Introduction
Rum “research and development” started in March 2019 when we were fortunate enough to benefit from a few days of free consultancy. After discussing style options, ingredients and production methods over the course of the three days we then, like all good things, changed most of the ideas!
Traditionally, rum is produced by making a wash from molasses, which is a by-product of sugar production. Molasses is a liquid, very much like treacle, and as you can imagine very difficult to move around when not warm. The British climate is nowhere near as warm as the Caribbean. As a result we were very worried about buying 1000 litres of molasses and then finding we could do nothing with it!
So we decided to go a slightly different route and make the wash from molasses sugar. This is very dark, thick, sticky sugar but is essentially solid. This sugar is dissolved in warm water, yeast is added and then we wait! Depending on the time of year the fermentation can be many weeks. Although a bit of a problem from the production point of view this adds loads of flavour.
Just to prove how research and development can go, we actually tried to produce a batch back in 2019 but didn’t like the flavour at the time. We’d used a bread yeast (which we got via ebay!) and thought there was too much lactose evident. The pandemic, lockdown and the need for sanitiser then occurred so we converted all that very first distillate into sanitiser, only to find out that a small amount we’d put to one side in a maturation experiment tasted amazing!! Hey, ho – that’s the way it goes.
Batch 1
Our very first batch, which was released on the 23rd of September 2022, was matured in new American oak for more than 12 months. This resulted in loads of colour and wonderful flavour. We have more maturing in oak now and plan to produce white and spiced versions over the coming months/years, so watch this space!
Batch 1 sold out impressively fast and gained the attention of Adam Purnell AKA The Shropshire Lad. We now work closely with Adam to produce a core range of Rums.
Lad’s Rum - Toasted Spice Rum
Launched at the 2023 Pub in the Park events in Bath, Reigate and Leamington Spa this rum is now available in a very few select retail outlets and here in the Henstone Distillery online shop. The rum was produced from scratch by the team at Henstone. It is a dark rum with a blend of our favourite spices including fennel, black pepper, pimento, vanilla and cardamon. Available in 70cl bottles and bottled at 41% ABV.
Lad's Rum - Evolution - Cherry Wood
Launched at the 2023 Pub in the Park events in Bath, Reigate and Leamington Spa this rum is now available in a very few select retail outlets and here in the Henstone Distillery online shop. The rum was produced from scratch by the team at Henstone. It is a golden rum, with the addition of a charred cherry wood stave that lives in the bottle to evolve the rum over time. Available in 70cl bottles and bottled at 41% ABV.
Lad's Rum - Caradoc Charcoal Filtered
Following the release of our Golden Rum in late 2022 we were so chuffed to find out it won the “Rum: Local Heroes: UK Based Production” category of the People’s Choice Drinks Awards!! Here is a photo of the product with the award medal.
You can view our win together with all the other spirits categories on the People’s Choice Drinks Awards website by clicking the button below.