Bristol & Bath Rum Distillery

Halewood Wines & Spirits announced to open a new Bristol & Bath Rum distillery in Bristol, UK, in September 2019. Credit: Halewood Wines & Spirits.

The Bristol & Bath Rum distillery will distil Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum from its double retort rum still. Credit: Halewood Wines & Spirits.

The Halewood Wines & Spirits portfolio includes more than 25 premium brands. Credit: Halewood Wines & Spirits.

Halewood Wines & Spirits have announced the opening of Bristol & Bath Rum distillery in Bristol, UK, on September 2019.

The facility will include a distillery, a bar, a rum school and a bar school, as well as a kitchen with food offerings.

Bristol & Bath Rum distillery location

The Bristol & Bath Rum distillery will be situated in a former Jamie’s Italian restaurant on 87-89 Park Street in the city centre.

Halewood Wines & Spirits took the property on lease from Sapcote Group. The site’s usage will change from a restaurant to a mixed-use cafe, bar and restaurant and its permit will also change from A3 use class to Sui generis use class.

The site lies on the Queens Road and Park Street, which is a well-known primary shopping area.

Bristol & Bath Rum distillery details

The 7,500ft² Bristol & Bath Rum distillery will comprise two stills in a three-level grade II-listed space in a four-storey building.

The first still will be a 500l double retort rum still, which will be used to distil Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced Rum. The second still will be a 200l working gin still.

The distillery will also feature a rum school, which will offer classes for distilling rum in small copper stills.

The distillery’s bar will stock more than 150 rums sourced from 50 countries. The bar will also feature rum cocktails including the Dead Man’s Fingers range with the first CBD (Cannabidiol) hemp rum, Colombian rum Dictador and Rum Sixty-Six.

Bristol & Bath Rum distillery construction details

The lower ground, ground and the ground mezzanine levels of the building will house the restaurant, bar and café.

The first floor will be used exclusively for organising industry training and customer workshops.

The only major development at the building will be the conversion of the mezzanine level to include a bar and kitchen.

The interiors will undergo minor modifications such as upgrades to the walls, floors, furniture and fixtures and a glass screen will be installed in the existing opening between the rum school and the bar school.

Contractors involved

Quentin Alder Architects was contracted for designing the distillery, while Planning Potential secured the permits and licenses for the project.

Halewood Wines & Spirits product portfolio

The Halewood Wines & Spirits portfolio comprises more than 25 premium brands and over 100 product labels. The company also owns seven whisky and gin distilleries and two craft breweries.

Halewood produces more than 35 labels of gin, with premium gin being the company’s largest range. The company’s brands include Whitley Neill Gin, Original Handcrafted Dry Gin, Mary-Le-Bone Gin and Aber Falls Distillery.

Its Vodka brands include the premium Liverpool Vodka, JJ Whitley and Whitley Neill Vodka.

Halewood manufactures more than 15 whisky labels from distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and America. The whisky labels include Crabbie Whisky, Gelston’s, American Eagle and Pogues whiskey.

The company has two rum labels, which include the Rum Sixty Six from Barbados and Dead Man’s Fingers.

The Lheraud family label produces cognacs, in addition to Pineau des Charentes and Armagnac.

Halewood’s craft brewery portfolio includes two craft breweries, Hawkshead Brewery and Sadlers Brewing. The breweries manufacture more than 20 different labels from India Pale Ale (IPA) to Stouts including limited edition labels.

Marqués De Cáceres and Eisberg are the two wine brands owned by Halewood. The company also owns brands for non-alcoholic drinks, ready-to-drink beverages, liqueur and fortified wines and spirits.

Marketing commentary on Halewood Wines & Spirits

Halewood is a UK-based alcoholic drinks company founded by John Halewood in 1978. Headquartered in Huyton, Halewood operates eight sites in the UK.