Episode #16: Creating an Authentic Rum Brand with Marc Farrell, Ten To One Rum Founder/CEO
Rum enthusiasts may be used to seeing new rum brands launch with the aim of challenging misconceptions of the category and showcasing everything we love about it to a wider audience—but it’s unlikely you’ve seen one created by anyone with the unique background and experience of Marc Farrell. Born and raised in Trinidad, Farrell attended MIT at the age of 16 before going on to graduate from Harvard Business School and become the youngest VP at Starbucks in the company’s history (with a few other interesting stops along the way). In 2019, he launched Ten To One Rum with the aim of showcasing not only Caribbean rum, but the Caribbean itself, to a wider audience that has often misunderstood both. Ten To One started with two flagship rum blends, one featuring unaged rums from Jamaica and Dominican Republic, and the other featuring aged rums from Barbados, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. More recently, the company put out its first limited release, a selection of four single barrels of 17-year-old rum from Trinidad. On this episode, we start by talking through some gift ideas for rum lovers before jumping into the interview with Marc, which covered everything from the intention behind the brand (and what makes it unique) to the rum itself, including topics like: What rums were around during Marc's upbringing in Trinidad? Caroni perception in Trinidad The process of creating the rum blends that became Ten To One's flagship products at launch What sets Ten To One apart from other rum brands and independent bottlers What goes into creating a rum brand that's representative of the entire Caribbean rather than just one nation Broadening people's perceptions of the rum category The factors that make a brand authentic rather than contrived Ten To One's new limited release: four single barrels of 17-year-old Trinidadian rum And more!