No Bought-In Spirit. No Shortcuts.
The story of a Michelin-trained chef who got tired of bad rum and built a still from scratch in Milton Keynes.
A Professional Kitchen Led Me Here.
I spent years cooking - from brigade kitchens at The Savoy to Michelin-starred service under Marcus Wareing and Heston Blumenthal at Dinner. Every kitchen I worked in had the same standard: if the ingredient isn't good enough, the dish doesn't go out.
Spirits these days are rarely good enough. Most of it is bought-in bulk spirit, artificially flavoured, poured into a branded bottle, and sold at a margin that had nothing to do with the liquid. I got tired of it. So when the restaurant business collapsed in 2022, I did what any rational person would do — I watched YouTube tutorials about distillation, ordered some equipment, and started fermenting molasses in a rented unit in Fenny Stratford.
"Same obsession with ingredients. Different kitchen."
Three years later, we've never had a return. The Pineapple Rum has two Great Taste Award stars. And 42% of everyone who orders comes back without being asked. That's not a marketing number — it's what happens when you don't take shortcuts.
