It begins, as the best drinking stories do, with someone walking into a bar. "I don't like rum," says the visitor, and the bartender, distiller or whichever spiritual guide the novice has encountered at the dawn of their Damascene conversion, smiles knowingly. "You just haven't met the right one."
We love rum. It’s the spirit of the tropics. Rum has been an integral part of the life of sailors, originating in the Caribbean around 1650. Originally referred to as kill-devil or rum-bullion, by 1667 it was simply referred to as rum. It was a daily ration for sailors, a favourite of pirates and a valuable commodity not only around the Caribbean, but also around the world. It is still a firm favourite to this day and it the base of many delicious (and sometimes morally dangerous) cocktails.
Plantation Rum is one of my favourite brands of rum served at Seabean, produced by Maison Ferrand, one of the oldest spirit brands in the Cognac region. In 1989 it was purchased by Alexander Gabriel, a young punk entrepreneur who was dedicated to the production of fine spirits. Loves a good rum, too, so that’s a win.
In the 1990s, Gabriel combed the Caribbean in search of the best rums. Tough gig. In his search, the Plantation brand was born – an artisanal range of rums from the great terroirs of the tropics.
At Seabean, we stock a range of signature blends and vintages of Plantation Rum. The signature blends offer all the local knowledge of the Cognac region. It is a rum created from many parameters including extra ageing in old cognac barrels.
Plantation vintages are an invitation to travel. From Jamaica to Barbados via Panama, each rum possesses characteristic local flavours from each country it is produced in.
We have our own spiced rum we make in-house using the Plantation Original Dark Rum. It’s spiced with local vanilla, dried orange peel, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and star anise. We infuse the spices for 48 hours and then remove them. It’s taken a while to perfect our blend, but there’s nothing wrong with a bit of trial and error… We love to use this rum in mojitos and it also makes a sensational Dark n Stormy with ginger beer and fresh lime.
“May your anchor be tight, your cork be loose, your rum be spiced and your compass be true.”
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