Instil bets on big year for premium rum with The Real McCoy listing

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 22 February, 2016

Instil Drinks has added premium Barbados rum The Real McCoy Rum to its portfolio ahead of the company's relaunch in London on March 1.

The Real McCoy are small-batch rums distilled once in a combination of column and pot stills before ageing in heavily charred American oak barrels.

They are created at the Foursquare distillery in Barbados under the guidance of fourth-generation master distiller Richard Seale without the use of additional sugars or flavourings.

The brand's name is taken from Prohibition-era rum runner Bill McCoy, who sold unadulterated Caribbean rums and other spirits from a ship in international waters off the coast of the United States eastern seaboard.

Instil will be listing The Real McCoy's three-year-old, five-year-old and 12-year-old expressions.

Mark Johnson, managing director of Instil, said: "We are predicting that artisan rum is going to be big in 2016 so we are delighted to have signed The Real McCoy. Its unwavering commitment to quality makes it a brilliant match for Instil, and the story behind the product gives it a point of difference.

"We wanted to find something that would stand out from the competition in terms of flavour, image and story and we believe that we have found this with The Real McCoy."

Bailey Pryor, founder and chief executive of Real McCoy Spirits, said: "We are delighted to be working with Instil to bring true unadulterated rum to the UK market. The fact that The Real McCoy is one of the very few rums on the market today that doesn't add sugars or flavours is something that any dark spirit enthusiast will appreciate."

Instil has also added five new artisan gin distilleries to its portfolio ahead of its March relaunch.

The new distilleries are Bermondsey, makers of Jensen's Gin; Dunnet Bay, maker of Rock Rose; NB Gin; Eden Mill; and Prairie Organic.

Instil's March launch is an opportunity for the agency to re-introduce itself, the team and its products to the UK trade following its incorporation of PLB's extensive beer range into its portfolio on the merger of Bibendum with PLB in the autumn of 2014.

Instil intends to reposition itself as a market leader in premium and artisan spirits, world beer and craft cider.

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