Market Row rum is a botanical rum made in London. In fact it’s made in Brixton SW9 in a small co-working space called Impact Brixton which we share with many other independent local businesses. It’s a fascinating place with a strong Brixton multi-cultural vibe which you feel when you walk through the door. Our distillery certainly has a novelty value to it and is on the guided tour of all new members.
Laurent Lacassagne and I (Pat Venning) started our adventure in rum in 2019, however we had joined forces many times before when we worked together at Pernod Ricard. It was after we had both left that we decided it was time to test ourselves again and create a premium London rum, a category that is fun to play in and highly innovative with some amazing brands.
Now, nobody really knows what a London rum is and in fact nobody really knows what a botanical rum is either, but ours is lighter and less sweet than most rums (there is no sugar in ours) and we use local ingredients that are largely available in Brixton and the surrounding areas. Market Row rum comprises a blend of high-end rums from Jamaica, Barbados and the Dominican Republic, aged for up to five years in ex-bourbon barrels before being redistilled with a selection of botanicals. The distilleries we source from are among the best in the world and include Foursquare, Worthy Park and Hampden Estate. Our defining botanicals are Nigerian Hibiscus, Kenyan black team and Asian red rose. We also have Grenadian Mace and Madagascan vanilla (although we haven’t yet been able to find a supplier for that in Brixton’s markets).
Our botanicals are then added to the base rum and re-distilled in our 100 litre still (which we call Eddy…for obvious reasons) under the watchful eye of our master distiller Matt Servini. It was Matt who toiled away for almost 5 months to find the perfect blend and then a further 3 months before we were happy with the way the botanicals were working with the rum. It was a very special day when the 3 of us finally said that we think we have it, it was an even better day when our friends and family told us that they thought it was really good. So far, so good and every day we are thrilled by the amount of people that come back for a 2nd or a 3rd bottle. Hopefully you’ll be our newest fan?
We also try to make sure that whenever we need resource or expertise on the brand or in the distillery, we look close to home first and this has proved a massive attraction to the running of the brand where we have local people helping us with the packaging, web design, the merchandising, and several other areas. So, for us, local ingredients and local people is what we are all about and is what makes it fun.
Please go ahead and try a bottle, it is a rum that is bright and vibrant on the nose with all the classic notes of a Jamaican pot still rum and the fruitiness of Foursquare. The notes on the nose are carried through to the 1st taste and enhanced with the carefully tasted botanicals, a hint of creamy vanilla and caramel followed by big fruity hits of banana and pineapple. Finally the ageing influence from the ex-bourbon barrels arrives mid-palate before leaving you with a beautiful flowing finish and ending on subtle notes of charred oak and pimento.
I hope you enjoy our rum; Brixton, bottled.
Patrick Venning I CEO of Brixton I www.brixtondistillery.com
