A local man has launched premium spirits brand, House of Rum, after spending the last three decades immersed in Caribbean culture.
David Howarth’s time spent travelling and working around the Caribbean has been used to hone a collection of unique, limited-edition rums inspired by the regional blends found across the islands.
David says he first fell in love with the region when he was just 22 years old, when a trip to Antigua prompted him to change his career and move across the world.
The Manchester-born businessman was ‘forever moved’ by his first island experience, which he spent ‘enjoying a rum punch, listening to steel drums being played to the backdrop of Shirley Heights’.
House of Rum’s range of unique, limited-edition rums. Credit: Supplied
He’s spent the last three decades soaking up the islands’ culture and discovering the differences in rum blends, which are influenced by the land surrounding each distillery – whether that’s the shores of Jamaica or the coastal hillsides of Barbados.
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House of Rum was created to ‘celebrate these undiscovered, rare regional intricacies, provide a platform for them, through the creation of sought after, specially selected aged and blended rums’.
All of the rums in the collection are small-batch releases, with the Diablo series presented in luxurious Wibalin Buckram Black window boxes.
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House of Rum’s Spiced Millionaire cocktail. Credit: Supplied
Using some of the oldest distilleries in the Caribbean, the range includes the award-winning Diablo Aged White Rum (filtered through charcoal, with notes of liquorice, peppermint and banana) at £69 per 70cl bottle.
House of Rum also boasts the Diablo Spiced Rum (with flavours of golden syrup, ginger, cloves and nutmeg) and the Diablo Aged Rum (featuring notes of red fruits and a touch of burnt sugar).
Its most premium product is its XO Reserve Single Cask, an incredibly rare rum matured for 11 years before being shipped to the UK.
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It’s distilled from molasses in a continuous column and there are only 140 bottles in existence, priced at £750 per bottle.
Hemmingway Daiquiri
Black Cherry Cobbler
House of Rum cocktails – recipes below. Credit: Supplied
The XO Reserve, which won a Silver Award at the Rum and Cachaca Masters 2022 and the IWSC 2022, is served in a bottle embellished with a die-cast metal badge, and sold alongside two House of Rum and Cumbria Crystal hand-blown tumblers.
House of Rum has created some delicious cocktail recipes to complement its unique premium rum range.
There’s the Hemingway Daiquiri (40ml Diablo Aged White Rum, 15ml Maraschino liqueur, 25ml grapefruit juice, 15ml lime juice, shaken and double-strained into a coupe glass with a grapefruit twist) and the Black Cherry Cobbler (35ml Diablo Aged Rum, 20ml Amontillado Sherry, 20ml Black cherry syrup, 20ml lemon juice, served in a wine goblet with a lime wedge and cherry).
Spiced rum fans will also love the Spiced Millionaire, which sees 40ml Diablo Spiced Rum, 15ml Cointreau, 2.5ml Absinthe, 10ml pomegranate syrup and 20ml lime juice served in a rocks glass with lemon zest and a cherry.
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You can find out more and browse the House of Rum collection at www.house-of-rum.com.
Featured image: Supplied
Food & Drink
Smash-hit sandwich shop Earl’s is set to open another site in Bolton
Danny Jones
Yes, beloved Bolton butty shop and bar, Earl’s, is set to open up their second location in the Greater Manchester borough, taking the food from the town centre over to Farnworth.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a metropolitan expansion either this year or next, but for now, we’re just glad to hear we’re getting more of the good stuff.
Earl’s Day and Night Deli, to give them their full name, is the latest name to join the lineup of new foodie faces joining the culinary boom over at the Farnworth Green development.
Soon, the stacked sandwiches, quality coffee and laid-back vibes will be coming to one of the best up-and-coming new neighbourhoods.
Founded by two local lads, Jonny Eckersley and Andy Partington, the first venue only opened back in December of 2024, but has gone on to become a North West-wide sensation.
Carb connoisseurs will literally travel for this scran, and having tasted it for ourselves a couple of times now, it’s no wonder.
Taking inspiration not only from regional food and drink, but also from the wider atmospheres and culinary cultures of Lisbon, Sydney, Antwerp and more, if they can translate even half the levels of chill from the OG Earl’s into this soon-to-open sister site, we’re sure it will hit the ground running.
As per an official press release, fans and those who’ve never tried it before can “expect a menu packed with freshly made sandwiches, alongside a line-up of hot and cold options available for both grab-and-go and delivery.”
Crucially, they’re also looking to carry over that feeling of a seamless transition between services, blending everything from morning coffee runs and the lunch rush with casual evening hangs.
Co-founder Jonny said in a statement: “We are staying true to our roots by bringing a second Earl’s in Bolton. This new venture helps to fuel our expansion plans and widen our catchment area so even more local people can enjoy the Earl’s experience.
“We have big plans for the space and can’t wait to get started.” An exact opening date hasn’t even been confirmed yet, but we’re already getting excited.
Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital and Centric (the developers behind Farnworth Green) added: “We back standout local operators, and Earl’s is right up there – great food, loads of energy and a proper following already behind them.
“Farnworth Green is shaping up to be a neighbourhood with real character, and Earl’s is only going to add to that. Expect it to be busy.”
Crown and Kettle set to take over another former Northern Quarter bar
Danny Jones
The team behind beloved Ancoats pub The Crown and Kettle have announced that they are set to take over another former bar and restaurant location in nearby Northern Quarter.
We were gutted to see the old place go, but at least we can’t think of many better to take over the unit.
The historic watering hole on the corner of Oldham Road and Great Ancoats Street is said to have stood in that spot since the 18th century, but now the present owners have confirmed they’ll be taking on a third venue, having also opened The Rat and Pigeon back in June 2024.
Many of you may have been to one or multiple of its previous iterations of the site in question over the years, but most recently, it was the Calcio sports bar – and soon it’ll become ‘The Badger’.
Revealing the news online last week, Crown and Kettle wrote: “We’re delighted to announce that our new pub, The Badger, arrives on Dale Street this spring!
“Once home to Calcio, Allotment & Nickelbys, this beautiful old building first served as The Haunch of Venison public house back in the early 1800s. Over the past few months, we’ve been hard at work, quietly bringing it back to life & returning it to its roots as a community pub.
“With The Badger, we’ve set out to create the kind of place we love most, warm, welcoming, full of character, with all the charm of a great countryside pub in the heart of the city.
“Expect cosy corners, traditional pub foods, fine ales & the warmest of welcomes. Made for regulars. Open to all. Worth returning to. We can’t wait to welcome you to your new city centre local. GET SET(T)…” Oh, very good indeed.
We visited Calcio many times over the past couple of years, both for work and pleasure in our own free time; it was a great place to watch the footy, enjoy some matchday scran and roll back the years with retro videogames.
As mentioned, though, not only did it used to be one of multiple Allotment vegan and vegetarian eateries in Greater Manchester – thankfully, their presence still remains in multiple buildings – but it has a past long before that which many people bring up on social media.
Insert, “I remember when…’ post.
While we might not know much about what they have in store for this next chapter, knowing how much we love their current city centre favourites, we’re very excited.
As it stands, we’re also yet to hear anything about a more precise opening date, but at least we know it’s coming sometime soon, and we have every faith they’re going to smash it.
Daisy Jackson -
6th April 2022 
