The Fynoderee Distillery has been given special permission by HM Customs and Excise to store a new limited edition Manx rum in the Tower of Refuge for one year as it matures in casks.
The Ramsey-based distillery is a Spirits Partner for the RNLI200 commemorations across the British Isles, celebrating the charity’s bicentenary. The Organic Aged Manx Rum is one element of a Coastal Collection of Spirits that Fynoderee is producing. Last week they launched another, The Fynoderee Manx Dry Gin RNLI Edition at an event which took place at Fort Anne, once the home of Sir William Hillary the founder of the RNLI.
I asked Paul and Tiffany Kerruish, co-founders of Fynoderee, how the collaboration came about.
Tiffany said: ‘It all started about one and a half years ago when one of the ladies from Ramsey lifeboat station told me that the RNLI was turning 200 years old next year and it would be nice if Fynoderee could come up with some kind of a commemorative spirit.
‘We thought what an amazing idea that would be and the idea grew legs of its own as it went from being something quite small, maybe for Ramsey, to being something for the whole island and now something we will be able to promote that will shine a light on the history of the island in connection with the RNLI right the way across the British Isles.’
And, during the commemoration year, for every bottle of the gin sold, 9% of the price will go to support the work of the RNLI.
Everyone at the launch party was able to sample generous amounts of the new spirit and, if you’re a gin lover, this one’s a winner. Described in the tasting notes as a ‘crisp aromatic Manx Dry Gin, packed full of aromatic juniper’, it packs a proper punch
Paul Kerruish said: ‘We want to do something a bit different from our existing range which, as we do more, becomes a little bit difficult.
‘As we were making this part of what we hope will be a Coastal Collection of spirits, we decided to go with a big, ‘juniper forward’ gin and then we wanted to have a coastal influence so we got quite a range of interesting botanicals in there - fennel, cardamom, citrus and, at the end, some sugar kelp so there is your coastal influence and that gives you an element of salinity and gives you that umami finish to the gin.’
It’s recommended tonic partner is Fever-Tree Mediterranean, with pink grapefruit or strawberries as a garnish.
It was especially fitting that the launch was held at Fort Anne, and in a room from which, it is said, Sir William Hillary looked out over the harbour and across Douglas Bay where he often saw ships in distress and it was from this that he had the idea for forming a rescue service which grew into the RNLI. The RNLI is, of course, a charity and all its boats are manned and its fundraising undertaken by volunteers.
Across the British Isles the institution’s lifesaving services are currently more in demand than ever as they deal with the many migrant boats attempting to cross the English Channel. Around the UK there are 238 lifeboat stations, five of which are on the Isle of Man.
Once it has fully matured, Fynoderee’s limited edition Organic Aged Manx Rum will also be helping to raise funds for the charity. The Distillery will be donating two bottles of the rum to every one of the 238 lifeboat stations in the UK, which they can put up for auction.
Paul said: ‘The history of the RNLI is quite phenomenal, when you look into it, and we have this amazing monument, the Tower of Refuge which is a monument to this institution and what Sir William Hillary did.
‘But often, when an institution grows so big, its roots start to dim slightly and we wanted to shine a light on the fact that this all started here on the Isle of Man.
‘The idea of barrel ageing the rum in the Tower of Refuge was originally quite a fanciful concept but, through talking to people and consulting with them, we’ve got now the agreement to that with Government and Customs, which is just the icing on the cake for what we hope will be a memorable commemorative costal rum that will capture wide attention.’
Allen Corlett is the operations manager at Peel Lifeboat station and chairs the RNLI’s Isle of Man 200 panel. He said: ‘We’re very proud to link with Fynoderee, such a prestigious local company.
‘We wanted to make the Isle of Man at the forefront of the 200 celebrations and Fynoderee have just run away with [the idea]. We now have a wonderful gin and we have a rum coming next year.
‘We have terrific support for the RNLI on the Isle of Man. We’ve five stations here: Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Port Erin and Port St Mary, and a lot of volunteers involved in those stations. And we have great support from the Government and everybody.
‘I think the RNLI just creates a warm feeling for everybody on the Isle of Man.’