Understand Auckland, New Zealand's rum scene which is EXPLODING! Meet Rob O'Connell and see his distillery set up at NZ Rum Co. See how Rob is experimenting with his yeast and recipes to make delicious expressions like McJaggery White Rum.
New Zealand Rum Scene
Auckland has become a hotbed for craft rum distilleries. Lunatic and Lover, Bayside Rum Co, Black Collard Distillery and NZ Rum Co have all camped base here. So lets take a look at NZ Rum Co, it's great selection of rums and pick the brain of Rob O' Connell the founder and master distiller of NZ Rum Co.
The NZ Rum Co.
The NZ Rum Co. is based in an industrial estate a few minutes north of Auckland city centre. It's a smoking hot day and the warehouse doors are fully open, giving a great view of the distillery. The NZ Rum Co. has a 500ltr combination copper pot and column still with an attached infusion basket, giving Rob the master distiller and founder a huge amount of flexibility. It's a lovely looking still set up but even more impressively is the behind the scenes valves, sensors and switches that Rob additionally designed to make his distillation as smooth as possible.
The distillery also has 3 temperature controlled fermentation tanks, a mixer and a number of barrels aging a variety of expressions Rob is experimenting with. My favourite bit though is actually hidden behind the distillery, where Rob has nurtured a unused patch of grass to grow sugarcane which sways in the summer breeze. This gives consumers visually the full journey of how rum is made.
How NZ Rum Co. Was Born
Rob first discovered rum in the best possible surroundings. As a previous crew member on board sailing ships, Rob was able to see and taste some of the finest rums in the world in their natural Caribbean habitat. After falling in love with this liquid gold, Rob returned to New Zealand and started to experiment with his own recipes. After a few years of experiments and an eye opening trip to the barbers, NZ Rum Co. was born.
The Rum Process
The NZ Rum Co. is developing a variety of expressions using tailored recipes and combination of yeast strands to perfect the taste. My favourite is the unaged McJaggery Rum mainly from the story of its birth. One day Rob was at his barbers for a usual haircut, when he got to talking about India - home of said barber - and it's love of Jaggery sugar. Intrigued, Rob found and experimented with this new style sugar and eventually made the very unique McJaggery Rum.
What's In the Barrel
Rob has started to build a fine selection of barrels at the distillery with a vision to obtain a second warehouse. Barrels tend to range between 55% and 65% ABV to bring out different flavours from his McJaggery rum base. Like all things at NZ Rum Co. experimentation is the name of the game as Rob hones in on the perfect aged rum recipe. From double pot stilled to pot and column blends all at different strengths and stages, it's great to see tinkering to this level to find the best recipe.
I was able to enjoy a double pot still rum from 2021 at 65.5% ABV fresh from the barrel which had a wealth of funky flavour.
Checking Out NZ Rum Co's Range Of Rums
Rob's passion for experimentation, and the flexibility of his still is the perfect pairing for developing rum expressions. We were able to enjoy a host of different rums on our tour with some key highlights below.
McJaggery - The flagship rum made from McJaggery sugarcane to give a unique, crisp rum. McJaggery has a combination of tropical notes and citrus. It's very smooth for an unaged rum and has a sweetness to it.
NZ Coffee Liqueur - A beautiful combination of cold brew coffee, McJaggery rum, sugar and a lovely hint of vanilla. The perfect ingredient for an Espresso Martini.
Extensions - Within the NZ Rum Co. range there are three expressions to explore. The first is an overproof at 55% ABV. A blend of double pot and column stilled molasses based rum. Next up is rums answer to "pink gin" with the McJaggery Triple Berry, A lovely floral combination of McJaggery sugar rum with strawberry, blackberry and raspberries which is delightful on the nose. Finally we have my favourite, McJaggery Spiced! This molasses based spiced rum has no less than six delicious spices infused and combined to make this tipple. So good I had to take a bottle home.
If the above has peaked your interest then head on over to www.thenzrumco.nz where you can book your own exploration tour or even discuss a collaboration to create your own expression with Rob. You can also keep up to date with all of Rob's activities via @nzrumco on IG. Stay tuned for the NZ Rum Co. Spiced review, coming soon.
Comments