where he was born. 11 September 1810 in Brogade no. 28 in Ærøskøbing, as the son of a merchant who was also Captain Jens Christian Riise.
After graduation, in Copenhagen, at the Kgl. Vajsenhus Apotek, AH Riise left for the West Indies, where on 27 January 1842 he was married in Frederikssted on St. Croix to Heriette Marie Worm. For 40 years, the 2 spouses lived a rare happy life and raised 13 children together.

The pharmacy:

The following year in 1843, AH Riise built St. Thomas Apotek at the address Dronningensgade no. 6 in Charlotte Amalie. Riise's first year as a pharmacist was financially lean, but he fought on undaunted and through hard work, and several business trips in the following years to North America, including New York, AH Riise managed to establish important contacts with several leading trading houses, as well as to make large purchases of goods for the Pharmacy.
Provided with a large stock of all kinds of goods, especially pharmaceutical products, St. Thomas Apotek is known on all the surrounding Caribbean islands as the place where you can find anything you might need for any household.

Later, AH Riise traveled extensively in the West Indies, and gradually visited the neighboring islands as far as Trinidad, partly for the sake of business, partly to collect natural resources.
From these trips, AH Riise often brought rare plants and herbs to St. Thomas and planted these on his return.

Riise had a keen interest in botany and used the exotic plants and fauna of the West Indies with great skill to produce pharmaceutical, alcoholic and cosmetic products. among others the well-known Riise's Bay Rum (A kind of scented water/Perfume) which was a strong contributor to AH Riise's later prosperity.

Thus, from AH Riise's Apothecary, rum and bitters from the West Indies, which were mainly used as medicine for stomach ailments, and other ailments, were negotiated and mixed. He eagerly participated in everything that happened at St. Thomas, especially regarding business life. Thus he was Director of the Bank of St. Thomas and Marine Asylum and in St. Thomas Gas Co.. Member of the citizens' council that looked after the municipality's interests and chairman of the Colonial council.

After a long and eventful life and work in the Danish West Indies, AH Riise moved back to Denmark in 1879, after handing over his business at St. Thomas to a son-in-law.
On his return, AH Riise settled in Frederiksberg in Copenhagen, where he occupied the imposing villa formerly known as "Alleenlyst" but which, after Riise's takeover, was renamed St. Thomas.
The villa was demolished in 1900, and the site is today known as St. Thomas Place.