Queensland Rum Day with Bundy and Nil Desperandum

own personal view is that rum can really be considered the definitive Australian spirit. It has the longest history. We and others are really wanting to make sure that consumers know that Australian made rum by really so many different different players is the equal of some of the world's best drums. Welcome to Drinks Adventures, podcast about drinks and the people who make them. I'm James Atkinson, and in this episode,

Of the founders of Queensland Rum Day, Matt Hobson of Carvoo Distilling and Neil Desperandum Rum, and Duncan Littler of Bunderberg Rum. The second ever Queensland Rum Day is coming up this Saturday, the 2nd of November 2024, and this year brings Distilleries, the two I've already mentioned, and the others being Bean Lee and Kalki Moon. They're calling themselves the Rum Consortium, and there are less than 2,000 bottles available of their 2024 limited edition blend.

time ever that Storwarts, Bunderberg and Beanleigh have ever combined their spirits in the same bottle. To find out about this historic rum release, the evolving rum industry in Queensland, and the significance of this new event, that I expect we'll be hearing much more about. So the train tracks go right past the uh the window that I'm at at the moment. So if you hear a big rattle, we might need to just put things on pause just for Twenty seconds and let him go.

Well that adds to the authenticity of the conversation anyway, doesn't it? Oh, it's the real deal. Absolutely.

Matt and Duncan, really good to be having a chat with you about the second iteration of Queensland Rum Day. Uh maybe take me back to the genesis of of this event last year. Look, I I think we we've probably all noticed that anything that's really important usually has a has a day where people stop and celebrate all the things that are that are truly great. And uh I think one of those days that was obviously missing was a day that celebrated Queensland Rumda.

And luckily for us, uh, there were two very passionate rum distillers, being uh Rick Prosser and my uh my good mate here today, Matt Hobson, who uh came together and had the idea to to kick off uh Queens Own Rum Day and Luckily for us, back in twenty twenty three, they got in touch with us up in the up in Bundaberg and asked if we wanted to be a part of the inaugural Queen Zone Rum Day and obviously uh the answer was yes.

So uh so kicked off in twenty twenty three. Uh fast forward to twenty twenty four. Uh Queensland Rumbay is growing a heap of momentum and uh yeah, we're just really excited to be a part of it. It it feels like something that should have already existed for some time. Um, but I guess, you know, the reality is that for a long time it was just yourselves and Bean Lee, one of the other members of the of the Rum Consortium that we'll we'll talk about later.

It was probably just the two of you for for such a long time and the industry's really evolved, uh, particularly over the last decade, hasn't it? Absolutely. Look, uh rum producing in Queensland uh dates back to the eighteen eighteen sixties. You know, it was obviously a a currency back in the day a as well. And uh in uh in eighteen sixty eight, um there are one hundred and thirty five thousand litres of rum being produced in the in the great state of Queensland.

In eighteen eighty four, obviously Beanlee Rum was established in uh in Queensland and then uh in eighteen eighty eight Bundy was established. And um, you know, for the best part of a hundred and fifty years, probably fifty to sixty percent of the Australian spirits market was actually produced by these two uh two rum distillers.

But I think uh, you know, the great thing is today is you fast forward to the modern day and there's more than thirty rum distorties here in Queensland, you know, ranging from small mum and dad operations to uh big giants like Beanley and Bundy. But uh You know, I think we've all got a really important role to play and together we're producing uh more than seven million bottles of rum here in Queensland.

So uh you know, I think that's great. It's great to see the diversity uh in the industry, it's great to see the diversity in the different types of spirits being uh produced. And it's also too great to see the momentum uh for rum in the state of Queensland as well. So we're seeing uh rum is growing faster.

than any other spirits category here in Queensland. And I think, you know, that's something that we in Bundy are excited to see. And I'm sure all those other 30 Rumda stories in Queensland are excited to see as well. And and seven million bottles um annual production, how many of those are carvo, Matt? Uh well, our production currently um far exceeds our sales and and that's the the challenge of rum, of course, in Australia is that it is a matured spirit in wood for a minimum of two years.

So we we're really at the beginning of our journey, um, with a big focus on production. and obviously growing our our brand and our presence in the market. We're we're probably about thirty to forty thousand bottles a year currently, which we're we're very proud of. We've obviously founded and and commenced production in twenty twenty. The first release of Neil Desperandem Rum was in twenty twenty two. obviously some challenges with the pandemic during that period of time.

