Located at their stunning waterside distillery on Island Street in Salcombe, one of the world’s only distilleries directly accessible by boat, Salcombe Rum School allows enthusiasts to learn about the art of rum distillation and cask ageing, distil their own 70cl bottle of rum and create a bespoke rum cocktail. Salcombe Rum School runs every Thursday afternoon (2pm – 5pm), £110 for one person or £160 for a shared experience for two and can be booked at salcombedistilling.com.
During the session visitors receive a complimentary Salcombe Rum cocktail on arrival. They then visit Salcombe Rum’s still room where they learn from Salcombe Distilling Co.’s experienced team of distillers all about rum production and how the distillation process works on traditional copper pot rum stills.
After the still room tour, it’s time for guests to distil their own original bottle of rum in pioneering Salcombe Distilling Co.’s R&D laboratory. With the guidance of Salcombe Distilling Co.’s expert distillers, each student gets creative and formulates their own rum recipe picking from the range of botanicals supplied, or they can bring their own if they wish. They’ll also have the chance to name and create a personalised label for their finished rum and be given a white wooden presentation box for their newly created 70cl bottle. A second complimentary rum cocktail will be enjoyed during the distillation part of the session.
While the attendees’ rums are distilled, they are taught about cask ageing and how it affects the quality and flavour of rum, before having the opportunity to sample some exclusive cask aged Salcombe Rum. To complete the Salcombe Rum School experience, guests visit the Distillery bar to mix some of their newly created rum into a cocktail and unwind while reflecting on what they have learnt.
Commenting on the launch of Salcombe Rum School, co-founder of Salcombe Distilling Co., Howard Davies, comments: “Since its launch in 2017, our award-winning Gin School has welcomed over 10 thousand visitors. Last Autumn we introduced Salcombe Rum ‘Island Street’, an outstanding transatlantic spiced gold rum which is a blend of single estate gold rum produced in Salcombe with the finest exotic rums and spices from the Caribbean. It has proved extremely sought-after and this, combined with the huge popularity of Salcombe Gin School, led my fellow co-founder Angus and I to launch Salcombe Rum School, allowing others the opportunity to learn how to create their own rum in a fun and relaxed way.”
Expertly crafted, premium Salcombe Rum ‘Island Street’ is a blend of single estate gold rum produced in Salcombe, with the finest exotic rums and spices from the Caribbean. Created in honour of the transatlantic trading history of the Salcombe Fruiters, first a gold rum is produced by fermenting molasses, then distilling and ageing in Salcombe. Hand-sourced three year old pot still gold rum from Jamaica and three year old column still rum from the Dominican Republic are then blended with the Salcombe gold rum, along with a unique spiced pineapple distillate, to produce Salcombe Rum ‘Island Street’.
Salcombe Rum ‘Island Street’ joined Salcombe Distilling Co.’s award-winning line-up of Salcombe Rum ‘Lantern Rock’, Salcombe Rum ‘Whitestrand’, Salcombe Gin ‘Start Point’, Salcombe Gin ‘Rosé Sainte Marie’, Salcombe Gin Voyager Series and New London Light non-alcoholic spirits and aperitifs.
To book a place at Salcombe Distilling Co.’s Rum School or for more information, visit www.salcombedistilling.com.
