D-Day veterans visit Shropshire rum distillery
WWII veterans were driven to Shropshire to meet the master distiller who created a commemorative 80th anniversary D-Day dark rum.
The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans took a groups of veterans for a couple of days break in Shropshire which included a visit to meet the Distinct Distillers team who have been selling ‘44’ a commemorative special edition D-Day rum which raises funds for the charity.
Award winning Distinct Distillers, based near Ironbridge on the site of a WWII fuel depot, welcomed a group of eight D-Day veterans, one who served in Operation Market Garden and a veteran of the Burma campaign. The veterans enjoyed homemade cakes before a tour of the site, which included a visit to one of the old underground fuel tanks where casks of rum are stored. The master distiller explained how their 44 dark rum was made from the finest molasses and aged in sherry and bourbon barrel oak chips with notes of demerara, caramel and coffee.
Hannah Boon, MD, Distinct Distillers said: “The Distinct Distillers team felt so privileged to have these WWII heroes on our site. We were delighted when the charity accepted our offer to visit our distillery and we were keen to explore how we could raise additional funds to support their work with veterans. After the popularity of the 1944 Dark Rum, we’re expanding our plans with the charity further and will be releasing another line ready for VE day in 2025. We have also launched our Heroes Reserve Cask Programme, which are available to purchase with a £350 donation per cask going to the charity. We also laid down 12 barrels, each one dedicated to those veterans who visited, and we’ll mature these for 5-7 years until ready for release.”
Dick Goodwin, Vice President of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans said: “The Commemorative D-Day rum has raised over £750 to support our work and it was really fascinating to see and hear how it is made and to visit the huge underground tanks which store the casks under perfect conditions. Later that evening the team from Distinct Distillers visited our hotel for a rum tasting which went down very well, especially with our naval veterans!”
To find out more about the support the Taxi Charity offers to veterans or to donate, visit taxicharity.org
