End of Year Round-up from the team at Hattiers Rum
As another year draws to a close, we take this time to take a step back and reflect on what has been. From beginning to end, 2021 has been nothing short of a whirlwind here at Hattiers Rum and despite what has been a turbulent year for the industry and Britain as a whole it has been an exciting time for the business.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of your for your custom and support this year and hope that you enjoy reading our end of year round-up.
We started the year in lockdown, but instead of taking this time to operate on a smaller scale, we planned for a year of increased capacity, exciting launches, new partnerships and finding ways to use business as a force for good.
In March this year Hattiers Rum signed the Better Business Act. Through the Better Business Act campaign, Hattiers along with over 870 other businesses are aiming to change UK law to make sure that every single company in the UK, whether big or small, puts balancing people, profit and planet at the heart of their purpose and the responsibilities of their directors.
Signing the Better Business Act was a logical next step for Hattiers following our B Corp certification in 2020, and what better timing as we celebrated B Corp month.
April saw a big change at the distillery. We had a complete refit, increased our blending tank size by 317% and installed three storage tanks designed to hold 4,000 litres of rum each, providing 20 times more storage capacity. We decided to source the new tanks locally from our friends over at Sharpham Wine, eliminating the need to buy new equipment that has been imported from overseas and in turn reducing their carbon footprint. This increase in capacity has also enabled us to double the size of our team with plans to welcome more team members in 2022 across all areas of the business.
In May, we chose to partner with fellow B Corp organisation Ecologi who plant trees around the world for future carbon capture and fund quantifiable Gold Standard certified climate crisis solutions that provide immediate solutions, using a funding strategy guided by the Climate Committee following Project Drawdown framework. Beyond our existing targets for carbon reduction we have offset 97.7 Tonnes of carbon and have planted over 2,500 trees from May to December this year.
Hattiers Resolute Rum proudly made it onto the top Rum Choice for June 2021 at The Whisky Exchange, the world's largest Online Spirits retailer. Head buyer Dawn Davies runs through what she likes about Hattiers and in particular, our Navy Strength Resolute Rum!
The month finished with our founder Philip being invited to speak alongside Peter Holland of Boutiquey Rum and Doug Miller of Scratch Rum on The Rum Show to discuss what they believe will be the future of British Rum.
July was a busy month - Hattiers Rum gained a prestigious award, launched into one of the country's finest department stores and was served at some of the UK’s top sailing events, starting locally with Sail GP on Plymouth Hoe followed by British Classic Week in Cowes where Hattiers was a lead sponsor.
The month started with the wonderful news that Eminence, our blended aged white rum, had won Gold at this year’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) and a Bronze for Egremont, our premium reserve rum. Their rigorous judging process consists of their experts awarding bronze, silver, gold and gold-outstanding medals to spirits that show complexity, balance and character. This year was the biggest spirits judging in IWSC history, so for Eminence to be placed alongside internationally reclaimed single estate rums was incredibly humbling indeed.
Not long after we had celebrated our Gold and Bronze IWCS wins, we had another reason to celebrate as our whole range launched at the iconic department store Harvey Nichols. It had always been a personal ambition for our founder Philip to see our rum at Harvey Nichols. “Growing up in the 1990’s I have fond memories of sneaking downstairs to catch a glimpse of Ab Fab on TV, whilst not being spotted by my parents! It makes me smile thinking about Eddie and Patsy’s obsession with ‘Harvey Nics’ and nipping in for some regular retail therapy plus a bottle of Bollinger. Perhaps if Hattiers had been there then, they might have had a Hattiers rum cocktail too!”.
Hattiers were the proud sponsors of 2021 British Classic Week, hosted by British Classic Yacht Club (BCYC), attracted 50 stunningly beautiful classic sail and motor yachts to Cowes for a week of warm sunshine, sailing and socialising. During the midweek pontoon party Hattiers served Devon Storm cocktails to crew late into the night and a wonderful time was had by all.
Despite challenging light wind conditions at the start of the week, the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) race committee led by Race Officer Dai Prichard successfully went ahead with all six races in the series, as well as the annual Ladies’ Race enjoying some classic champagne sailing. The week was made complete when the Hattiers team jumped on board a BRIG RIB to deliver rum cocktail kits to each boat as they crossed the finish line.
August was an extremely busy time for the team as preparations were made for our launch into Waitrose & Partners across the UK. When we established in 2017 our aim was to create the finest British blended rums from an ethical & transparent company, and aiming to see Hattiers on the shelves of stores such as Waitrose that share our core values. To see this becoming a reality was truly exciting, especially after such a short period of time. It’s incredible to think that people can now walk into a Waitrose & Partners store and pick up a bottle of Hattiers Rum, the excitement when we see it on the shelf is still palpable!
On a very special day in September, 60 volunteers, 80 competitors and 2,600 donations raised £93,000 for the Royal Marines Charity on Blackpool Sands during the Royal Marines Iron Challenge (RMIC). We were proud to support an event described as brutally beautiful, serving rum to supporters as well as competitors as they crossed the finish line. Making drinks solidly for the duration of the event may have felt like a bit of an endurance challenge in itself, but nothing beats the incredible strength of the competitors who swam 3.8k, biked 181k and ran 42k miles around our beautiful scenic coastline.
Watch the video here - Royal Marine Iron Challenge 2021 - Where Iron Turns to Steel
October was all about building relationships and reconnecting with some of our rum family, thinking of new ways to use our business as a force for good, another big award win and the announcement of a brand partnership close to our hearts.
