We’ve got something special for you in this month’s Spiced Rum Box: Solid gold! Well, not real solid gold, but a gold standard of spiced rum in an incredible gold bar styled bottle. It’s a statement piece for any rum collection and sure to be a talking point for whoever spots it in your cabinet. And, for those of you interested in such things, it is 100% instagrammable, which means it takes a cracking photo. I can’t help but think we might be seeing a few more photos of this one than we usually see when you get your boxes. And who could blame you?
It’s a showpiece, but there is also a rather clever pun on the name. Historically rum was referred to as rum-bullion, but it was eventually shortened to rum. There are some ideas of where this came from, one of the more popular being that it was rum (a word meaning odd) to get the good stuff from waste products. Molasses is considered a waste product from sugarcane processing, although I think we can all agree molasses can do exquisite things when it comes to rum.
I took a little time to talk to Ben Reed, CEO, who along with his business partner Sue Powell-Reed, set up Bullion Rum Limited in 2020, and it's worth reading to the end as they've got an extra treat for you.
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Let's start from the beginning. Tell us a little about yourselves and what sparked the idea to make a rum?
I was a Skipper working on the '87 America's Cup Yachts in St Maarten and that's where I first discovered my love of rum, and believe me there was plenty of variety to be had on the Island! It was cheaper than water! Having tried many brands over my five years stay on the Island, I developed a love and passion for rum and decided there and then that if I ever had the opportunity I would like to develop my own brand of rum. Sitting at a beach bar one day it struck me that many of the brands looked very similar on the shelf in that they were pirate themed. Don't get me wrong Pirates and rum go hand in hand. But because I was working alongside the mega yacht industry and surrounded by multi million pound luxury boats the base of an idea was beginning to form in my mind.
There are lot's of new rums being released at the moment and it's important to stand out, and I think our readers will agree that you do! Where did you get the 'bullion' idea?
The light bulb moment came when I watched the film, The Italian Job. When Stella in the 2003 movie cracks the safe to reveal a stack of Bullion bars. This gave me the idea of a modern day pirate and the design idea for our bottle was born along with the company name and social media handles - Bullion Rum.
How did you go about creating the rum? Was it difficult to settle on a flavour profile?
Deciding on a flavour profile for our launch was difficult. We went in with one idea and came out with several others....it was
a great journey of discovery but ultimately we decided on Salted Caramel and Vanilla. The taste is so smooth that it can be enjoyed neat, over ice or with a mixer and lends itself to a wide range of customers and the feedback has been amazing.
Bullion is composed of twice distilled sugar cane rum all the way from the Guyanese Rum gurus. A third distillation takes place at our Distillery. Enthusing the Guyanese rum with spiced botanicals sourced from across the world. Added natural vanilla, caramel and Himalayan salt, blended with the purest Welsh water naturally filtered through the mountains of the Brecon Beacons helps make this exquisite Elixir one of the finest spiced rums in the world.
Ben added, 'the team love tasting days..... nobody drives and we're definitely having some fun .... and a few wonky train rides getting the flavour profiles right!!! It's a true saying.....where there's rum, there's definitely fun! We've some exciting news in the pipeline so keep an eye on our socials @ bullionrum .
The packaging is absolutely amazing! Can you tell us about the design process? And do you have any recommendations for repurposing after the rum has gone?
The design process came from an actual bar of gold. We found a manufacturer that designs gold bottles. Bullion is kept in a vault so we designed everything around the gold bar. The bottle, although totally recyclable, has many decorative uses. The only limitation is your own creativity! Some people have mentioned that they would like to create lamps or cut it and make a candle holder, a paper weight on the desk, book ends.....and of course, even when it's empty it still looks good in the drinks cabinet!
A good rum can be appreciated neat. However, it’s always good to know what else you can make with it, or buy that’s made with it. What kind of cocktails would you recommend making with Bullion? Do you have any signature serves?
The Team and the majority of our customers enjoy Bullion Rum drunk neat over ice but Bullion can be enjoyed with most of the usual mixers. Our Master Distiller enjoys Bullion with ginger ale and I enjoy it with ginger beer for example...It's whatever suits your palate!
What spices make up the profile? Can you share some tasting notes? Bullion is bursting with warm caramel and creamy vanilla on the nose, luxury. hand made toffee at the start, sweet and smooth throughout with a medley of spices on the finish.
The finish is long and deep with cinnamon, all spiced berries and hand cut sweet orange peel. Himalayan salt is minimal but present throughout.
If people want a second bottle, where can they find it?
Bullion is stocked on Amazon. Each and every order comes individually wrapped and boxed.
Where can people find you online?
www.bullionrum.com. and all our social media handles are @bullionrum
Is there any news you can let us in on?
We don't want to give too much away but we have some exciting news in the pipeline..... keep an eye on our social media @bullionrum to find out more!
Anything else that you want to add?
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers, old and new, for all your support.
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