Euan loves rum: Chief Technology Officer explains it all
As mentioned in our previous blog post, we started developing our rum ambitions early in 2019. However, my interest began a few months earlier when I attended a rum tasting event in Glasgow.
I’d always been a fan of dark rum and coke, or a Cuba Libre, but had never taken it beyond the mainstream rum brands… you know the ones.
Rum had always been a spirit I would drink in irregular bursts - I would order it for weeks on end, then leave it for a similar amount of time. I knew I liked it, but often forgot about it.
The Tasting evening was great, not just from a tasting perspective, but was also really informative about the process of making, flavouring and ageing rum, which I found really interesting.
By having the opportunity to sample rums made from different raw materials, different parts of the world and different backgrounds, it quite quickly became clear how many variations there were, and how the craft rums were much more to my taste.
As the evening progressed I was messaging the rest of the Jacobite team telling them A). How boozed I was getting on all the rum they were giving us, 2). how the process of making it was much more interesting than I’d previously thought and D) how boozed I was getting on all the rum.
Later that week I had purchased 2 of the amazing rums I had tasted, with an excellent ginger beer which I now believe is a must if you’re looking for a strong mixer to stand up against the sweet and spicy flavours of The 45.
Fast-forward a few months, and we’re all sat in an office in Govan discussing a new idea Jamie and Tony had been working on, which quickly became Jacobite Spirits.
In a follow-on blog, I’ll give you some insight to how we’re using “First Fill” Scotch Whisky barrels to add colour and flavour to our Scottish, Spiced Rum.
After that, I will most likely cover the intricacies of a mechanised bottling process, from a Kaizen and LEAN manufacturing perspective, obvs. But I’m also here to answer any technical questions.