Rum Fest was back with a bang this year following last year's virtual show, and what a welcome change it was! It was fantastic to once again get the inside track on the next big thing in rum as well as try some hidden gems and world exclusives alongside our friends and rum family. This year's Rum Fest also coincided with what used to be London Cocktail Week, now London Cocktail MONTH. A super opportunity to visit some of the capitals finest bars and pay a fraction of the standard price for exceptional cocktails, what better way to catch up with friends!
It wasn't long after our return from Rum Fest that we announced our incredibly exciting partnership with Spirit Yachts, world leaders in modern classic yacht design and build. Our shared ethos, love for the ocean and fine rum makes for a harmonious and perfectly balanced partnership - one that we wholeheartedly celebrate. Following our recent visit we are very much looking forward to working alongside Spirit Yachts at some of the most respected sailing events in the country next year. Read more about our partnership here.
Up next was another big award win as Hattiers Eminence was announced as best rum at this year’s Great British Food Awards with Egremont and Resolute also being chosen as finalists, placing Hattiers firmly at the top of British Rum.
The Great British Food Awards is made up of an esteemed panel of celebrity chefs, Michelin-starred restaurateurs, popular food critics, influencers, buyers and food writers, all known for their love and knowledge of British food and produce.
We finished the month with a bit of creative fun at innocent's Fruit Towers headquarters, where we spent the day generating ideas for new, effective ways to communicate B Corp to consumers alongside fellow B Corp certified businesses including Coutts Bank, Tony's Chocoloney, Jamie Oliver Group, Teapigs, Pip & Nut and our friends over at Kingdom & Sparrow to name just a few.
The energy, ideas and positivity in the room and beyond was truly inspiring. This was hopefully the start of something great, but there is still lots to do. innocent + nice & serious presented the best ideas to to B-Lab on the 1st week of December which included the winning idea of the day from our founder Philip Everett-Lyons, with the aim to take some of them forward to the public. We are excited to keep this level of collaboration going to promote B Corp and what it represents.
November started with a thought provoking event from GQ Heroes 2021 where Hattiers Rum was an official spirits partner. GQ Heroes is a premier event for top tier luxury business and creative minds, focusing on thought leadership and the changing nature of our industries in a world in a deep state of political and economic flux. With globally renowned talent and captains of industry on stage and in intimate conversation, GQ Heroes is a new type of summit that aims to explore and debate the relationship between luxury, media, politics, music, art, television, wellness and mental health – and join the dots in a way that only GQ can. On stage were an extraordinary collection of contemporary music icons, fashion designers, wellness game-changers, comedians, politicians, international bestselling authors, film stars and activists, as well as an unprecedented collection of CEOs, digital disruptors and industry leaders from the world of luxury and beyond.
Next up was the announcement of another exciting brand partnership with iconic and innovative sailing brand Henri-Lloyd, whose reputation for producing pioneering clothing is more pertinent than ever with the release of their recycled clothing range and an industry first repair service. Fuelled by a passion for life at sea, Hattiers and Henri-Lloyd share the same values and love for the ocean, which is why we have launched a range of co-branded sustainable clothing, exclusive to the Hattiers website. We are looking forward to working together again in 2022 with some exciting events and projects - watch this space!
"We are really happy to partner with Hattiers, the team and brand share the same values as us here at Henri-Lloyd and when likeminded businesses collaborate, good things happen".
Ross Partridge - Sales Manager
“Through constant review of our operations, we are on both an exciting & sustainable business journey. We passionately believe that we are the guests on this planet, and should treat our host with respect. We have a responsibility as leaders and a company with a long heritage in innovation, to put sustainability at the heart of what we do”.
Hans Eckerstrom - Chairman
The month ended with The Lord Mayor's Show in London. With a history dating back to 1215, the world’s largest and oldest unrehearsed procession, The Lord Mayor’s Show highlights all that is great about the City of London, London as a whole and the UK. What an honour it was that The Worshipful Company of Distillers chose to include Hattiers Rum in their toast to the Lord Mayor and to participate in this venerable, global spectacular. Furthermore, it marked the first full day in office of the new Lord Mayor, Vincent Keaveny, himself a Liveryman of Distillers Company.
After a breakfast at The Ironmongers’ Hall they assembled. The Distillers ‘hot air balloon’ had been filled, the bikers were in position and the barrel, to be presented as gift from Hattiers Rum to the new Lord Mayor, was ready to be rolled by Bryan Burrough and Chris Porter, ably supported by Matthew Russell. The Liverymen had all donned their beautifully embroidered aprons, Mappin & Webb engraved commemorative hip-flasks, which had been filled by the good works of Messer Lorne MacKillop and Daniel Szor.
This month has been a time for reconnecting with loved ones, preparing for the festive season and planning the busy year ahead with great excitement.
As if the events of the year weren't already enough, we started December with the first of many collaborations with Emma Bridgewater, shortly followed by our launch at Daylesford Organic, just in time for Christmas. For more than 40 years Daylesford Organic have been one of the most pioneering and sustainable farms in the UK with a focus on the organic market, but also champion sustainable products from brands with high ethical standards such as Hattiers Rum. As the UK's first B Corp Certified rum, we are thrilled to be working with stockists such as Daylesford who share our core values of social and environmental performance and public transparency, placing purpose over profit for the greater good of our people and planet.
What a year it has been! From being featured in major publications such as Devon Life, National Geographic Traveller Food, Delicious Magazine and the Christmas edit of Waitrose Drinks amongst many others, to getting out there at some fantastic events throughout the year between restrictions, exciting collaborations and some highly anticipated launches, we are humbled by what has been achieved by our fantastic team in such uncertain times.
We would once again like to thank you all for your continued support this year, we couldn't have done any of this without you and we hope that you are as excited as we are for what we have up our sleeves for the upcoming year.
Cheers to 2021 and welcome 2022!
The Hattiers Team.
