REBECCA HUNT: Director and Co-Founder of Old Mother Hunt Rum

Old Mother Hunt Rum is an independent micro-distillery in Scotland. They’ve kept their batches deliberately small so that they can perfect and hone the flavor of each rum. They anticipate that as their experience and skills evolve, the flavors will change subtly and develop, enhancing each aspect of the palate.

“As we distill the rum from scratch ourselves and only use natural, whole ingredients for the spiced rums, we expect there to be a slight degree of variation between the batches as the natural flavors are affected by changes in the season, rainfall, climate, etc,” Rebeca said.

They see this as a direct reflection of the uncontaminated produce that they are using and they’re excited to see how the flavors can change and interact with each other on new levels. Each rum is proofed down using filtered, local freshwater.

Learn more about Rebecca Hunt, Director, and Co-Founder of Old Mother Hunt Rum, in the next interview:

TRL: Who is Rebecca Hunt? 

My name is Becky and along with my husband, Matt, I launched Old Mother Hunt Rum in November 2020. Like many others, the pandemic threw our lives completely upside down when my husband lost his job as an airline pilot. It happened overnight- no furlough or extra payments, just unemployment. I was a stay-at-home mum at the time, looking after our two young children so everything became very difficult very fast. I couldn’t find a job anywhere as the entire country was shutting down and unemployment was high. Add to that the fact that I had been out of employment for nearly 5 years and it all seemed impossible. I realized that we’d have to create our own jobs and future if we wanted to get through the pandemic so we launched Old Mother Hunt. We spent months researching the production of rum and talking to other distilleries (it all had to be video chat until restrictions lifted a bit and we could actually go and visit them). 

We now make our rum from scratch 100% by ourselves and I can’t believe how different my life is. Although it is incredibly hard launching and running my own company, I love developing and growing all the different areas and having the final say in all aspects of the rum. We distill, bottle, and label the rum by ourselves so it’s pretty all-consuming sometimes! It feels great to be out there pushing out of my comfort zone and discovering all the new things I can do.

TRL: What does the rum mean for you? What made you fall in love with rum and when did it happen?

To me, rum is an opportunity to start a new life and learn the mountain of knowledge out there on distilling rum so we can produce the best rum we possibly can. Our rum is full of flavor and punchy now but it is constantly developing as we develop our skills and knowledge too.

TRL: Benefits that the rum industry has given you.

I love exploring the amazing scenery Scotland has- there’s everything from beaches to mountains to manageable hills! 

TRL: What´s another thing you are passionate about, in addition to rum? Why?

It’s got to be at home- we don’t have any family nearby for childcare so the easiest and coziest thing is to settle down with rum in the evening.

TRL: Favorite drink + Recipe

Rumtini:

– 50ml OMH Coffee & Chocolate Rum 

– 25ml Khalua 

– 25ml espresso

TRL: Why is it important to educate the rum consumer?

I have found that a lot of people do not know how to drink rum- often their only experience with rum is cheap rum and coke on nights out and they have no idea how complex and deep the flavors of good rum can be. A lot of people don’t know about the definitions that come with rum (not Premium spirit drinks) and so it can be quite a shock to them how easy it can be to mix rum with tonic or into a quick cocktail.

TRL: What are your next goals in the rum industry?

Our next goal is to carry on developing Old Mother Hunt and fine tuning our craft. We’ve loved experimenting with different spices and botanicals and I can’t wait to see what our next creation will be.

TRL: Plans you have when you leave the rum industry.

We don’t plan to! 

TRL: What is your advice for new generations in the rum industry?

We’re so new ourselves, I’m not sure I can give any good advice yet!

TRL: How can people learn more about you? Website? Social media page?

www.oldmotherhunt.co.uk