Launching a craft rum brand is a bit like setting sail in a hand-built schooner across stormy seas. The waves are high, the competition fierce, and there’s always a chance you’ll be blown off course. But with a steady hand at the helm, a decent compass, and a hold full of exceptional rum, you might just make it to the coveted shores of London’s craft spirits scene.
At Far Shore Merchants, we’re the proud brand owners behind a small but determined fleet of premium British rums, crafted in partnership with the brilliant Tom Read and his talented team at The Cornish Distilling Co. in Bude, Cornwall. Together, we’ve created something rather special — though getting these wonderful rums into London’s fiercely competitive craft rum scene has been anything but straightforward.
When we began creating Peggy Dark Rum back in 2019, the timing couldn’t have been more… unhelpful. COVID arrived just as we were perfecting the blend. Brilliant. Exactly what every fledgling brand owner dreams of — launching a premium rum in the middle of a global pandemic.
Still, proof of concept was the first step. We launched Peggy on our home turf, the Isle of Man, to see if people liked the taste. They didn’t just like it — they came back for more. Then came the gold awards from the London Spirits Competition and The Spirits Masters. Experts agreed we had something special. Next question: would London’s rum drinkers feel the same?
Of course, one rum is never enough. The range grew — Jackdaw Cave Spiced Rum for the adventurous souls, Windsong White Rum for the purists — and we set our sights firmly on the UK market, with a steady stream of large export orders from Belgium to keep morale (and cash flow) ticking over.
This is the part where many believe the brand “just takes off.” Spoiler: it doesn’t.
Refining the message, honing the image, knocking on doors, getting people to listen — that’s the real work. Fortunately, owning an ad agency has its perks. We could keep the branding sharp and the storytelling on point without spending a fortune… although rest assured, plenty of fortunes were still spent.
A breakthrough came when Jaco Strydom our intrepid brand ambassador in London joined our crew. Suddenly, high-end bars and restaurants were listening. The final missing piece was finding the right distributor partner — not just someone who could move boxes, but someone who believed in the brand. We found two: Master of Malt Trade and Champers.
Here’s the truth: it’s a long, hard road. You need deep pockets, thick skin, and the ability to keep moving forward even when it feels like you’re pushing a rum barrel uphill. The frustrations are many — delays, rejections, endless samples disappearing into the ether — but so are the rewards when a bartender in Chelsea, Mayfair or Soho calls your rum “the best thing they’ve tasted all year.”
We’re now at a turning point. With much-needed investment secured, we can finally scale to the volumes we’ve been chasing. The road ahead is still steep, but the view is looking better every day.
The lesson? In craft rum — as in life — you need the right philosophy and a tenacious streak a mile wide. And perhaps a dash of Peggy Dark to keep you going.
At Far Shore Merchants, we’ve decided to change all that — not with a half-hearted dabble, but with an unrelenting ambition to create rum so gloriously British it practically wears a cravat. And at the heart of this mission is our long-standing partnership with the remarkable Dr Tom Read and his team at The Cornish Distilling Company in Bude, Cornwall.
Molasses, Magic, and a Bit of British Stubbornness
Together, we don’t just make rum — we make rum from scratch. That means importing the very finest A-grade molasses, fermenting it on site in Cornwall’s salty air, and distilling it with all the precision and care you’d expect from people who are just a little obsessed. No bulk rum shipped halfway round the world, no shortcuts, no “close enough” — only pure, properly British craft.
It’s harder, of course. More expensive too. But that’s the point. In an age of mass-produced mediocrity, making rum the slow, deliberate way is our way of ensuring that every bottle tells a story — not just of where it’s from, but of the care, patience, and passion that went into it.
Why Scratch-Made Matters
Let’s be clear — British rum has always been a thing… just not in the way it should be. For decades, it’s been a matter of importing already-made rum and slapping on a British label. And while there’s nothing wrong with a good blend, there’s something deeply satisfying about knowing your rum was born, not just bottled, here.
Our goal is simple: to put pure British rum on the global stage, and to make it as respected as the Caribbean greats — not by imitating them, but by doing something distinctly our own. Cornwall, with its wild coastlines and stubborn character, is the perfect home for that vision.
A New Standard for British Spirits
With rums like Peggy Dark Rum, Jackdaw Cave Spiced Rum, and Windsong White Rum, we’re proving that scratch-made British rum can be elegant, complex, and unapologetically premium. We’re also proving that sustainability and quality can — and should — go hand in hand.
And if this all sounds a bit evangelical, it’s because it is. We truly believe that scratch-made British rum is the future — and we’re more than a little determined to make sure Far Shore Merchants, and our friends in Cornwall, are at the helm of that ship.
Here’s to Tom, to Cornwall, and to doing things the hard way — because the hard way tastes better.
Cheers,
Terry van Rhyn
Founder, Far Shore Merchants
