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Equiano rum: a liquid legacy

Born in the mid-1700s in Nigeria, Olaudah Equiano was a prominent abolitionist. Kidnapped and sold into slavery as a teenager, he was transported to the Caribbean, where he worked to buy his freedom, eventually arriving in London.

His emotive memoirs became one of the first works by an African writer to be accepted by a major publisher and played a significant part in the anti-slavery movement. Today his story has a resonance with global conversations relating to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Equiano (Alc 43%), the rum named in his honour, is the world’s first African-Caribbean rum. A limited batch blend from Grays distillery in Mauritius, it’s made from local molasses and aged for at least 10 years in French Limousin oak and ex-Cognac casks. Following the route taken by Equiano, it crosses the Atlantic to Barbados, where it’s blended with a rum matured in American oak ex-bourbon casks from the highly regarded Foursquare Distillery.

The result is a deliciously complex dark rum, with enticing aromas of bananas, caramel, black toffee, spice, dried mango and sweet woody notes. Multilayered and elegant, the palate is warming, woody and spicy, with lingering notes of dried fruit, nuts and toffee, plus bitter orange peel on the finish.

In addition, 5% of company profits and £2 from every bottle sold goes to the charitable Equiano Rum Co Foundation. In 2021 its grant recipient is Anti-Slavery International.

£ 49.95/70cl www.equianorum.com