As any Jamaican household knows, rum has always played a part in family traditions. When Richard McKitty founded Flat Cap Drinks to honour his father, he bottled the formula for flavoured rum that keeps you coming back.

Tell us about the inspiration behind Flat Cap Drinks.

The inspiration behind the brand was and is my late father. He passed away in 2015 and I wanted to pay homage to him and our family roots in Jamaica. My father was known for always wearing a flat cap, hence the name Flat Cap Drinks.

Rum is part of Jamaican and Caribbean culture and I have tried rum from all over the world but decided I wanted to make our own family-owned rum.

What’s the importance of rum to you?

Rum is especially important to myself, my family and our culture. There is always a rum bottle in a Caribbean household (unless they don’t drink) and that bottle comes out for all occasions – life, death, celebrations, events and socialising – so it is important to the Caribbean culture as a whole. So, it is bigger than just me.

What makes your rum different?

Our rum is a premium rum compared to others on the market and the molasses come from the Caribbean. [It is] distilled in the UK using handmade copper stills and left to rest in oak barrels for the enhancement of the taste.

Just like in Caribbean cooking, it’s all about flavour. If the food is not seasoned properly the flavour is absent, and it’s the same with our rum.

What kinds of flavoured rum do you offer?

We have four rum options: Mixed Spice which is our traditional option, Vanilla & Cherry and A Dash Of Honey, [which are] unique flavours in the market, [and] Pure White, our smooth-tasting white rum.

How do you decide on the flavoured rum infusions?

Some of the infusions are skill and some are pure luck. Starting with a traditional Mixed Spice, where vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, orange peel [and] ginger are used, from there you experiment with different flavours and test which combinations work best and then tweak the recipe.

Some ideas [take] inspiration from popular flavours but are enhanced for a better taste experience.

How do you recommend people drink your rum?

Our rum is very versatile. For the purists, drinking the rum straight with no ice or chaser is necessary to make the tastebuds come alive. You can also drink it with just ice, as well as add your favourite mixer. Everyone’s choices are different when it comes to mixing drinks.

On our website we have a list of cocktail recipes to try, which includes the famous Flat Cap Bakewell Tart Sour by Tales and Tails UK (big up Eron), which has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine!

How does your Caribbean heritage shape Flat Cap Drinks?

My Jamaican heritage shapes everything within the business, from product to marketing to label colours. For example, our Pure White Rum label colours are based on the colours of the Jamaican flag!

What’s the one review or customer message that’s stayed with you?

There are so many! I am simply happy when people say they like the taste of the products and when we convert them to our brand from other brands. When we can interact with the customer directly is when we are most powerful as we can build relationships and connect with the customer.

We always receive compliments on the product, the brand and the pride that our late dad would have with what we have done.

What’s been your biggest milestone so far?

Everything is a blessing, [but] firstly starting a business from scratch is one of the biggest and hardest as most ideas don’t make it out of the block.

I think one that stands out is when the Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell featured our Vanilla & Cherry Rum in a cocktail on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch! Ian is such an important figure in worldwide rum-making [and] to be blessed by him was unreal. It really helped to enhance the brand.

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