Distilia

I vividly remember the day a friend poured me a glass of Caroni 17 Year Old. It completely blew my mind, although it definitely wasn't love at first sip. What it did was make me realise there was an entire universe I hadn't even known existed, the world of aged rum.

I decided to dive deeper and explore some of the most respected, highest-rated rums to see whether they could truly compete with the whiskies I loved. You already know how that story ends. We fell head over heels for the category and began hunting for the finest casks and bottles we could find.

In a nutshell, our job is to hunt for treasures. We do exactly what most aficionados do, we keep searching for spirits we love, just on a slightly larger scale. They hunt for bottles, we hunt for casks.

Because we're not distillers, we're not tied to any particular style, category, distillery or country of origin. We have the freedom to explore the entire world of spirits in search of exceptional casks that excite us and, above all, our clients. Over the years we've learned that as our journey continues, our tastes, expectations and desires evolve. That's why our model gives us the flexibility to evolve with them, rather than being confined to a single house style.

We also love travelling to new places and discovering the history, traditions and people behind the distilleries. As independent bottlers, we can flirt with everyone, no commitments. How cool is that?

Not at all. In fact, I hope the story behind the bottle is just as compelling as the liquid itself. I see every bottle as a canvas, a medium through which we can tell fascinating stories while presenting an exceptional spirit.

The story should never replace the quality of what's inside, it should enhance it. Together they create a much richer experience and allow people to connect with the product on many different levels.

I know this will sound cliche, but our products are made to be shared. So why not share the creative process as well? That's one reason.

The other is that Rob and Pietro are not just business partners, above all they're great friends. They were the ones who helped us understand and truly appreciate rum when we first entered what was then a completely new category for us. It felt only natural to continue that journey together.

Last but not least, there's their expertise. The people we choose to work with are, without a doubt, among the most knowledgeable and respected experts in the world of rum and spirits. We learn from them constantly, and I believe our products are better because of it.

The answer isn't that simple, because it depends on the particular cask and the project.

In many cases, our collaborators choose from casks we already own. That means the initial selection was made by us when we decided to acquire the casks, often years before they were bottled. We then present a selection from our inventory to Rob or Pietro, who choose the casks they believe best fit the concept of the series. In that sense I think the term co-selection is entirely accurate. A great example is our Rum of the Year 2024, the Long Pond 1983 from The Sins. We had owned that cask for several years before Rob selected it for the project.

There are also projects where the selection starts from scratch. In those cases we taste samples together and decide collectively which cask to acquire. That was the case with our Lheraud Cognac and one of our latest RRL releases, which Rob, Piotr and I selected together during a visit to a warehouse in Cognac, or Marie-Galante. Take our latest release, The Virtues Patience: Rob blind-tasted more than 60 armagnac samples before choosing the one for the project. It took him almost a month to identify the winning cask.

So the process isn't always identical, but the names on the labels represent genuine involvement, not simply an endorsement.

If you like apples, you can still like oranges, right? For me it's all about freedom of choice. I became a rum lover after spending many years as a whisky enthusiast. Our palates evolve over time, and the world of spirits has so much to offer, so why limit yourself to a single category? Explore, stay curious, and enjoy the journey.

The more we tasted, the more we realised that the idea of a truly great spirit is surprisingly universal. Whether it's rum, whisky, cognac, armagnac or calvados, the same qualities matter: complexity, balance, texture, length, alcohol integration and character. Those are not category-specific, they're the hallmarks of exceptional spirits.

Take our HD 1983 as an example, sorry for the product placement. RumX calls it Excellent, but what's interesting is that people with very different preferences tend to agree on its quality. That suggests there are certain benchmarks of excellence that transcend categories.

That was the idea behind The Sins. We wanted to curate seven benchmark spirits from seven different categories and invite people to compare them, not to decide which category is best, but to discover what greatness looks like in each of them. It's a bit like comparing masterpieces by different painters. You don't have to choose between Rembrandt and Monet to appreciate both. And who knows, you might discover, just as we did, that some days call for a rum, others for a cognac, a whisky, an armagnac or a calvados. Seven sins for seven days of the week? Just remember to enjoy them responsibly.

I'd say it's a mixture of all three. Relationships matter, experience matters, and yes, sometimes it's about being in the right place at the right time.

We've been doing this for almost 15 years now, and I suppose that's the reward for committing yourself to something for long enough. Over time you build trust, people get to know what you're looking for, and opportunities begin to find you as much as you find them.

That said, none of it would be possible without the incredible people we've had the privilege of meeting along the way. So a big thank you to all our friends in the world of spirits.

We somehow knew the idea of the seven deadly sins had the potential to be successful from the very beginning. Well, perhaps hoped is a better word, and fortunately it turned out that way. Since the concept was inspired by Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, we always knew that The Virtues would naturally follow. The two series were conceived as companions from the outset, not as a sequel created because The Sins sold well.

As for avoiding a formula, I think that's where our freedom as independent bottlers comes into play. Every release tells a different story, explores a different spirit and brings together different people. The framework may stay the same, but the content is always new. And judging by our customers' reactions, they seem to enjoy discovering different categories within a familiar concept. We'd certainly like to continue that approach to an extent, as long as it keeps inspiring us and our audience alike.

It's a difficult question because there are several aspects to consider. First and foremost, we simply love exceptional spirits. And exceptional quality comes at a price. Once you add rarity, provenance and uniqueness, a particular distillery, vintage or cask, the price inevitably increases.

