Member Article

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

A warship which took bottles of a Northumberland drink on a ‘round the Med’ trip returned to North Shields last Thursday empty handed after sharing the spoils with dignitaries in countries such as Italy, Turkey and Croatia. HMS Northumberland set sail last August and took some crates of the local Alnwick Rum with them to give to high profile ambassadors on their travels.

The unusual promotional tour came about when Commander Simpson of HMS Northumberland approached the Alnwick Rum Company with an offer to take his favourite rum on his recent voyage as the ship’s signature gift.

Ian Linsley, owner of the Alnwick Rum Company, said: “When I first received an email saying it was the Commander of a warship, I thought ‘yes and I’m Sinbad the Sailor!’ but it soon became apparent that this was a serious proposition and amazing opportunity to take Alnwick Rum to an international market. Commander Simpson wanted to give a gift that really showed the true spirit of Northumberland so traditional Alnwick Rum was a perfect blend.”

HMS Northumberland has been on a NATO deployment around the Mediterranean for the last four months, and has given out bottles of Alnwick Rum to ships’ captains, admirals and Naval dignitaries.

Commander Simpson said: “I’ve always been a fan of traditional Alnwick Rum and have struck up a great friendship with Ian and his Alnwick Rum Company. I even recently provided the company with two family recipes for making bread and butter pudding and fruitcake using the rum.

“We have stopped at dozens of ports around the Mediterranean on our tour, from Istanbul to the Suez Canal, and found presenting - and often opening - a bottle of Alnwick Rum with local dignitaries is a great way to share a little piece of Northumberland with them. It has helped get this little local company international attention, which is a great feeling for us to be able to help.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .