The Equiano Rum Co. are committed to reclaiming the narrative around rum, respecting its history whilst crafting a new future with philanthropy at its heart. More than a rum, Equiano honours the legacy of their namesake, African-born writer, entrepreneur, abolitionist and freedom fighter, Olaudah Equiano.
Co-founded by the Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell and co-created with IWSC & ISC Rum Producer of the Year Richard Seale, Equiano Original is a limited-batch blend from Gray’s in Mauritius, and the world-renowned Barbadian distillery, Foursquare. Bringing two rum purists together means that Equiano Original is 100% true rum, completely uncompromised, natural with no spices, no additives and no added sugar. It’s just rich and deep in flavours that come from the ex-Cognac and ex-Bourbon barrels that it tropically matures in.
Continuing to challenge boundaries, Equiano Light masterfully marries two very different styles of rum. The golden-hued liquid is refreshingly unique and an exceptional blend of lightly aged molasses rum from the Caribbean, fused with fresh sugar cane juice rum from Africa. Silencing any notion that white rums lack the sophistication of their darker counterparts.
The rum takes its name from Olaudah Equiano and follows the same journey of Olaudah himself - starting life in Africa, travelling to the Caribbean, landing in America and the UK. Equiano’s journey was as a result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, culminating in him purchasing his own liberation through selling rum. His powerful memoirs, ‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano’, was a catalyst for the Slave Trade Act of 1807, impacting the freedom of people all over the world, freedom that many of us enjoy, but that many are still fighting for.
The founders grant 5% of global company profits and £/$2 from every bottle sold through equianorum.com to ground-level Freedom + Equality projects annually.