Bundaberg Rum is an Australian institution, one that had been around since 1888. The tour costs A$9, and there are some requirements. You cannot wear open-toed shoes, which we forgot and had to rent a pair for $20. This money was refunded when the shoes were returned. The guides gathered us on the back porch to tell us what to expect on the tour. Mostly they wanted to warn us the property was surrounded by electric fence and you cannot take ANY battery operated devices, including watches, cell phones, and CAMERAS! Hence, no pictures.The tour starts off in the mash building where everyone got to sample unfiltered molasses. It doesn’t look appetizing, but it tastes good. The mash looked and smelled like sweet cereal.
From here we went to the fermentation building where the mash was turned in alcohol. It starts out very brown in color because it had not been filtered. The building was a series of tanks and each tank ferments the mash into liquid. At this point it is 90% proof alcohol and not fit to drink.
Then we walked across the compound to the aging caskets. Here the rum was aged and reduced down to 30 proof. These barrels were solid wood barrels held together by the metal rings around them, no nails or screws. Our guides said there was $18 million worth of rum here.
Our guides then acted out, complete with sound effects, the story of the great fire of 1934. A lightening bolt struck the holding kegs and set the rum on fire. This caused the rum to flow into the river. The townsfolk, instead of putting out the fire, gathered the rum that flowed since it was worth more than gold at the time. The rum in the river also pickled all the fish so villagers gathered those too and had a big feast. To prevent this from happening again, when the distillery was rebuilt, they included lightening rods on each building.
After the tour, our guides led us back to the house and into the tasting room. Here we received our two drink samples. Our guides also told us about the many products that Bundaberg rum produces: rum & cola, rum & bitters, dark rum, and limited editions. I chose the rum & cola—delicious!
I thought it odd that a polar bear was the distillery’s symbol, since there are no polar bears in Australia, so I asked the guide. He said it was a marketing strategy selected many years ago because Southern Australians believed that rum was a tropical, warm drink. Bundaberg wanted to show people that rum could be cool and refreshing, thus the polar bear.
After the sampling, we spent lots of money in the gift shop, including a specially priced 2-pack that was just the right amount of alcohol to legally bring into the US. For anyone who enjoys and appreciates fine spirits, this tour was fun and tasty.