We are delighted to announce that Lunatic & Lover has managed to win BioGro Organic Certification for our Fundamental unaged rum. This certification from an independent and internationally recognised third party is no mean feat and makes us one of only two distilleries in the entire country.

In very broad terms it means that every component of a product is made or grown without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides. It also needs to be non GMO.

The really interesting thing about our decision to become a certified organic producer is that the journey didn’t start with that as an end goal. Ironically, we had no preconceived notion or lofty ambition in that area. Everything we do as a distillery is focused around the quality of our spirit and in this case, after nearly two years of recipe development, the rum that really stood out from a flavour perspective was a test batch made from organic molasses. After we decided to base our unaged rum on this, the next logical question was; “Well, if the molasses is organic and it’s far and away the largest component of the ingredients, what’s involved with labelling the final liquid as organic?”. 

From there we had to choose a certifying authority and we selected one of the most well-known and respected; Biogro. https://www.biogro.co.nz/ They carry out a complete audit of all the ingredients, the recipe, the process and even what cleaning chemicals are used. Not only do they audit the organic products but they even track any non-organic products so that there’s no cross contamination. It’s quite an exhaustive process!

Looking around the world it’s noticeable that there are actually very few certified organic rums at all. In terms of volume, the primary ingredient in rum is of course, molasses (apologies to the cane juice/agricole enthusiasts!) but because of the nature of sugar mills and the multiple cane farms they typically service, it’s actually quite hard to find a molasses source that can isolate one crop stream and keep it separate as organic. That’s why the molasses we use has to come all the way from Mozambique.

But is it worth it? We think so! Not only is the rum just plain delicious, but we feel gaining certification also speaks to the integrity of the brand and quality of the spirit. We’ve always strived to make the best rum we possibly can from the best ingredients and be as transparent as possible about it. This certification is another way we can show people that we’re serious about what we do.

Shop Fundamental Unaged Organic Rum here: https://lunaticandlover.com/product/fundamental-organic-rum/

STOP PRESS: The Exponential Overproof Rum is also now certified organic: https://lunaticandlover.com/product/exponential-rum/