About Far Shore Merchants
If there’s one thing we value, it’s passion. Passion for our products, the craft businesses we work with, and for an absolute knockout rum.
It’s these qualities that we looked for when developing our portfolio of small-batch products: genuine connections with our producers and artisans, their passion for the ingredients and products they create, and the way their faces light up when we ask them why they do what they do.
Unlike our rum, this zest for life can’t be bottled, and it’s something we’ve pursued relentlessly to the corners of the world, bringing this knowledge and experience back to more local shores.
The British Isles has a unique heritage of romantic fables and fantastical tales, and we take inspiration from its untold stories, weaving them through our product range.
Our products are influenced by this rich history and folklore, an unending tapestry of events, tales, and stories that capture consumers’ imaginations and stimulate fascination. And we do this through the thing we value the most – our passion for our brand.
Doug Hey
Doug is a marketing and business veteran with a 30-year career at The Coca-Cola Company under his belt.
His earliest memories of rum involve Malibu, next to a fire on the beach, waiting for the sun to rise to get that first wave in.
For Doug, nothing makes him happier than enjoying the sunrise or sunset on a game drive during one of his many visits to the African bushveld.
A keen fly fisherman and budding foodie, Doug spends a lot of his time perfecting marinades for his steaks that have been painfully aged for that perfect BBQ. He is most often found sipping on a large glass of Jackdaw Cave spiced rum whilst dreaming of his next adventure into the African bush.
Terry Van Rhyn
Terry studied art and design during the 70s countercultural hippy movement, with his studies laying the foundation for his first Cape Town-based design studio.
After merging with two other agencies, he co-founded Smith, Knox & van Rhyn, a successful creative ad agency acquired in the early 90s by Young & Rubicam working on brands such as Moet et Chandon, Hennessy, Cinzano, Baileys Irish Cream, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Lupini Black Sambuca, to name a few.
Having lived near the water for most of his life, he loves scuba diving, fishing, surfing and sailing. Naturally, catching, prepping, and eating seafood is his passion, and he’s probably at his most zen with a stomach-load of lobster, abalone or oysters.
If he ever goes missing, just look for him on the coast. Follow the silky tones of Rodriguez’s Cold Fact album, the plume of cigar smoke, or the rich aromas of a freshly-poured Peggy dark rum (on the rocks, naturally), and there you’ll find him, watching the sunset as the waves break lazily against the shore. He’ll be in nirvana.
Tom Read – Head Distiller, The Cornish Distilling Company Ltd
Tom’s distillation journey started where all good stories start: chatting to Richard and Fionagh Harding in a local bar (spoiler alert: they would go on to be his future business partners).
Having worked a previous season as a lifeguard on the beaches of Bude, it took this meeting of minds for him to hang up his Speedos and explore his passion for distilling spirits.
Whether his PhD in biochemistry played a part or not, he’s unsure, but he decided to explore a more culinary form of alchemy in the form of distilling his own rum.
Fast forward and Tom is now the head distiller at The Cornish Distilling Company, his own custom-built distillery with a range of products and brands under his proverbial belt. The skills he has accumulated over the years have become the foundation for the distillery’s success, and with big plans for the future, he shows no sign of slowing down just yet.
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Far Shore Merchants
Far Shore Merchants warehouse
Optical House
Balthane Industrial Estate, Ballasalla,
Isle of Man, IM9 2AL