QHA-Review_July_digital
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A SPIRITED BUNCH<br />
WE’RE ALSO ZERO-WASTE. AFTER PRODUCING OUR RUM, WE ARE LEFTOVER WITH A<br />
COMPONENT CALLED DUNDER, WHICH IS DIRECTED TO ORGANIC CATTLE FARMS.<br />
“Nil Desperandum is made with production techniques<br />
and ingredients that directly reference some of the<br />
greatest rums from Jamaica, for example, the use of<br />
dunder and muck. They are components that we use<br />
in fermentation to create elevated flavour profiles in<br />
both taste and aroma.<br />
“The rum is premium quality at an affordable price,<br />
which we know is very significant. We are getting a<br />
lot of interest because it’s a rum that hospitality venue<br />
owners and publicans can easily embrace. We’ve<br />
been very aggressive on pricing to make sure there’s<br />
not necessarily a barrier there, so publicans won’t have<br />
something sitting on the back bar that’s priced outside<br />
the range of a typical drinker.<br />
“We really focus on our rum’s quality regardless of if<br />
they’re being mixed or not. Obviously, most rum in<br />
Australia is consumed with a mixer such as coke or<br />
ginger beer, but you’ll see this rum is absolutely good<br />
enough to drink neat over ice,” he said.<br />
Matt said one of the most wonderful things about<br />
the rum and their business is that they are the only<br />
distillery that can, hand on heart, tell people that<br />
there’s no chemicals, additives or waste in their<br />
production process.<br />
“Other companies just simply can’t do that, so we<br />
are very proud. We know that’s of interest to many<br />
consumers and people wanting great quality rum in<br />
their venues and pubs but not necessarily wanting to<br />
go and order a Caribbean rum.<br />
“We’re also zero-waste. After producing our rum, we<br />
are leftover with a component called dunder, which<br />
is directed to organic cattle farms. We’ve got this<br />
beautiful holistic story about the liquids running off the<br />
back end of production as a waste product and used<br />
as a livestock food supplement in the dairy and beef<br />
industry,” he said.<br />
Nil Desperandum also founded the 1871 Club. In<br />
addition to many other benefits, for $999-a-year<br />
the club provides rum fanatics with five single barrel<br />
releases. Matt said the club also allows members to<br />
get a bit of an insight into their large variety of rums.<br />
“We’ve got some very special barrels among the<br />
several thousand we have on site currently. Obviously,<br />
single barrel rums are often at a higher ABV than what<br />
you’d find in a retail or bar setting, but they’re really<br />
capturing the imagination of rum fans that, up until<br />
now, haven’t had the same ability to support local<br />
distillers<br />
“Lovers of rum in Australia tend to spend their<br />
money on exotic rums from overseas, including the<br />
Caribbean. Of course, that’s traditionally been where<br />
the best rums in the world have come from, but we<br />
know that as consumers are finding out about our<br />
brand, we are getting real interest in Australian rums,”<br />
he said.<br />
For anyone interested in sampling Nil Desperandum<br />
fine spirits and witnessing the ageing of Australia’s first<br />
Certified Organic rum, their distillery is open from 10am<br />
daily to the public. Matt said they love showing visitors<br />
around, and see first-hand everyday how locally made<br />
spirits are being embraced in the industry.<br />
“It’s probably not that long ago when publicans were<br />
reluctant to devote taps to craft or local craft beer.<br />
That reluctance certainly belongs in the past, but we’re<br />
very excited that a Queensland publican can have an<br />
independently owned artisan rum at an affordable price<br />
and embrace what we already know is a movement in<br />
other states,” he said.<br />
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