Rum Connoisseur Interview of The Week GEORGE BOHBOT Founder of Gracias Madre Rum
Rum Connoisseur
Interview of The Week
GEORGE BOHBOT
Founder of Gracias Madre Rum
1. Who is George Bohbot?
George Bohbot is the founder of Gracias Madre Rum living and operating out of Los Angeles, CA. He sees himself as the perfect combination between admirer of rum and entrepreneur. He remembers hearing family stories about his grandfather who worked in the alcohol industry many years ago. In 2016, George still an amateur of rum and its cocktails felt not enough people appreciated the drink and wanted to create a new and modern brand; why not take rum’s noble pedigree and make it appealing to both men and women, neat or on the rocks and great for cocktails? He visited more than fifty of the best rum bars and distilleries from Los Angeles to Paris to Hong Kong. He traveled to Puerto Rico to find the pure rum of the island and then found his way to Burgundy and Cognac, searching for the finest ingredients to infuse into his recipe.
In his research, he discovered a magnificent state of the art distillery in Culver City, California. The distillery and friendship with the owner underlined what was important to him; bringing together the old world with the new and making human connections along the way. From here, he decided to participate in several workshops to broaden his education, and thus obtained a diploma in distillation. He returned to his former home of France to meet with Christian Vergier, one of the four largest rum oenologists in the world. Once at Vergier’s rum lab in Burgundy, George gave him his recipe idea and he willingly accepted the adventure. It took three months to be able to make the recipe and wait to stabilize it. With a few samples, George went back to visit all of the rum bars and to his great satisfaction, everybody, men and especially women, enjoyed the rum neat or on the rocks.
2. Biggest achievement you personally feel you have accomplished for the rum industry.
I pride myself on bringing a truly, new taste of rum into the industry. Many people taste Gracias Madre Rum and tell me that they don’t know what to compare my product to.
Aside from that, winning several medals in the first 3 years of Gracias Madre Rum’s existence has been very exciting! The most recent awards received were from the China Wine and Spirits Awards, winning a double gold medal in 2018 and another gold medal in the first month of 2019. Wow!
3. What made you fall in love with rum and when did it happen?
Traveling all over the world and visiting the many rum bars and distilleries within my research really set my love for rum on fire. Visiting the distillery in Puerto Rico was a big moment for me. Then being immersed in the distilling process in Culver City, CA sealed the deal.
4. What is that thing that makes you want to continue in the rum industry?
I love the challenge! The idea that rum is not selling like other kinds of spirits in this sector really lights a drive in me. My only motivation is to ensure that all rum lovers are better informed and can enjoy discovering and enjoying rum, in all its diversity.
5. Favorite Drink + Recipe
Well, Gracias Madre Rum on the rocks is my personal go-to beverage.
As for a recipe:
Rum Mojito
2 oz of Gracias Madre Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
Handful of Mint
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
Sparkling Water
¾ Ice Cubes
Mix the sugar and the fresh lime juice with a spoon then muddle the mint in the sugar and lime mixture. Mix again after adding the rum and ice cubes. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with sugarcane, zest of lime, and a cucumber slice.
6. Where do you see the rum industry today and in the next 5 years?
I would not be surprised to see rum making its way to the first or second ranking of spirit consumption. Maybe this is a biased opinion but I’m noticing consumers seeking different drinks (outside of their same old vodkas and tequilas) to enjoy, looking for quality and craft.
7. What do you think needs to happen to grow the premium category of rum?
The short answer: More communication, tastings, spreading knowledge, and getting rid of this archaic idea that rum is or has to be bitter.
The long answer: Let’s discuss this over a glass of Gracias Madre Rum.
8. Share some (2-3) of your mentors and how they have helped you.
Christian Vergier is an enologist, educator and entrepreneur, he is well-known and respected throughout France, France’s island republics, and the rest of the world. Christian runs a wine export business for Reunion and Mauritius islands in the Indian Ocean and Martinique in the Caribbean, where he is also a production advisor for internationally-acclaimed rum brands. Additionally, he teaches viticulture, enology and analytical tasting at several of France’s best wine schools. For these reasons, it’s been an absolute privilege and pleasure working with him.
Another person who had a big influence on my work and progress within the rum industry is Dr. Lewis Harsanyi. Apart from a friend of mine, he is a distillation pioneer and educator conducting workshops since 2002. He was a huge help teaching me everything about the distilling process and technique at his beautiful distillery in Culver City.
9. What 3-5 things do you have on your bucket list for the next 12 months?
First and foremost is to continue developing the Gracias Madre Rum brand. We have been focusing on shaking up the U.S. and Chinese territories and we still have some way to go.
Let’s make some noise!
Second, I really want to spread education to bartenders and industry workers.
You know, these days, you go into a bar and ask for a mojito and are given some mediocre beverage with your typical mass-made products. I want bar goers to order a drink and be served a higher quality beverage to enjoy and for their servers to be able to excitedly explain the difference between an average rum and a higher quality rum.
10. Any last words?
“Don’t drink to forget, taste to remember” – George Bohbot
11. How can people learn more about you? Website? Social Media Page
Please reach out to Gracias Madre Rum. We love to connect with rum enthusiasts!
https://www.graciasmadrerum.com
https://www.instagram.com/graciasmadrerum/
https://www.facebook.com/graciasmadrespicedrum
