Rum firm with spirit

Twice Buried Rum has been enjoying sell-out success as a lifelong dream comes true, writes

Inverurie-based Twice Buried Rum Co has sold the first 800 bottles of its craft spirit since it was made available to the public less than three months ago. Twice Buried Rum Co is the concept of Kevin Bonarius who launched the firm in July, with the support of his partner Katie, in order to pursue his lifelong dream of running his own business.

Now Kevin, 31, is celebrating the sell-out success of the brand’s first two batches which each comprised 400 70cl bottles.

Both batches of the 40% ABV spiced botanical rum, priced at £34.99 per bottle, were produced at Lost Loch Spirits Distillery in Aboyne and were available for pre-order at the start of October.

Initially only available on the Twice Buried Rum Co website, Kevin decided to engage with local stockists to offer the spirit in their venues, too.

They include Ardennan Restaurant, Inverurie Whisky Shop, Esson’s of Huntly, Marshall’s Farm Shop, Kellockbank and Barra Berries.

Kevin, who is currently the chief operating officer at Garioch Sports Centre, in Inverurie, said: “Batches one and two totalled to 800 bottles.

“There were 400 bottles per batch but both were done in a single 800 production to start off.

“We sold out the week before Christmas, so within three months from our pre-order launch on Sunday October 3. It’s crazy thinking about it.

“We also sold out at our first-ever market for the Inverurie Christmas Lights Switch On back in November, and were the top-selling rum in the Inverurie Whisky Shop with Twice Buried selling three times more than any other rum on offer. We had only been available in the shop for two months at this point.

“The support from the local community and bars, restaurants, hotels and shops has been incredible and we are very grateful for that.”

The rum’s name is inspired by the historic local tale of Mary Elphinstone, who was said to have returned from the dead after being buried alive.

Ingredients include strawberries from Barra Berries, honey produced by Deeside Honey, salted caramel, nutmeg and cinnamon.

“Our vibrant and punchy branding has received compliments as well as the spooky historic local story behind our brand name,” Kevin added.

“Our vision to produce a local product using local ingredients and local businesses has proved to be very popular from its inception.”

Batch three has already been produced and the 400 bottles are now available to pre-order on the business’s website.

It will be on the shelves of the multiple local venues it is stocked in and distributed at the end of January, and pricing and ingredients will remain the same.

Kevin said: “We are now taking pre-orders as the demand remains high for those who want to try our rum. Hopefully, the early progress will continue, and batch four will not be far away either.

“In 2022, we will also be bringing a miniature bottle to market.

“In the long-term, the brand will absolutely be looking to introduce more flavours, too.

“We will be engaging with our followers to see what flavours they want to see

before we go into another research and development process with Lost Loch and expand our product offering.

“What the first three months have brought is an added hunger to take Twice Buried as far as we can across the UK and bring it forward in the market as a recognised and established brand in the years ahead.

“It will be a challenge but one we are thoroughly looking forward to.”

THE SUPPORT FROM THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND BARS, RESTAURANTS, HOTELS AND SHOPS HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE

z Visit twiceburied.co.uk for more information.

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