Beenleigh Rum
Encyclopedia
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
. It is currently available in both dark and light rum grades. Both varieties are fermented
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
from sugar cane molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
.
History
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and is a rare survivor of Australia's early sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
industry. It commenced operations in 1884, and was the legal successor to a floating moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
, the SS Walrus, which drifted between cane plantations evading police in the early 19th century.
The distillery was developed to include a blending hall, bottling plant, warehouse and administration facilities. It is located on the bank of the Albert River in Eagleby, Queensland
Eagleby, Queensland
Eagleby is a suburb of Logan City in Queensland, Australia located on the southern bank of the Logan River at the juncture with the Albert which forms the southern and eastern boundary. Eagleby is northeast of Beenleigh, and was originally a suburb of Beenleigh....
(once a part of Beenleigh
Beenleigh, Queensland
Beenleigh is a suburb in the Logan City area of Queensland, Australia. Beenleigh and adjoining suburbs are located near the confluence of the Logan and Albert rivers...
), and is a landmark on the river flats in the area.
Over the years, the once famous Beenleigh Rum lost its prominent place in Australia to Bundaberg Rum
Bundaberg Rum
Bundaberg Rum is a dark rum produced in Bundaberg, Australia, often referred to as "Bundy".The Bundaberg Distilling Company owns its own cola-producing facility, which supplies the cola for its ready-to-drink Bundaberg Rum and Cola products.-History:...
.
In 2003, the Beenleigh Rum brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
name was sold to Vok Beverages, a subsidiary of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
based beverage company Bickford's Australia
Bickford's Australia
A. M. Bickford and Sons was one of the first manufacturing chemists in South Australia and until 1930 one of the State's most significant family owned companies. In 1930, they amalgamated with half a dozen other similar Australian companies to form "Drug Houses of Australia" , which very...
.
The historic Beenleigh Rum Distillery was sold to rival Inner Circle Rum in 2001 for $2.7 million. Inner Circle was, in turn, purchased by multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
Lion Nathan
Lion Nathan
Lion Nathan National Foods is the parent company created in October 2009, into which Lion Nathan and National Foods were merged. It is fully owned by Kirin Holdings Company, Limited...
in 2007. Lion Nathan now uses the Beenleigh distillery to produce rum under the Inner Circle rum brand.
As of 2007, Vok Beverages was still distributing Beenleigh Rum in Australia, and remains 100% Australian owned.
See also
- BeenleighBeenleigh, QueenslandBeenleigh is a suburb in the Logan City area of Queensland, Australia. Beenleigh and adjoining suburbs are located near the confluence of the Logan and Albert rivers...
(township) - List of rum producers