The legend of The Bosun lives on with Beenleigh Rum
VOK Beverages has again become the proud owners of the Beenleigh Rum distillery. The oldest registered and heritage listed rum distillery in Australia, established in 1884.
To celebrate this they are relaunching their portfolio of rum, a white rum and a 5 y.o. dark rum, and adding a new product to it, a honey liqueur, that is as unique as the history of the distillery.
Back in 1869 James “The Bosun” Stewart operated SS Walrus as a floating sugar cane mill along the Albert River. Making it easy to mill sugar cane while docked at the plantation jetties. The crafty rogue later decided to install a pot still on the boat to make rum, using the molasses left over from crushing sugar cane.
One morning in 1884 the SS Walrus had run aground on the riverbank, then found by local farmers Davy and Gooding. On the boat they discovered the original pot was still in great condition, but a certain rascal was not to be found. They said a prayer for the missing James “The Bosun” Stewart, applied for a rum license and founded what we now know as the Beenleigh Rum distillery, using his old pot still to make rum.
The Westender had the privilege to taste the new products and enjoy a personal tour of the distillery with Beenleigh Distillery Manager John Mulraney and Vok Beverages Group Marketing Manager Chris Illman. Where they talked passionately about their rum and showing how Beenleigh Rum is crafted. Giving a glimpse into what makes this rum so unique.
The Beenleigh Rum distillery prides itself on producing a product that is based on quality, not quantity. As it was known to be the best rum you could get your hands on in Australia back in its early days, and awarded to be the best tasting rum in the world in 1995 at the London International Wine & Spirit Show — a tradition they intend to continue.
The distillery is an Australian owned company made with Australian-only products. Using locally-sourced water, molasses from Australia’s last remaining, privately-owned sugar mill, Rocky Point, and local, in-house produced yeast.
Beenleigh White Rum 37.5% ABV — With its very mild flavour is intended as a cocktail mixer. Yet it has a smooth and mild sweetness to it which will blend nicely with any drink it is added to.
Beenleigh Dark 5 Y.O. Rum 40% ABV — A dark rum with great character. With a richer taste than the white rum of course, it is still very smooth and can easily be enjoyed on the rocks.
Beenleigh Honey Liqueur 35% ABV — Is a dark 5 y.o. rum infused with Ligurian honey from Kangaroo Island. The honey makes the 5 y.o. rum even smoother to drink without making it too sweet. A perfect and unique liqueur to enjoy on the rocks as well