When we created Deadhead Rum in 2011, we did so because we wanted to bring deserved attention to, and honor to, the storied history of rum production in México.
After all, since the 18th-century, sugarcane has been a major crop in México and rum is considered a national beverage. Today, México has more sugar mills than any of its Caribbean neighbors.
Last year, México produced 56.8 million tons of sugarcane making it the sixth largest producer in the world. And while México is internationally known for its tequila and mezcal, the fine rums coming out of México have gone largely unnoticed by the world rum scene.
At Deadhead Rum we set out from the beginning to change that global neglect. Starting with partnering with the most-awarded distillery in México, Rones de México, a family-owned artisanal distillery that’s been making handcrafted exceptional rum since 1948. Its master distiller, Jorge Perez Rafael, is the most decorated distiller in México.
And while we found just the right distillery and master blender, we didn’t wish to put our fine rum in just any common bottle. We wanted our bottle to stand out on a retail shelf and behind the bar. And we wanted our bottle to represent a cultural connection to the history of México. The shrunken head pays tribute to Mayan rituals of triumph, family, and honor in the Chiapas region.
We were honored as well when The Tasting Panel gave Headhead Rum a 95-point rating and our Deadhead Dark Chocolate Rum a 92-point rating.
To celebrate our ten years of commitment to making the very finest rum and putting Méxican rum its rightful place on the global rum map, we asked our master blender Jorge to create a 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Deadhead rum and disappoint us he did not.
The Deadhead Anniversary rum is extraordinary. This elegant 80-proof spirit features a whiskey-style nose of stone fruit and maple syrup. Brown sugar melts on the tongue, followed by cigar-leaf and sassafras. Toasted pecan and oatmeal drive even more textual complexity. Oak and leather are magnificent on the finish, which delivers pure depth of character.
Each amber glass-bottle features a black-matte, copper-foil embossed label that is hand-numbered. This sleek, stunning 10th Anniversary Limited Edition bottle will surely be a back-lit beauty on top shelves of bars and Tiki lounges everywhere. The 10th Anniversary Limited Edition bottle will be available June 2021.
For us, the past ten years have been an exciting (and certainly challenging) ride. And although we knew we had the finest rum and outstanding packaging (winning dozens of medals including Gold and Double Gold for taste at the Craft Competition International Awards, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of American, BTI and Sip Awards and a Platinum Medal for bottle design at the Sips Awards) it hasn’t been a cakewalk in the hypercompetitive spirits marketplace.
We are a small, family-owned company competing against the deep-pocketed global rum marketers producing oceans of rum from better-known rum countries such as Barbados, Jamaica, and Cuba.
But like the shrunken head ritual of the Mayan civilization, we have empowered ourselves with the spirit of our global rum adversaries and market challenges and are finding creative and committed ways to put Deadhead rum and the Méxican rum industry front and center.
Even though Deadhead rum started 10 years ago, facing the slings and arrows of uncontrollable variables such as distribution disruptions and a global pandemic, in some ways we feel born again. The new (or renewed) kid on the block. We’re back and we’re not going away.
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