Offering a world-first, unique rum re-distillation experience, the Spiced Dry Rum Club will delve into the world of rum like never before.

Launching Friday 12th October 2018
144-145 Upper St
London
N1 1QY
www.lakikane.com/spiced-dry-rum-club

A spectacular and exciting secret is tucked away above Laki Kane’s tropical escape bar, in the heart of N1. After months of development and refining, the Spiced Dry Rum Club will open its doors for its first official rum experience commencing Friday 12th October. The Spiced Dry Rum Club provides a truly unique rum re-distillation experience by utilising techniques that have not previously been made available to the public including nineteen copper alembic pot stills. Lead by a rotating team of London’s foremost rum experts, guests will embark on a voyage of rum discovery, experiment with flavours and design their very own bottle of rum to take home, completely bespoke to their own tastes.

A charismatic and charming 17th century inspired interior sets the scene for this unique 2.5 hour experience taking place daily at Laki Kane’s Spiced Dry Rum Club. Run by London’s most prominent bartenders and rum experts, rum-lovers and newcomers alike will be taken on a journey through the history of rum, indulge in premium rum tastings, learn about the key ingredients used in rum making and discover the perfect cocktail pairings for this exciting new style of rum.

Each guest will be seated at one of nineteen beautifully hand-crafted, copper alembic pot stills as the Spiced Dry Rum Club master distillers guide each guest through the re-distillation process, experimenting with spices and fruits to create their very own bespoke bottle of rum to take home.

The design of the Spiced Dry Rum Club has been influenced by the 17th century maritime rum trade, tales of large ships sailing high seas is etched throughout the upstairs bar with the main Pusser’s Rum Ship table seating twelve people and the Captain’s Table seating seven.

Experiences are available to book now from £119 (plus booking fees), which includes food and drinks during the session plus the guests own 700ml bottle of rum to take home along with a Spiced Dry Rum Club gift bag containing exciting products from Laki Kane and partners. Bookings can be made at lakikane.com/spiced-dry-rum-club and further bespoke packages will be available on request.

Speaking about the launch of the Spiced Dry Rum Club, Georgi Radev (Creative Director) says: “Rum is such an amazing spirit and to be able to offer others an opportunity to learn about the history and re-distillation process is something I have wanted to do for years. The Spiced Dry Rum Club is an unforgettable experience and one that will allow rum lovers and newcomers alike to be truly immersed in the wonderful world of rum.”

The Spiced Dry Rum Club follows the success of the downstairs Tropical Escape bar, which opened its doors at Laki Kane in early July 2018. The concept was created by life-long Islington resident and businessman Steve Kyprianou, Islington local finance and operations manager, Sam Robson, and ex-Mahiki bar manager Georgi Radev, a leading tiki, rum and cocktail expert with over 16 years experience managing bars and high end spirit brands.

What’s been said about Laki Kane’s Tropical Escape Bar

“Bar of the week” – GQ

“a two-floor, plush paradise” – The Nudge

“this tropical paradise is about as close to Hawaii as you can get on the Piccadilly line” – Secret London

“Bringing a spot of tropical sunshine to Upper Street” – Design My Night

“Welcome to paradise” – Barchick

“this is a Tiki Bar with a difference” – Le Cool

“Rum drinks are delightful” – Time Out

London Cocktail Week (6th-12th October) heralds the start of a glittering week of activity for the award-winning El Dorado Rum, which will culminate in a series of master classes and tutored tastings at RumFest at Earls Court on Sunday 12th October.

El Dorado will also be working with Trailer Happiness, one of London’s most Tiki-Tastic bars, where a rum and food pairing event will take place, and Harvey Nichols, who will be offering a twist on the 16th Century version of a Mojito, the El Draque, named after Sir Francis Drake.

Beginning on Monday 6th October, El Dorado will be hosting its first ever Pop-up in the basement of 71 Monmouth Street just off Seven Dials, where guests will be invited to discover the legendary Lost City of Gold.

Voted the world’s best rum a record eight times, guests will take a journey through the rainforests of Guyana, the home of El Dorado rum, where they’ll see and hear the sights and sounds of the lush, tropical surroundings which are indicative of the South American country. They’ll take in the expanse of Kaieteur Falls, the highest single drop waterfall in the world, as they delve deeper into the greenery to find the luscious, liquid gold of El Dorado rums.

