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Meeting Arthur Roberts, Who Saved the Royal Navy's Rum Recipe
Arthur Roberts kept his handwritten 1963 Royal Navy rum recipe for sixty years without realizing it's importance. Here's the story of meeting him.
Aug 7
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Matt Pietrek
14
4
1
Planteray OFTD Rum Turns Ten
Planteray OFTD, aka "Oh Fuck, That's Delicious", turns 10. The overproof rum that fuels modern tiki, told in the words of the OFTD brothers who created…
Jul 20
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Matt Pietrek
15
Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 4 - Hacking Ester Creation With the Cousins Process
Fermentation alone can't make super funky rum. In 1906, a British chemist in Jamaica hacked ester formation at distillation using chemical jujitsu…
Jun 23
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Matt Pietrek
19
5
1
Most Popular
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Is Bumbu Rum? It Depends...
Jun 25, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
20
3
1
The Fallacy of "White Rum"
May 23, 2023
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Matt Pietrek
23
10
1
The Many Myths of Smith & Cross
Sep 25, 2023
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Matt Pietrek
22
10
2
Plantation Rum Becomes Planteray Rum
Jan 9, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
19
2
1
Jamaica Rum Styles Primer
Aug 18, 2025
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Matt Pietrek
29
11
1
Rum Categories: Where Theory and Practice Collide
Aug 14, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
18
7
News
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Which Rum Brands May Be Up for Sale?
A possible Pernod–Brown-Forman tie-up raises a bigger question: when portfolios overlap or turmoil hits, which rum brands stay—and which get sold?
Apr 6
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Matt Pietrek
15
5
3
Equiano Rum - Dueling Ownership Bids
Dueling bids for the brand's assets and a founder’s exit —Equiano Rum battle spills into the spotlight.
Sep 5, 2025
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Matt Pietrek
11
3
Equiano Rum - What Happened?
Ian Burrell announced he’s no longer representing Equiano Rum. UK government filings tell more of the story, including a possible Uncle Nearest…
Sep 3, 2025
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Matt Pietrek
14
2
Is Luca Gargano (& Friends?) Buying The Renegade Rum Distillery?
When I first published about the upcoming sale of the Renegade Rum Distillery, the buyer —or buyers— weren’t known. However, in the past 36 hours, new…
Sep 15, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
11
7
Jamaican Rum
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Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 4 - Hacking Ester Creation With the Cousins Process
Fermentation alone can't make super funky rum. In 1906, a British chemist in Jamaica hacked ester formation at distillation using chemical jujitsu…
Jun 23
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Matt Pietrek
19
5
1
Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 3 - Bacteria and Muck
Yeast gets all the credit, but bacteria are behind the most extreme flavors in weird, high-ester rums. What's a muck pit? Part 3 of a 4-part series…
Jun 8
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Matt Pietrek
17
3
Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 2 - Dunder and Acid
How do Jamaican distillers make funky, high-congener rum? Part 2 explores dunder, and cane acid, the ingredients that push fermentation beyond the…
May 22
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Matt Pietrek
16
4
Making Funky, High Ester Rum - Part 1
What makes Hampden taste different from Bacardi? It starts with the yeast. A guide to rum fermentation and esters — Part 1 of a series on funky rum.
May 4
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Matt Pietrek
33
2
1
Geographical Indications
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Jamaica Rum's 2024 GI Revisions Paused Per Court Order
A Jamaican court has put enforcement of Jamaica's 2024 rum GI revisions on hold, pending further hearings.
Sep 30, 2025
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Matt Pietrek
12
1
Why Is Rum Held to a Higher Global Standard Than Whiskey?
There is no truly global standard for distilled spirit, nor is rum the wild west of distilled spirits. It’s catchy, but wrong.
Dec 20, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
11
2
1
Rum Aging Regulations - A Tale of 14 Rum GIs
Despite having previously summarized over a dozen rum GIs, there's still plenty to learn by focusing on the post-distillation requirements for a wide…
Oct 23, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
11
2
1
Jamaica's Rum GI Changes - Overview and Analysis
There’s news today from Jamaica regarding small but important revisions to the country’s rum geographical indication, aka GI. In what follows, I will…
Oct 10, 2024
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Matt Pietrek
8
10
1
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