Lost Years Four Island Rum
Lost Years, the debut brand from independent rum house Cane & Able,
is a marine conservation rum which brings the taste of the Caribbean and Latin America direct to British rum drinkers.
Not only do they taste great, but they do good too - every bottle sold saves up to ten baby sea turtles. Lost Years aims to save more than 500,000 hatchlings over the next few years, helping protect one of the world’s oldest and most endangered inhabitants. Cash from every sale will be used to fund community-based conservation efforts at key turtle nesting sites across the Caribbean and Latin America.
The Lost Years range comprises four unique rum blends sourced from some of the region’s leading rum distilleries. This month at Craft Rum Box, we’ve focused on the amazing Four Island Blend (40% abv).
A unique blend of world class single estate rums made from two different base ingredients - molasses and fresh sugar cane juice - Lost Years Four Island is a Caribbean rum with a difference. At its heart are three fine cask aged rums – an eight year old rum from one of the most revered distilleries in Barbados, a five year old from the Dominican Republic and a two year old from a multi award- winning estate in Jamaica. The blend is then finished with the addition of authentic unaged Rhum Agricole from Guadeloupe. The result is classically Caribbean: fruity and aromatic with juicy notes of tropical fruit and the warm smokiness that comes from time spent in the barrel, combined with the vibrant and grassy freshness that comes from the Rhum Agricole.
Cane & Able founder Lee Smith said that the brand was inspired by his son’s love of the sea turtles: “For as long as I can remember, my son Billy has adored sea turtles and the ocean. When he learned about the threat that these ancient creatures now face – all seven species are today either endangered or threatened - he wanted to do something to help.”
The idea for a sea turtle-saving rum was hatched during a family holiday in Jamaica last year: “I was sitting there watching the sunset and enjoying a glass of rum and it struck me – what if we could bring incredible rum from the Caribbean and Latin America and also do our bit to support one of the region’s most celebrated creatures?”
The name Lost Years is a reference to the early years of a sea turtle’s life - after hatching they disappear beneath the waves and aren’t seen again for up to a decade. “Where they go during these ‘lost years’ is one of nature’s great mysteries,” says Lee.
It has taken a year for the entrepreneur to make this dream a reality, (six months of which during the pandemic) – from sourcing world class rums from the region, to finding the right non- profit partner to ensure the money raised gets where it is needed.
Cane & Able has formed a long-term partnership with US-based non- profit organisation SEE Turtles, which was set up in 2008 as the world’s first effort to protect these species through ecotourism.
Saving sea turtles, one sip at a time.
Did you know that all seven species of sea turtles today are either endangered or threatened? From the vulnerable giant leatherback, to the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley, sea turtles are facing numerous challenges – from human consumption, plastic pollution and commercial fishing, to climate change.
Only last month a staggering 4,500 cold-stunned sea turtles were taken to a convention centre in Padre Island, Texas to be cared for after the southern states of the US experienced an unprecedented cold snap. Many didn’t make it.
According to commentators, some species of this creature – which has been on this planet for 110million years - could become extinct within a generation.
Through their work with SEE Turtles, Lost Years is funding community-based conservation across the Caribbean and Latin America, empowering local people to care for and protect key nesting sites so that more of the hatchlings make it to the water and begin their very own ‘lost years’ journey.
But the brand’s commitment to the environment goes way beyond its charitable giving. Right from the start, Lee and his team wanted to offset the business’s carbon emissions and they have done this by planting the ocean wonder-plant seagrass, rather than trees.
Seagrass is an ecological wonder plant and one of the ocean’s best kept secrets:
It captures carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests.It absorbs up to 10 per cent of the ocean’s carbon each year.
A football pitch sized area of seagrass can support over 50,000 fish and 700,000 invertebrates.
Lost Years has commissioned The Ocean Foundation to calculate its carbon emissions annually and it then makes a cash contribution to offset its carbon footprint. The money is used to plant and protect seagrass around Puerto Rico.
Not only is this a great thing to do from an environmental perspective, but it makes a difference to sea turtles too:
“Green turtles are one of the largest sea turtles and the only herbivore among the different species, says Lee. “They love seagrass – in fact they’re called green turtles because their flesh is green from the amount of seagrass they eat!”
Sustainable packaging
Lost Years is also 100% plastic free and is one of a growing number of spirits brands to champion the use of sustainable packaging.
All customer orders from its website are dispatched in eco-friendly FSC certified cardboard packaging, with no plastic in sight. The outer packaging is plastic-free, 100% recyclable and has a minimal amount of printed surface, while the internal sleeve breaks down and biodegrades readily, is non-toxic and is made of 100% recycled material, which has a lower carbon footprint than using virgin cardboard.
The clear tamper-evident seal looks like plastic, but is actually made from plant based cellulose which composts in a matter of weeks.
Rather than opting for a bottle with a thick, heavy glass base, Lost Years chose a lighter option to reduce carbon emissions when moving the product. The bottle itself is made of over one third recycled cullet and is itself fully recyclable.
