Born from colonial patriotism, the tradition lives on—whether it’s raising a shot at a beach club or toasting a mission’s success in the defense of a nation.
Founder and CEO Barrett Wann isn’t your typical rum label owner. He doesn’t stand on a family plantation wearing an ascot and salmon pants. He’s a consumer, a nightclub bartender, a patriot, and a thrill-seeker. His story is as bold and unique as the rum he’s created.
Raised in a small beach town in central New Jersey, Barrett spent his summers slinging drinks at D’Jais, a legendary nightclub packed with tens of thousands of summer tourists from New York and North Jersey. Speed was king, and shots ruled the bar. Rum and fruit concoctions were created on the fly, orders came in by the dozen, and for over a decade, this world funded his schooling and livelihood, until a single phone call changed everything.
He was recruited by the National Security Agency to join its counterintelligence ranks. In an instant, he traded his bar towel for a grey suit and a 9mm and was deployed to Europe, working counterintelligence alongside allied intelligence partners in a small Bavarian town south of Munich.
Then came 9/11, and everything changed. To better support the war effort, Barrett joined the Defense Intelligence Agency and deployed to several austere and hostile areas across the Middle East, Africa and beyond. In the field he supported human and technical collection operations with other Intelligence Agencies and USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations.
While much of that work remains classified, one thing was certain, when the dust settled, the choice of drink was always rum. The night before heading out on a mission or after a rough assignment in the field, a shot of rum was tradition. Maybe it was the influence of pirate lore, maybe it was just the smooth burn of a well-earned drink, but either way, quite a bit of rum found its way into dark planes going downrange during those years.
Years later, while assigned as a Senior Intelligence Officer at U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Barrett and his wife, Tina, herself a fellow intelligence professional, took a much-needed break to the Canary Islands.
On Fuerteventura, they stumbled upon a weathered but incredible distillery. Welcomed by the passionate distillers, they spent the day learning how rum made its way to the islands and the secrets behind its craft. To smooth out the flavor and reduce the sugar, the distillers added a hint of local honey, and it was incredible.
That day sparked an idea. Sitting under the warm island sun, the conversation kept returning to the same topic, we should make our own rum. The dream was born, but the Defense Department had other plans, and duty delayed it for a few more years.