Lock And Load With Revolver Rum

South America is renowned for the quality of its rum, and Cornwall has strong associations with the spirit, harking back to the days when pirates and smugglers would ply their trade along its rugged coastline. It’s no wonder that when two rum lovers (and real-life lovers!) from vastly different places put their heads together, the end result would involve—yes, rum!

Rathlee Distillery is based in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, and is run by husband-and-wife team Stuart and Paola Leather. It’s an example of what happens when English eccentricity moves in time with a funky Latin beat. Their first creation, Revolver Rum, is an invigorating blend of the couple’s two cultures—the city of Bogotá in Colombia and the rugged coasts of Cornwall.

The couple, who have two children, said: "We also felt that we could offer something new to the rum category. Revolver is a new kind of rum, which is inspired by our respective homelands. We wanted to create our own company that would represent the blending of our two cultures. We wondered about making fruit juices or beer, but eventually, we decided to create our own rum because we love it and because it has strong connections for Cornwall and Colombia."

Founded in 2012, Rathlee Distillery began by successfully applying to become the first licensed rum distillery in the South West. Paola, who holds a food science degree from Colombia, has a background in brewing beer, so transitioning to distilling spirits wasn’t too far from her previous roles at St Austell Brewery and Skinner’s Brewery.

The duo purchased a small, handmade artisan copper pot still, which they used to create test batches of various recipes using different raw materials, including a Colombian sugar called panela, various yeast strains, and different distillation methods. After extensive experimentation, they were finally satisfied with their recipe, and they called upon some of Latin America’s finest artisan rum makers for guidance. The end result was Revolver Rum.

Rathlee Distilling Company imports the rum to the UK in handmade white oak barrels and blends it with pure Cornish water to create an outstanding new spirit. The rum is blended and bottled by Paola and Stuart, showing just how much they care about the product—it’s a true representation of themselves as a couple!

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Revolver Rum - 40% 70cl

Nose: Spicy, buttery vanilla, fine toasted wood, tropical fruit.

Palate: Smooth, balanced, light-bodied, vanilla, dry nuts, fruit, oak flavour, warming chocolate.

Finish: Peppery spice, sugar cane honey.

Revolver Rum is a smooth, light-bodied rum bursting with youthful exuberance. It delivers an exquisite blend of tropical fruit, spice, and toasted wood aromas, highlighting its ageing process. The palate is soft and dry, with notes of oak, vanilla, and warming chocolate, finishing with a gradual fade of spicy peppercorns and a slight sweetness reminiscent of fine sugar cane honey.

Revolver Rum is excellent for mixing in cocktails or enjoyed over ice with plenty of lime. Here are a few selected cocktail recipes, kindly shared by Stuart:

Brewbalee

• 50ml Revolver Rum
• Ginger beer
• 50ml red wine
• Ginger root and mint garnish

Pour the rum over ice in a tall glass and top up with ginger beer. Float the red wine and garnish with ginger root and mint. Gaze out upon the sea.

Mulata

• 25ml Revolver Rum
• 25ml coffee liqueur
• 50ml milk

Mix all the ingredients over ice in a tumbler glass. Add a grating of nutmeg on top as a crowd-pleaser.

Sugar Mama

• 50ml Revolver Rum
• 40ml pineapple juice
• 30ml lime juice
• 20ml orgeat syrup
• 10ml Campari
• Lemon and mint garnish

Shake all the ingredients and pour with flair into a chilled cocktail glass. Unleash your inner barista. Garnish with a heavy lemon twist and a mint leaf.