AH Riise Old ST. Croix XO Explorer Denmark (2024)

AH Riise Old ST. Croix XO Explorer Denmark

AH Riise Old St. Croix XO Explorer Denmark is part of the exclusive XO Explorer series, which pays tribute to the brave researchers and explorers of AH Riise's time. These adventurers risked their own safety to map and understand the world. The XO Explorer series consists of a series of Limited Editions released in various countries in an extremely limited number of numbered bottles. These editions are created especially for fans and collectors as well as for the local pioneers who, like AH Riise, sought new knowledge and put their nation on the map.

Scent: Blood caramel and ripe fruit on a late summer day
Taste: Very strong umami from oak, tobacco and old barn. The sweetness brings to mind burnt figs and candied citrus peel
Aftertaste: The finish is deep and long-lasting, dominated by old oak and dried fruit

XO Explorer Denmark is an exclusive Limited Edition blend from the West Indies and Central America, composed by our master blender. The Danish edition is limited to only 6,960 numbered bottles, which makes it a highly sought-after collector's item.

About AH Riise

Albert Heinrich Riise (1810-1882) originally came from Ærøskøbing and was educated as a cand. pharm. in Copenhagen, where he was later employed at Det kgl. Military and Waisenhus pharmacy.

Riise had a strong ambition to open his own pharmacy, and when the opportunity arose, he traveled in 1838 to the island of Sankt Thomas in the then Danish West Indies. After some detours, he managed to open St. Thomas Apothecary Hall AH Riise.

He quickly discovered that there was good money in selling more than just pharmacy products. Therefore, he expanded the range to also include household items, cosmetics, preserves, chocolate and much more. His wholesale business supplied goods to the entire Caribbean archipelago.

The AH Riise brand is born

Riise also began producing rum and bitters, initially for medicinal use against stomach problems and other ailments. He developed brands such as Old St. Croix, Riise's Guava Rum and AH Riise Rum. The sale of rum went so well that Riise became a wealthy and influential man. He was given many positions of trust at St. Thomas, among other things as chairman of the Colonial Council, director of Bank and St. Thomas, churchwarden, member of the City Council and board member of several companies. In 1860 he became a Knight of the Dannebrog, and in 1878 he became an Etatsraad – an honorable title – for his donation of $6,000 to St. Thomas Municipality for the purchase of three school buildings.

From St. Thomas to Frederiksberg

Albert Riise left the pharmacy at Skt. Thomas to his son-in-law Jens Alfred Alexius Jørgensen and moved to Copenhagen, where he bought a large villa, which he called "Villa St. Thomas". Here he created a park with rare plants, ponds and a large greenhouse. He died in the villa in 1882, aged 72, and his grave can still be visited at Solbjerg Park Cemetery.

In 1883, the sons Valdemar and Karl took over the pharmacy at Skt. Thomas. Unfortunately, the pharmacy burned to the ground at Christmas 1895 due to a lit candle igniting a Christmas tree. Valdemar quickly rebuilt the pharmacy, but due to prolonged illness and the declining commercial importance of the Danish West Indies, he sold both the pharmacy and Riise Bay Rum to Oluf Volmer Poulsen in 1913.

After the sale of the Danish West Indies to the USA in 1917, Poulsen transferred his grant to Svane Apotek in Vejle. The pharmacy at Skt. Thomas still exists today under the name "Vejle St Thomas Apotek". The name AH Riise lives on at Skt. Thomas, among other things with AH Riise Mall at Main Street 37, where rum and bitters are still produced under the name AH Riise.