And obviously now the economy, it's um yeah, we're we're finding really creative ways of getting our our premium rum in the market and you're hoping to see those figures grow and hopefully over time catch up to production.

And yeah, tell me about the first Queensland rum day last year and and how that's uh evolved this year. Well I think as as Duncan mentioned, uh uh a idea like all good ideas, um, over a glass of rum with May. Rick and I are great mates, a as as we are with all of the rum producers in Queensland.

had a chat. Well, how do we promote the category that we have such a large investment in? We discussed the day and then it was a A pretty quick conversation with guys like Duncan and others, the team at Bean Lee and lots of other other smaller brands um here in Queensland producing rum. So we got started, that was at the end of October last year, a series of events um at the stories. Kelki Moon had a effectively a showcase of of smaller artisan Queensland rum producers.

really us finding our feet as a sector, as a category. And we had just such incredible response from the public. Queenslanders love rum. They love seeing albeit uh an industry that would often be seen as competitors working together.

in the interests of the of the category as a whole. And it was a no brainer that we'd double down and um make twenty twenty four even bigger. And hopefully, yeah, this goes on to to be a a really well known and a very popular fixture on the on the Queensland calendar. What are some of the events that are being held this year for Queensland Rum Day? Well we're at Nildesborand and Rum we have a follow on uh from an event last year that we held um called Rum Fire.

It's a very, very large bonfire. We're on a in a beautiful rural setting. Uh there's a green waste hazard burn that we'll be conducting with um the public in attendance. We'll have a number of um artists and guests distilleries showcasing their wares um at our Sunshine Coast home. I know Duncan has some great offers for people visiting Bundaberg Rum, um, which is an incredible experience the team at Bundy offer.

Uh Beanlee Rum have a another showcase of other producers at their Beanlee distillery and there's a range of smaller events um throughout Queensland at other rum producers again. encouraging the general public to look out for their local rum distillery and head on down and and have a taste of of liquid gold.

And obviously the exciting thing that we're also talking about today is the Rum Consortium, this uh history making special rum release that's that's coming out, I think will be premiering on on Queensland Rum Day.

Tell us about so there's four distilleries that have participated in this uh project. Tell me about how that all came together. Yeah, so I look I think Matt raised something really important before that people are really surprised.

when you see um competing distilleries coming together to to create something great. And I think that's actually for a good reason because We've done a bit of Googling and we can't find anywhere where four competing spirits brands or rum you know rum brands have actually come together to create a release that uses liquids from each each distillery. We think that's definitely the case in Australia, potentially even the world. So this uh this this could be a world first.

And so that's one of the reasons why we're excited about it. And I think uh why rum fans around Queensland are gonna be excited about it as well. But look, it has been a uh a fantastic project. I think we're really excited. Look at we've got a bottle of the uh the rum here. You can see here it looks absolutely incredible, but the great news is that it actually tastes better than it looks. But I guess the most important thing for me is that we've actually had a lot of fun.

doing this as well. Yes, we're all friendly competitors. But it has actually been a lot of fun getting together and playing to each other's strengths when making this product. Uh, you know, just just organically. We've kind of split the workload quite evenly. One of the things that's really interesting when you're working on a project like this is

Every distillery does have its own strengths, whether they're big, small, old or new, you know, everybody's got a a key role to play and I've really enjoyed seeing how we've all managed to uh to work out what those strengths are and uh and bring our strength to the table to uh to create something great.

Was that just purely a matter of getting equal portions of from four distilleries and and whacking them together, or was there sort of a blending process that that happened where you you figured out what was gonna give you the best, you know, the most balanced liquid in the end? It wasn't an easy process, um, James. It never is, is it? It's um obviously e each of the distilleries has a a particular s house style. And really the brief was that we we wanted a uh a liquid that was cohesive.

Um was integrated but showed off something of each of the participating brands. At Nildest Random Rum we were able to yeah, lean into the the blend and and when we did the the blending and bottling on behalf of the other brands participating. We had a a range of liquids submitted from each of the distilleries and then that that onerous task fell to Adam, our head distiller. And I I think he's um had had a very challenging job um but has resulted in a

in in what is a is a great rum. When we had samples and we obviously had a number of samples, the production teams at each of the distilleries were able to then submit their their preferences for the blend. we all aligned with what we think was the best expression of of that beautiful liquid for the people who love Bundy The people who love Beanleigh, the people who are familiar with Kelkie Moon.

