The Zulu rum story

ZULU Rum, produced from the sugar cane grown locally, is making its way into liquor outlets, bars and restaurants along the coast.

The idea first occurred to Clinton Wyness while he was traveling through the sugar cane blanketed hills of KZN.

Wyness said he thought it strange that the province did not have its own rum, knowing that most sugar cane producing areas in countries such as Australia, Mauritius and the Caribbean all had a thriving rum industry.

Supportive of the idea was a close friend, Wayne Oliver, who allocated resources for research and is now Wayness’ partner in Zulu Rum.

The business partners found themselves a chemical engineer, who was also a specialist distiller, and they started the rum distilling process.

‘The paperwork started 11 years ago and the product has been formulated in the last two years,’ said Wyness.

‘In October last year, we attended the International Rum Show in Rome and in April this year Zulu Rum will be represented at the Paris Show as well as the London Rum Festival.

Wyness always laughs when he is asked about people’s reactions when he first mentioned he wanted to produce rum.

‘People scoffed at me and asked if I was really serious, not many people thought I would be able to pull it off.’

The rum is available in three smooth varieties – Zulu Rum: a clear rum, light in flavour, Zulu Gold Rum: gold in colour with a raisin flavour and Zulu Impi Rum: a dark rum with a woody flavour for those who prefer the more traditional rum and cola.

There has been great interest shown in the product from elsewhere in the country as well as Australia, Europe, United States of America, Asia and the United Kingdom.