Business
A Hoolie in Harrods!
The Isle of Man rum is also being served at award-winning cocktail bar Trailer Happiness
Local distillery Outlier’s Hoolie rum is now on sale in Harrods.
The bright, art-led labels of white rum Hoolie, which were designed by local artist Megan Hindley, are now displayed alongside some of the world’s most prestigious spirit brands on the famous London shelves.
Created by former journalist Rick Dacey and Ian Warborn-Jones, a winemaker with experience working in Portugal’s Valle Pradinhos vineyards, the Isle of Man rum is also being served at award-winning cocktail bar Trailer Happiness on London’s Portobello Road.
The friends set up the Outlier Distilling Company after transforming an old milking barn – in the middle of a working farm – into a distillery, with a 160-litre wood-fired still fuelled by off-cuts from a local sawmill, and using water drawn from the well of Ballakelly Farm. This is part of their pledge as a UNESCO biosphere partner to produce quality spirits in a sustainable way.
The pair’s unconventional methods and bold branding go beyond their distilling and labelling. They received celebrity endorsement from James Blunt by supplying him with a bottle while he was on tour in the Isle of Man last year – and were rewarded with an Instagram post from the star himself.
Ian Warborn-Jones, said being based in the Isle of Man meant their hopes of widespread success had been made far easier. He added:‘It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, but we certainly would have had a harder job trying to get off the ground in the UK. Being in the Isle of Man has meant our ideas have quickly become a reality. We’ve had great government support as a business to get going, and there’s a real collaborative community here that helps get new businesses off the ground.’
Co-founder, Rick Dacey said: ‘We knew expansion into the UK market would be essential, and Harrods stocking our product is a stamp of quality that we are absolutely thrilled to receive.’
The latest success of the island’s food and drink sector has been warmly welcomed by the gov, especially Captain of the Starship Enterprise Tim Johnston and DEFA Minister Clare Barber. She said described the news as ‘truly inspirational’, while he said Outlier is a ‘representative of a new generation of Manx food and drink producers who are approaching product development with creativity and bold ideas’.