And of course our nil desperandum rum. I think there's something in that rum for everyone. And and I'd probably make the point that the sum of the parts, um, it's much greater as a whole. Those liquids work beautifully to together. I personally can't wait to see what the public, what the rum lovers think when they crack a bottle of of the rum consortium.

It was, it was a it was a really collaborative process. You know, I think Matt, Adam and the team did a an absolutely cracking job blending the liquids together. I think it started I think we started with eight different blends to start with, Matt, that went out to each of the uh the rum distilleries. And again, we could embark embark on a bit of a collaborative process within our own team.

So I know we shared uh liquids with uh production teams, marketing teams. I know the other distorters did as well. And then we all brought our thoughts to the table. And in in the beginning, there probably were some uh some differences of opinions. But, you know, over time we were able to kind of fine tune it, work together, uh, to get to a spot that we were all very aligned and everyone was on board. Everyone's incredibly proud of where we've ended up.

And you you mentioned that those four distilleries all have house styles. If you're gonna sum them up, you know, as simply as possible, how would you do that? And and for starters, I mean, are they all were all four of them molasses based rums, I'm assuming? Although there's um some exceptions, we're brands that all are very focused on molasses rums, which of course are the the traditional expression of Australian rum as rum from molasses.

Certainly the nul desperandum we we're using um probably more Dundrin muck, so for in the ferments, people that are familiar with rum production uh may be familiar with the the use of dunder which is waste um or stillage off the the initial distillation of the ferment. We're retaining a a very significant volume of that dunder.

We're also using some secondary putrefacation of uh of a liquid containing dunder and obviously some organic matter. So our our rum has a particular house style. It's probably a a little bit more um expressive of funk, a little bit more on the nose. Certainly Beanlee has um again that really I I almost liken it to a sort of pepperiness.

It's got a real um zing on the tongue. It's quite distinct to Beanlee and and much li much loved of course by people who are are really familiar with that Beanlee style. Of their beautiful pot stills. Kelkie Moon, of course, similar to um others, um uh aging their rum in bourbon barrel. So you've got some of that softness coming from the American white oak in addition to the the expression of bourbon within the aging process of rum.

And and of course I'm not gonna tell um Duncan what his rum tastes like. But um o over to you, Duncan. Bundy also too actually uh uses a little bit of dunder in our ferment process as well. Uh that helps uh give us a bit of that uh that character that we're famous for.

to go in this blender. We we put forward four different liquids of different different ages and also two different finishing types. So rum that had been matured in heavy chart American oak barrels, uh X pork barrels, X Sherry barrels, and X bourbon barrels. And I guess um as I said before, like we're all looking to kind of play off each other's strength.

And given that we've been around for more than a hundred and thirty five years, one of the things that we thought we could bring to the table was uh put forward some liquids that had a little bit of age behind them as well. So uh the liquid that was chosen out of the four that we put forward uh is a twelve year old bourbon barrel finished liquid.

And that twelve year old liquid Duncan, like would that have s gone into the masters collection or something along those lines if it if it hadn't have been diverted for this project? Uh look we've got uh rums that we're ob obviously using in our existing products, but then also too, we've always got a little pipeline of experimental liquids that we're working on for specific projects. or actually just stockpiling liquids that we know taste great.

that potentially we're going to need for future innovations that aren't in the pipeline. So uh that liquid, it is a small amount of liquid that's been used in this innovation, but that was liquid that we had set aside for future innovations.

You I think you mentioned that there's thirty producers now of rum in Queensland and we've touched on how molasses based rums are kind of the dominant style. But can you give me a sense of the breadth of what is out there, because there I think there are some producers making, for want of a better word, agricole rums from cane juice and maybe even some other feedstocks as well. So yeah, talk me through that. O over ninety five percent of sugarcane grown in Australia is grown in Queensland.

The access to sugar cane allows Queensland distillers to make a much more diverse range of product from molasses and of course cane juice. Of course, cane juice when it's separated from the stalk. and exposed to atmosphere and obviously the uh wild yeast naturally occurring within the atmosphere. Cane juice is is not as stable as molasses. It is going to ferment.