Cocktails made with El Dorado’s superb range of rums will be available along with the opportunity to sample tasting flights of the El Dorado range.  A planned series of sessions will be hosted by Stefanie Holt, the award winning international brand ambassador for El Dorado Rums, at the Pop-up over the week.  Tickets are available from the London Cocktail Week website – http://londoncocktailweek.ticketsource.co.uk/ .  The sessions are as follows:

• Tuesday 7th October – 7pm until 8.30pm.  El Dorado Rum and Chocolate Pairing.
• Wednesday 8th October from 7 until 8.30pm.  El Dorado Rum and Savoury Pairing.
• Thursday 9th October from 7pm until 8.30pm.  El Dorado 25 Year Old Rum Tasting.
• Friday 10th October from 7pm until 8.30pm.  El Dorado Single Barrel Rum Tasting.

Saturday 11th October from 2pm until 3.30pm.  The last of the sessions at the Pop-up.  Here’s a chance to put your taste buds to the test and put the information you’ve learnt over the week, into practice.  The last session is ‘Guess the Rum’ – a blind tasting competition.  Think you know the El Dorado range?  Pop in to the Pop-up and blind test three rums from the El Dorado range.  You’ll be up against the clock but it’s worth it – a bottle of El Dorado 15 Year Old will be awarded to the person who guesses correctly in the quickest time.

Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Bar will be offering a cocktail made with El Dorado 5 Year Old to those with a London Cocktail Week Wristband for only £4 over the course of the week. For those without a wristband, the cocktail is £5.50.  The Golden Draque, created by Harvey Nichols’ bar manager, Ivan Romano, takes inspiration from the El Draque, named after Sir Francis Drake and thought to be the 16th Century version of the Mojito. The Golden reference is a nod to El Dorado – meaning gold in English- which is used in the cocktail  Here’s how to make it:

GOLDEN DRAQUE

Ingredients:

50 ml El Dorado 5 Year Old
25 ml Roasted pineapple and coffee bean puree*
25 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
8 mint leaves
15ml gomme syrup
20 ml soda water

*To make the roasted pineapple and coffee bean puree, cut one pineapple into cubes, add 50 gram of coffee beans and cook into an oven on low heat for 12 hours. Remove and discard the coffee bean sand blend the pineapple cubes for three minutes until you get a creamy puree.

Garnish: Mint dusted in gold and coffee beans

Method: Gently muddle the mint with the sugar and lime juice.  Add the puree and El Dorado and crushed ice. Stir together and top up with soda water.

The rum fun doesn’t stop there.  Trailer Happiness in Notting Hill will be offering a selection of three cocktails made with El Dorado Rum, which will be available for £4 to those with a London Cocktail Week Wristband. They are also hosting at Rum Club Food Pairing with El Dorado rum  which will be hosted by Stefanie Holt on Monday 6th October from 7.30-8.30pm.  Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased from the London Cocktail Week website http://londoncocktailweek.ticketsource.co.uk/ .

About London Cocktail Week

Back for the fifth year, London Cocktail Week – the biggest drinks festival in the UK – is just around the corner. From Monday 6 to Sunday 12 October 2014 get ready to shake, sip and party your way to a fantastic celebration of our capital’s unrivalled cocktail culture.

To be part of London Cocktail Week 2014, festival-goers must buy a wristband, which cost just £10 if booked in advance or £15 once the week begins. Wristbands give  access to the huge amount of free sampling and cocktail demonstrations, as well as the renowned self-guided Cocktail Tours; with 250 of the best bars across the capital  throwing open their doors to offer bespoke and unlimited cocktails for just £4 all week. Each bar will be mapped out in your FREE London Bar Guide, so there will be no problem navigating around.

The LCW experience starts from wristband collection at one of the London Cocktail Week Hubs from 12noon until 9pm; hives of activity guaranteed to get you into the cocktail spirit. Each Hub has their own unique twist and is placed in the epicentres of the main bar areas– be sure to set aside four evenings to visit them all!

Although there’s never a need for an excuse to enjoy a glass or two of any of the expressions in the Ron Botran range, it always helps when there’s an extra reason to celebrate. And what better excuse was there to join Ron Botran’s Frank Quinones, Isabel Molina and Luis Archila, along with Ron Botran’s UK distributors, Distillnation’s Francis and Maya Weier at Bird of Smithfield on the 9th October 2013, to celebrate the recent awarding of Geographical Indication Status to Rones de Guatemala.

So in honour of a great night and a great achievement, here’s the unofficial photography gallery from the night. Keep an eye out for the night’s special guest – the Guatemalan Ambassador to the UK: Asisclo Valladares, although I’m afraid to say that he didn’t turn up with a tray of Ferrero Rocher…