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Equiano launches vintage rum
The Equiano Rum Co., a UK-based brand blending African and Caribbean rums, has announced the first release from its ‘Legacy Blends’ series.
Named Ominira, the first release in a three-part series retails for £180. Liquids used in the blend have been created by Barbadian distillery Foursquare and emerging Mauritius-based distillery Gray’s, matured in Bourbon and Cognac casks, and finished with a touch of Sherry cask.
The Equiano Rum Co., present in 40 territories worldwide, plans to release just 3,000 bottles of the vintage rum.
Liquid used in the blend has been matured for a minimum of 11 years. The tropical climates of both Barbados and Mauritius result in a faster maturation than that of cooler regions.
Equiano’s product range includes an original dark rum and Equiano Light, made using barrel-aged molasses rum from the Caribbean and sugr cane juice rum from Africa.
The brand is now breaking into the ultra-premium segment with the new launch. Co-founder and rum ambassador Ian Burrell explained that “vintage rum has quickly evolved into a highly cherished collector’s item”, something the brand is looking to capitalise on.
Equiano is releasing Ominira via its website from 15 April, before releasing into the on- and off-trade a month later. Sales of rum in Great Britain’s on-trade reached £1.1 billion in value in the 12 months to December 2023, overtaking whisky for the second year in a row. Rum is ahead of all other spirits categories, with the exception of cream liqueurs and brandy, highlighting the ongoing potential of the dark spirit.
Olaudah Equiano
The Equiano Rum Co. is named after the Eighteenth Century freedom fighter, whose biography The Interesting Narrative was published days before the British Parliament first debated the abolition of the slave trade in 1789.
The name Ominira means freedom in Yoruba, the West African language predominantly spoken in Equiano’s birthplace of Essaka. The aged and rested blend of Gray’s and Foursquare rums has an ABV of 52%, which reflects the age he was when he died.