So fresh cane juice rums from around the world are typically, and it's no different than in Queensland, those expressive spirits produced um from cane juice. tend to be produced in very close proximity to the to the cane fields and and that's exactly the case.

throughout Queensland, from the Tweed River right up um to towards Cannes. So that means there's a l a lot of particularly the smaller distories working and and um really sort of pushing the boundaries of cane juice agricole style rums as they're called. Of course the the the French always get a little bit sensitive when Australians are dropping in the word agricole. agricultural style rums that the French and the French um Dominions are famous for.

So there's some really great things happening in unaged spirit or rested spirit um less than two years, which of course is not considered to be rum within the current um Australian legislation.

And there's some r really interesting things in even the production that um Bingle Bay, which are a great um up and coming distillery, yet to release their product to market. They're using vacuum distillation. So very reduced temperatures involved given the vacuum within the the specialized stills they're using.

And we know consumers are going to be excited with that diversity. But of course, um the traditional style of of producing rums from molasses is also a real focus of lots of brands right across Queensland. As Duncan mentioned, there's experimentation happening at every level of um disturb within Queensland. And again a real belief within Queensland rum producers that Queensland rum has a a distinct role to play. Like my my own personal view is that rum

it can really be considered the definitive Australian spirit. It has the longest history, the most ingrained occasionability that goes with rum. is uh older and more established than other categories and I think rum is is really coming back into the into the fork. You mentioned Duncan that rum has been the fastest growing category in Queensland over the over the past year. Can you just give me a little bit more information around that?

Yeah, so we we see we're seeing it grow in Queensland, but it's uh it's fantastic to also see uh rum growth happening around the world as well. I think we've All been waiting for this rum renaissance to happen. And I I think we're just just at that tipping point. There's a lot of green shoot.

everywhere, which we're uh we're really excited to see. Um I guess some of the the key ones for us is uh you know we're seeing rum globally actually growing faster than total spirits, which is a trend that's expected to continue, which is great. Rum is growing in Australia and if you take out R T D, excluding R T D

uh it's only second to tequila in Australia at present. So um there has been a few declines in uh in spiced rum, but we're seeing this being more than offset with uh with the growth that we're seeing in dark rum as well. Another really positive about the rum industry that we're seeing at present is we're seeing premiumization come into uh into the rum category. And also too, I think another fantastic trend that we're starting to see is uh we're seeing cocktail culture really explode.

Rum uh grows incredibly well in cocktails. It softened the base spirit in so many of the uh the classic cocktails and so I think that's excited for the rum category. It's fantastic to see the on premise. thriving once again uh and helping grow that co cocktail culture. But then also too, I guess, um, at home. I think uh me and a many back in the day uh potentially found making cocktails at home a little a little bit harder, a little bit intimidating.

But I guess uh, you know, probably one of the only good things that came out of lockdowns and spending a little bit more time at home is uh it taught us how to make a great cocktail at home. And so we're seeing more people uh enjoy a cocktail in the on premise. but also too in uh you know at at home as well. And I think uh, you know, that's all of that is contributing to this growth that we're seeing in the ROM category.

And and that premiumization, is that something that you're seeing at Bundy specifically, Duncan? Absolutely. Look, we were incredibly active um five, six, seven years ago. in growing our premium portfolio. And we're really proud of that established portfolio that we've built over the years and we continue to grow on that portfolio with new uh long term additions, but also two limited additions as well.

Um, so for us it's about uh maintaining that portfolio. We are seeing a lot of interest in that premium portfolio for Bundy as people I guess uh you know expanding their knowledge about the rum category, but also too their curiosity.

You know, whether they're coming in through more of a mainstream offering, realising how much they uh they appreciate the great rum uh being made here in Australia, and then looking to uh trade up. So we are seeing that in the Bundy portfolio, uh, but we are seeing it across the the whole category as well.

Uh, and Matt, what does the the future sort of hold for Nil Desperandum in terms of what what you want to see with the evolution of your range of rums? We should also mention that um one of your rums was uh was named champion rum down at the ADSA Awards this year. So congratulations for that. Yeah, we're very grateful for the outcome at Australian Distilled Spirits Awards. Um Uh the premiumization and that the scale that our business operates, um

We do need rum to premiumise. The scale of businesses like ours dictates it's very hard to be competitive at the lower end of the price. We and others are are really wanting to make sure that consumers know that a s Australian made rum by real really so many different players is the equal of some of the world's best rums. We know that um our Sunshine and Suns um White Spirits brand rode the wave of Australians really falling in love with Australian produced gins.