Having bottled extraordinary spirits such as our Long Pond 1983 or Savanna 2008, it's difficult to lower your own standards. Of course it's impossible to release unicorns all the time, but we always strive to maintain the same philosophy of quality, and that naturally influences our pricing. We've also never wanted to compete on price. We'd much rather compete on quality, design, storytelling and customer experience. That naturally positions us at the premium end of the market.

That said, Distilia isn't meant to be exclusive for the sake of being exclusive. We know not everyone wants, or is able, to spend 500 € or 1,000 € on a bottle. That's exactly why we're about to introduce a new range called Distilia Essentials, offering outstanding spirits at a more accessible price point. We hope that will allow more people to discover what Distilia is all about.

Thanks for asking, because I know some people criticised the idea, assuming we were simply trying to drive prices up. In reality it was quite the opposite. One of the conditions of our partnership with Catawiki was that every bottle would be offered with no reserve price. We wanted everyone to have an equal opportunity to buy a bottle at its true market value, even if that value turned out to be just 1 €. Fortunately that never happened, but we were prepared to take that risk.

The second reason was straightforward: brand building and reaching a completely new audience. Catawiki has an incredible international community of collectors and enthusiasts, many of whom had never come across Distilia before. Looking back after a few years, I have no doubt it was the right decision. It has been a genuine win-win, for us, for Catawiki and for our customers.

And interestingly, we've found that many of the winning bidders are genuine enthusiasts who open and enjoy the bottles rather than treat them as investments. Auctions simply allow the market to determine the price, they don't determine what people do with the bottle afterwards. For anyone reading this, here's a little tip: our bottles sometimes sell at remarkably competitive prices, so it's worth keeping an eye on our auctions.

No one knows the exact numbers, but to the best of my knowledge a large proportion of our bottles are actually opened and enjoyed. Naturally, not everyone wants or can afford to spend several hundred euros on a bottle, which is why communities like RumX are so valuable. I regularly see our bottles being cracked open and shared among enthusiasts as so-called splits, and I love that. That's exactly what they were bottled for.

And if some bottles end up being kept as collectors' items, I take that as a compliment. I completely understand why people choose to keep certain bottles unopened. For the same reason, my heart sinks every time I open one of the last few bottles of Lheraud 1980 that I keep in my own cellar. Some releases are genuinely once-in-a-lifetime, and I can imagine that in ten or twenty years they'll be appreciated even more, not necessarily because they'll be worth more, but because there will be so few left to experience.

At the end of the day, once a bottle leaves our warehouse it's no longer ours. It belongs to the person who bought it, and they should enjoy it in whatever way gives them the most satisfaction.

The community of spirit lovers is remarkably open-minded and welcoming. In my experience, people don't care where you're from, they care about what's in the bottle. If the quality is there, you'll earn their respect regardless of your passport.

In fact, one of the things I love most about this industry is that it brings together people from all over the world who share the same passion. That's always mattered far more than geography.

I don't want to say I value one more than the other, every accolade matters. But there is something special about recognition that comes directly from the community, from the people who actually open and drink our bottles.

Their feedback is invaluable. It helps us create better products, seek out even better casks and continue improving. Thanks to RumX that feedback is also immediate, and in many cases very personal, as we actually know many of the people who leave their reviews.

And yes, if I'm allowed a little moment of vanity, it's also incredibly rewarding. Knowing that people genuinely appreciate what we do gives us the motivation to work even harder.

That's exactly what makes the rum category so exciting. You can still find incredible rums at very reasonable prices, and thank God for that.

Our HD 1983 offers a completely different experience from the younger, funkier expressions, and that's the beauty of it. The elegance, depth and balance came with age. Some people will fall in love with that style, others will always prefer the explosive character of young Hampdens. And that's perfectly fine.

If you're asking whether it's worth the money, my answer is: hell yes. It's a time machine. It takes you on a journey through the history of rum. It's a tangible piece of Jamaica's rum heritage, and there are very few elegant rums of this age still in existence. That's what makes it so special.

Let me add one more thing. I'm a car guy, I love vintage cars. Not because they're objectively better, in many ways they aren't. Modern cars are safer, more comfortable, more efficient and technically superior. But to me they often lack that intangible X factor. Some people understand exactly what I mean, others don't. Again, that's perfectly fine. For me, old rum is the same. A young Hampden can be thrilling, just as a modern sports car can be breathtaking. But every now and then you want to experience something different, more mature, more subtle, or elegant. If you can, I wouldn't choose between them, I'd enjoy both.

We'll certainly remain focused on fine and rare spirits. That's in Distilia's DNA and it's not going to change. At the same time, we want to explore new territories and welcome more people into our world.

Did I mention Distilia Essentials already? That range is our way of offering more accessible bottles without compromising on quality. The price point may be different, but our standards won't be.

Once you reach the top of one mountain, you realise there are countless others waiting to be climbed. We stay hungry because we believe there are always even finer treasures still to be discovered.

As for a particular white whale, I'd rather not name one. Some of the best casks we've bottled came from opportunities we never expected, while some of the ones we chased for years simply never happened. That's part of what makes this business so fascinating. The search never really ends, and I hope it never does.

Domaine de Courcelles 1972, 54 percent. It's incredibly special to me because it was the bottle that made me realise how extraordinary rum could be. Looking back, it was probably the beginning of everything that followed. And I know for a fact I'll never sell my bottle, it's already open.

I'd also love to keep one bottle of every Distilia release, but I know that's impossible. The temptation to open them is simply stronger than my will to keep them sealed.

Jamaica. Unaged white rhum agricole. Tropical ageing.