RUM REJIG!

Gen-next distillers are taking the pirate’s drink to uncharted waters

- SNEHA BHURA

When we say “that’s the real McCoy”, it usually refers to something original. While there are many theories around how the phrase came to be associated with authenticity, the most popular one pertains to the clever antics of an American bootlegger in the 1920s prohibition era. Rum runner Bill McCoy would sail up to islands in the Bahamas, load his vessels with thousands of cases of rum, and sell them three miles offshore from the east coast of the US (the three-mile limit being the maritime borders in the early prohibition days).

They say McCoy had the real stuff. His stock of rum was absolutely undiluted when others were mixing turpentine, prune juice and wood alcohol. Devoted patrons would row up to McCoy’s floating liquor store for their stash. Interestingly, when Bailey Pryor, a producer, was making a documentary on McCoy in 2012, he met master-distiller Richard Seale in the Caribbean during his field research. Suddenly, the producer hit upon the idea of starting a craft rum company with Seale, and The Real McCoy was born, adhering to the same rules of working with pristine, natural ingredients. For Arijit Bose, who has been in the business for 20 years as bartender, brand ambassador and founding partner of bar consultancy Bar Back Collective, Seale is god and The Real McCoy one of the most fascinating rum brands around.

The Delhi-boy launched his own version of The Real McCoy, The Lovers Rum, in 2018, in partnership with David Cordoba, formerly Bacardi’s global brand ambassador. It is currently available in Goa and Gurugram at ₹8,300 and ₹5,300.