Rum is certainly a harder challenge, certainly for us as a new entrant into the industry. But we really are starting to see consumers really interested in rum. Even as um recently as twelve months ago at lots of the consumer activations that our brand was present at. offering people rum, sort of blank looks, um no thank you, I quote unquote, I don't drink rum.

Twelve months later, and I think it is because of the efforts of so many businesses, including the bigger players like Bundaboo, people are really aware that rum is a really beautiful way to enhance your cocktails. It's the great drinks um in so many simple and and more complex ways to be enjoyed with friends and family. and Australian produce rum. There's so many great stories. Of course we we grow beautiful sugar cane

in Australia and particularly in Queensland. And it's the realness of rum that I think consumers are really starting to express their love of Australian rum at the at the checkout. So we we hope that continues. This uh Rum Consortium release, is that gonna be an an annual release now? We've loved doing the inaugural twenty twenty four blend and getting that together.

where like expectant parents, it's um I'll we'll let the consumers and let the public judge when those bottles are released. They go on pre-sale via each of the brand homes websites at ten AM on the thirtieth. I think we we all expect it's gonna go amazingly well. The bottle looks beautiful, the liquid is it tastes delicious. Um we're expecting it to be quickly sold out and

And fingers crossed, I think we'd love to be back um in twenty twenty five. So ten AM, that's tomorrow. So by the time this episode goes out, the bottles will be live on on websites for for my listeners to purchase. Correct. I think e each of the brands is holding back uh some bottles for the Queensland rum day activation and of course we do encourage your listeners if they're

If they're anywhere near a Queensland rum distillery on Queensland rum day or at any point in the future, absolutely look us up. We'd love to we'd love to show you around. I think you've mentioned there's a few distilleries where these events are happening, but is there appetite, do you think, from the other distilleries amongst those thirty to join the celebrations as the event continues in future years?

I I would say yes. Like, um, you know, we're already feeling uh, you know, a lot of momentum growing behind Queensland Rum Day already. the category is only going to be stronger if we're all working together. And so I think we we'd be really excited about more distilleries getting on board next uh next year.

As Matt said, I think we're waiting to get uh get the feedback from the public on the uh the Rum Consortium. But from what we've already seen in social media, it looks like there's a lot of people really excited about this new release. So You know, I'd say uh I'd say watch this space and hopefully we're back bigger and better in twenty twenty five.

Well guys, tell me about the um what the flavour profile of of the of the finished rum is like, the rum consortium. Uh yeah, so look, as we've said, it's it's an abyss absolutely delicious rum, and when when you're sampling it, you're going to be able to taste. some of the uh the individual notes that have come from the fort the stories involved. So uh you know when you're looking at the aroma there are uh notes of uh maple syrup, camera caramelized figs

uh hints of cinnamon brown sugar in that and some dried flours in there as well. On the palate, uh it's soft with hints of allspice, uh a bit of toffee, uh a bit of maple syrup, some baked figs. And uh some little touches of uh of Coco and Mocha.

And uh I know on the finish, uh it's got that rich molasses finish, uh a bit of cream caramel with some toffee and uh and obviously that uh that complexity that you'd expect from uh from a rum that's been made from spirits from four different rum distilleries. So Uh look absolutely delicious. Uh in the bottle it looks incredible. So and once it's gone, it is uh it is gone with only one thousand nine hundred and twenty bottles uh being made.

And how should people consume it? Is it is it a sipping rum or is it something that's gonna be um, you know, best in mixed drinks or Well, the the best way to drink it is how you like it. Right. But uh but we we think uh this rum is uh is clearly good enough just to be uh enjoyed neat or just over over a little bit of ice or in your favourite rum cocktail as well. Excellent gents. Well um congratulations on the launch of this.

Exciting rum and um happy Queensland rum day for this coming Saturday, the second of uh November and um I look forward to hopefully making it up there for uh for future iterations and seeing this this rum fire. Uh sounds pretty amazing Matt. Well thank you so much. Um of course, yeah, it's always sunny in Queensland, so yeah, head north and come and say good day. Thanks, James. Jens, thanks, thanks for your time.