Hand & Flowers's bar manager launches rum brand

The Hand & Flowers’s bar manager Anthony Peart has launched his own rum brand to showcase his Caribbean heritage.

Launched this week, the manager at Tom Kerridge’s two Michelin starred pub in Marlow said Fr’um is the culmination of three years’ worth of research and work after he felt there was “a lack of premium spiced rum offerings on the market that aren’t overly sweet”.

To create his rum, Peart, who has worked at the Hand & Flowers for ten years, teamed up with nearby gin and rum company the Henley Distillery.

To create the label and branding, Peart worked with an artist who calls himself ‘Autistic Ian’. The artist, whose full name he does not wish to share, works with a number of chefs and restaurants, having created artwork for Clare Smyth, Andrew Wong, and Pierre Koffman.

Peart said: “Blending my own rum has been a labour of love over the last three years starting with the initial concept being developed in the lockdown of April 2020. I really wanted Fr’um to showcase my Caribbean heritage combined with my love for big flavours and rum.”

Fr’um is now available throughout the Tom Kerridge Group sites as well as select venues including the Oarsman Marlow, Rebellion Brewery in Marlow and the Crown at Bray, near Maidenhead.

Image: Anthony Peart, right, and Jacob Wilson, master distiller at the Henley Distillery, left