Rum lot bottle up real taste of the Caribbean
AFAMILY business selling a variety of rums has been launched.
Delgado Junior Waite, 30, from Castleton, has partnered with his step-dad, Craig Hunt, to launch Island Rumz.
The duo began making their own flavoured rum in lockdown and have now partnered with distillery, Midlands-based Staffordshire Brewery. A third business partner is family friend, Kay Mitchell.
Delgado, known as Junior, said: “I thought I spend so much money on rum I might as well make it.
“During lockdown we created our own bottles of rum. We now sell flavoured bespoke rum.
“I’m half-jamaican and my dad was a DJ so I grew up around reggae and rum.
“My business partner is currently in Jamaica. The only rum that you get in the UK is spiced rum or coconut like Malibu.
“We sell a black grape flavour.”
Island Rumz source all their rum from the Caribbean.
Junior added: “There’s a Jamaican drink called Sorrel that you only drink at Christmas. We’re looking to bring that out for Christmas. We are also looking to bring out rum punch for summer.
“Black grape with coke tastes like those cola cube sweets. We’re now looking to get our premises license so we can sell on Amazon.
“It was important to us to source our rum from the Caribbean.”
During lockdown, Junior would work remotely with Staffordshire brewery, who would send taste samples, which Junior and Craig would try and then change, until the flavour was right.
He said: “It was all done over the phone. It was a huge, long process.
“But now it can all be done in a day and it’s cheaper too. We are hoping to get our rum into bars and businesses in Rochdale.
“We went to Funtopia, an event in Stoke-on-trent, and sold rum cocktails there. We had my sisters and cousins helping out.”
Junior is the secondyoungest of one of eight siblings.
Island Rumz is currently online only, and sells flavours including black grape, tropical, white rum, mango, pineapple, and passionfruit, for £34.99 per bottle including post and package.
Find them on Facebook or by searching Island Rumz on Instagram.