Bundaberg Rum Distillery, Bundaberg, Queensland

The first thing you need to know about the Bundaberg Rum Distillery is that you do not need to drink, or even like, Bundaberg Rum to enjoy a tour of the distillery. There is a lot of interesting information and history to cover on the tour.

Once you book in for a tour (wearing enclosed shoes because it is a workplace) you have to leave watches, cameras, mobile phones, all that sort of thing in a locker that is yours for the duration of the tour. I suppose they do need to be ultra safe because you are going around a workplace that creates a astronomical volumes of highly flammable liquid.

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You find out about bond stores, and the security you need on them so that Government can get the right amount of excise. You learn how to make the rum, see amazingly huge storage containers where it improves for two years. You get some serious history on the ups and downs of the company, including past destructions of the distillery. By the time you finish the tour you should know all you need to know about making rum.

There is also a museum which bits of historical information and objects, plus details on how (and why) the bear is used to promote the brand. I like the bear, to my mind he has become a very personable bear over the years.

But, the truth of it is that I really do not like Bundaberg Rum when it comes straight out of the bottle. So, it was with a degree of trepidation that I went into the tasting room at the end of the tour. Now, I already knew that I do like Bundy’s Dark and Stormy, a very elegant mix of rum and Bundaberg Ginger Beer (which is made by another company). So I was happy to try that one and then I did what many people do and had a taste of the Bundaberg Rum Liqueur, that wonderful mix of rum, chocolate and something else that escapes my taste buds.

Again, like so many others I am now a convert to it! The disadvantage is that you can only buy it at the Distillery, but our advantage is that we live in SE Queensland and can make a trip there as needed.

I really enjoyed the tour and finding out the history of rum making in Queensland, and the trials and tribulations that Bundaberg Rum has gone through over the years. It was not always the popular drink that it is today, and the marketing people deserve a pat on the back for their efforts in turning it into the well known product it is today – and the bear!

On our last trip we came across another product to take home, a chocolate rum topping for ice cream, lots of chocolate and just a very little rum – but it is now a permanent feature at our place. Even for a non-rum drinker the Bundaberg Distillery is a excellent place to visit.

Bundaberg Rum Distillery
Avenue St
Bundaberg Qld 4670
Ph: 07 4131 2999
Review by Alison Huth posted October 2011
Photos by Alison Huth