Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Glass.
Eric, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Having worked in the Consumer Healthcare industry for 15 years I quit my job in February 2012 looking to be in my own business. My roles were go to market heavily focused on Sales Strategy, Brand Management, Shopper Marketing and Category Management. My passion for rum was born from years of visiting the Caribbean and from sampling many different rums and rum drinks. In 2010 I had begun business ideation and had been reading about the micro distillery growth. Rum Making combines three of my passions: Spoofy romanticized Pirate Movies, my Boxer Dogs and the Caribbean. Rumson’s success has been from planning, adapting and capitalizing on opportunity. Distributor partnerships have been slower to build than anticipated. Regions have not gone exactly according to strategy, but by adapting and refining our plan and tactics we have built the brand on the cusp of more aggressive growth pattern with distribution in MA, RI, NH, BC Canada, Alberta Canada, Czech Republic and soon to be Slovakia and Poland with more states soon to follow.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our path has varied with some things being easier than anticipated: liquor store listing has gone a bit more smoothly than anticipated. And, some things creating bigger hurdles then anticipated: Developing domestic distributor partners has been slower and more challenging than anticipated. Constrained supply the last few months has added stress. Huge increase in Vanilla cost has created supply and formula challenges with our Spiced Rum. Need for investment beyond self-funding will be a hurdle soon with continued growth, business expansion and transition into next stage of growth and business development.
Please tell us about Rumson’s Rum / Pirate Dog Brand LLC.
Pirate Dog Brand LLC is the manufacturer of Rumson’s Rum. Rumson’s Rum currently has four offerings: Rumson’s Rum, Rumson’s Grand Reserve Rum, Rumson’s Spiced Rum and Rumson’s Coffee Rum. We specialize in the blending and creating of all of Rumson’s Rum. We currently leverage Caribbean distillers to source barrel aged rum that we then bring to our Salem Rum house and blend into our own unique rums. Our Rum and Grand Reserve Rum are blends of various barrel aged rum. Our Spiced and Coffee Rums are rum infused with our natural Spiced and Coffee flavors. We are also adding an aging house to our Salem property that we will further leverage in creating our blends. We are proud to be New England’s Most Awarded Rum brand. What make us most different from others is we are unconstrained by what we can produce and distill in our facility. Our mission is to create exceptional rum for spirited folks with stories to share. This allows us to locate and source our base and aged rums from anywhere in the world to truly create exceptional product.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memories from childhood involve my family and usually vacationing together. The most memorable are vacationing on my uncle’s camp at Lake Winnipesaukee NH; visiting Steamtown USA in VT, Edarville Railroad in NH, and Seashore Trolly Museum in ME; and taking Amtrak Autotrain to Orlando Fl/DisneyWorld. The smell of Gasoline at lake water still stirs the memories. All, the lake and trains, drive allure of adventure and nostalgia.
Pricing:
- Rumson’s Rum, Rumson’s Spiced Rum and Rumson’s Coffee Rum typically retail between $27 and $32
- Rumson’s Grand Reserve Rum typically retails between $37 and $45
Contact Info:
- Address: Rumson’s Rum Pirate Dog Brand LLC
4 Florence Street – Unit 3
Salem, MA 01970 - Website: www.rumsons.com
- Phone: 978-745-4rum (4786)
- Email: rumsonandgoliath@rumsons.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rumsonsrum/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rumsons/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rumsons
Image Credit:
First two with me in photos is John Andrews – Creative Collective, Natural hue four bottles is Brian Babineau, and Bottle with Rope is Dan Danato.
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
