73: Tales from an Epic Rum Journey Around the World w/ Richard Nicholson

The Rumcast

28 Distillery Visits. 11 Countries. 13 Months.

In this episode, we sit down with Richard Nicholson, founder of the New Zealand Rum Society and your fellow Rumcast listener, to unpack what can only be described as a rum journey of epic proportions. Richard spent 13 months on the road taking 28 distillery visits, attending numerous rum festivals, and visiting three of his own personal rum "Holy Grail" destinations, from Barbados to Martinique to Guadeloupe to Madeira to Scotland and beyond.

In addition to pulling as many rum travel tips out of Richard as we could, we also went deep into his on-the-ground exploration of rhum agricole and all of the delightful surprises it has to offer right now, his trip into the cellars of the Main Rum Company, and much more, including:

How he went about planning this rum odyssey in the first place

His #1 "run, don't walk" destination for other rum enthusiasts based on his journey

The magic of Marie-Galante rums

Cane juice rums more people should be talking about

Adventures at rum festivals across Europe

The ins and outs of Madeira rum

And more

You can follow Richard and his adventures with the New Zealand Rum Society here on Instagram.

You can also check out the New Zealand Rum Society on Facebook.

Also, if you're curious to see the complete list of distilleries Richard visited, here it is:

Barbados x3: Foursquare, Mount Gay, St. Nicholas Abbey

Martinique x8: Depaz, La Favourite, La Mauny/Trois-Rivières, Neisson, Rhum JM, Saint James/J Bally, A1710, HSE (aging/bottling didn’t get to Usine du Simone)

Guadeloupe x6: Bologne, Damoiseau, Kurakera/Longueteau, Montebello, Reimonenq, Papa Rouyo

Marie Galante x3: Bielle, Poisson (Père Labat)/Rhum Rhum, Domaine de Bellevue

Madeira x5: O’Reizinho, Engenhos do Norte, Engenhos da Calheta, Engeno Novo (William Hinton), Florentino Izildo de Gouveia Ferreira

Amsterdam: Rummie Club

Scotland: Ninefold

Scotland (Scotch distilleries): Arran, Lagg, Springbank, Glengyle, Glen Scotia

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