P&O Cruises bosses have yet to sample the rum that will be distilled at sea on new ship Arvia, the man behind the spirit revealed last night.
Harry Coulthard has been making The Tidal Rum on the island of Jersey since 2019 but he’s also coming up with a new blend for the cruise line to make on board the ship when it makes its debut in the Caribbean this winter.
He told me: ‘Jersey has the third-widest tidal range in the world which opens up an eight-mile reef out west from which we forage pepper dulse, a rare botanical found at the lowest of tides. It adds a light salted-caramel finish to the blend of Caribbean rums.
‘We are really excited to work out how to distill rum on Arvia. We having our first tasting of the new blend next week with P&O Cruises so that should be exciting.’
Mr Coulthard said he and Shorts Boy Distillery co-founder Ben Clyde-Smith had been championing Caribbean rums from the start.
He added: ‘We saw the market dominated by overly masculine, piratey, sweet rums famed maybe more for the end-of-the-night sticky dance floor. We thought we could create something using the theory of gin, applying British botanicals that add a great finish to the product.
‘Some botanicals are not as “nice” as others. There’s a beach in Jersey called Stinky Bay, which is just loads of pongy seaweed, where you find pepper dulse which has an amazing moreish, umami, truffly flavour.
‘Rum is a spirit almost forgotten in a way and we want to celebrate the Caribbean makers of rum and add a British provenance that makes a seismic difference. Rum is going through a revolution and we feel we’re at the forefront of that.’
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