Ian Burrell, the inimitable U.K. rum expert, festival organizer, instructor and promoter of rum purchased two of the oldest bottles of Barbados rum ever offered by London auction house Christie’s on December 15.
Ian became the proud owner of these exceptionally rare antiquities discovered at Leeds’ Harewood House in 2011, hidden amongst the dust and cobwebs deep within the cellar. These 12 remaining bottles of dark and light rums dating back to the 18th century — among the world’s oldest bottles of rums ever to be auctioned — fetched £78,255 (equivalent to about $US 128,000).
Continuing to expand The Rum Experience’s portfolio, Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell purchased two of the twelve available lots.
Ian comments, “I am ecstatic to have acquired two bottles from this esteemed collection. It is a great privilege to bring these two bottles of the world’s oldest rums into The Rum Experience portfolio where they will proudly sit alongside the one of the world’s most expensive bottles of rum, the Wray & Nephew 17 year-old I acquired in 2005. It rounds off a fantastic year of continued work promoting a category I feel deserves to be a forefront of the spirits industry.”
Records indicate that the liquor was distilled in Barbados on one of the Lascelles family’s 47 West Indian plantations.
The money raised by the Christie’s sale will benefit the Geraldine Connor Foundation, a charity that encourages disenfranchised young people to participate in the performing arts.
Source: Examiner.com
