Uprising
How Richland Rum reenergised an American town
The spirit of Georgia – that’s how Richland Rum describes itself. The name is a nod to the town in which the Rum is made, and it just so happens that the town is blessed to be based in ‘rich lands’, with fertile and sandy soils, generous amounts of sunshine and natural waters from the Georgia aquifer. This all combines to form what Richland’s owners Erik and Karin Vonk claims makes an excellent rummaking terroir.
The story goes that Erik Vonk had the then mayor of Richland, Adolph McLendon pull up to a 1,700 acre farm owned by the Vonks and ask whether he would consider moving his small distillery a north into the town. At this point in 2007, calling Richland a town might have been generous by the sound of things, with much of its high street boarded up. The mayor was seeking a business that would bring jobs and good PR to Richland and the Vonks had just the right approach to things to make it happen.
The Dutch-born Erik Vonk was taught to appreciate rum by his grandfather, who in Rotterdam had inspired an appreciation of the spirit. In 1999 Erik retired from Atlanta to the South Georgian countryside and started a product called
Vennebroeck Velvet. Inspired by a chance to uplift the town of Richland, the eponymous rum was born in 2007, with the Vonks purchasing and renovating a building on Richland’s Broad Street, while trading in their home-built 20 gallon still for Portuguese 200-gallon number. The first product under the new name would come out in 2012.
There’s a stripped-back to basics approach to rum making at Richland that relies on authenticity. Richland appreciates that when you’re the only one, you’re truly authentic. Richland Rum claims to be the only single estate rum distillery in the United States – that means that every step of the rum-making process is conducted on the same estate, with no outside products, pieces or ingredients used to speed things along. It’s field to glass in every sense. Best of all, these practices and the attraction of Richland Rum has helped to revitalise the small Georgian town.
In order to not deplete resources, Richland has recognised the need to practice in an efficient manner. Techniques such as using flames to burn out weeds and irrigating using water from the Georgia aquifer go some way towards this. These practises allow Richland to grow its own sugar cane on the estate.
Sugar cane is certainly not unique to the estate, however the involvement of Richland Rum roused it from its economic slumber. This sugar cane is then reduced to unrefined pure sugar cane syrup using iron syrup kettles in a process rum makers used centuries ago.
Following fermentation and distillation, which is overseen by distiller Roger Zimmerman, the ageing process involves virgin white oak barrels from Wisconsin. Richland places great stock by its Single Barrel distinction – this means the authenticity started with the farming processes is carried through to the final product. Each bottle comes with a tag noting its barrel number, its bottle number and the year it was distilled. The ageing process is forty months and the brand describes this as keeping the orchestra together for just the right amount of time.
Richland opened a second distillery in 2017 in the Georgia town of Brunswick. Here, Zimmerman’s son distils a virgin white rum. For the site, they renovated a 6,400 squarefoot space dating back to the late 1800s with nods to 17th and 18th century Amsterdam.
For the rums themselves, let’s start with the Richard Single Estate Virgin Coastal Georgia Rum. It is unaged, unfiltered and comes in at 43% ABV. It is an Agricole-style rum that packs a lot of floral and vegetal notes. The flagship Richland Rum is an easy-sipper and a good option for introducing people new to the spirit. On top of this there is a cask-strength offering and a number of cask-experiments that include IPA and Port casks.
For an estate that is attuned to the natural environment around it, a simple option for those of us not on the way to Georgia soon is the virtual tour on the company’s website. In the spirit of authenticity celebrated by the Vonks, it’s best to visit yourself where you’ll be richly rewarded for getting there. Tours are offered at both Richland and Brunswick sites. The tour empowers guests to make their own choices. These are based on facts about the process Richland uses to make rum. It’s a firsthand experience that takes in all aspects of the rum creation and concludes with a tasting.
The arrival of Richland in the town drove initial interest and now as one of the most notable craft spirits in the States, its strength is an asset used to generate tourism. Who knows, given time, the rum industry might be thanking the Richland team as well.