After a severe hurricane ravaged St. Thomas in 1837, Copenhagen granted an exclusive license to Albert Heinrich Riise to dispense retail drugs on the Danish island.

In 1913, the Riise family business was sold to Olaf Poulsen, a pharmacist from Copenhagen. Four years later, the Virgin Islands were bought by the United States. In 1928, Isaac Paiewonsky purchased the Riise company. After World War II, his wife Charlotte and his sons Ralph and Isidor expanded the business and its products even further-becoming “the” place to shop in the islands.

In 1961, Ralph Paiewonsky left the family business to become governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.Today, A. H. Riise Gifts and Liquor Store is run by Charlotte and Isaac’s daughter, Avna Paiewonsky Cassinelli, and her sons, Sebastiano and Filippo.

These custom rums are distilled by the Cruzan Rum Distillery Company, Ltd., and then blended by A. H. Riise.