A sports professional that has “always had aspirations” to own his very own business has made his dream a reality by launching Twice Buried Rum Co, a new rum company in Kintore.
Kevin Bonarius, who has been working in the leisure industry since leaving school at 17, launched the brand at the end of last month with the support of his partner, Katie.
Twice Buried is a small-batch, spiced botanical rum made using a selection of local botanicals, including strawberries from Inverurie’s Barra Berries and honey produced by Deeside Honey.
The launch comes in advance of the first batch release, which will be available for pre-order at the end of September.
There will be 800 bottles produced and bottled ahead of this in Aboyne by contract distiller Lost Loch Spirits.
From leisure to hospitality
Kevin is currently the chief operating officer at Garioch Sports Centre, in Inverurie. However, from a young age, the 31-year-old has dreamed of running his own business.
Despite having little experience in the drinks industry, he is determined to see Twice Buried – a name inspired by the historic local tale on Mary Elphinstone, who was said to have returned from the dead after being buried alive – expand and succeed.
“My experience has been more on the event side as a personal licence holder in delivering large scale licenced events,” Kevin said.
“I’m a bit of a social butterfly with a rum never too far from me. I’ve always wanted to run my own business. From school-age, all I enjoyed was sport and fitness and business management in the classroom.
“Twice Buried is my own project but I have the full support of my partner, Katie, as well as good people around me day-to-day like my parents who I can use as a sounding board.
“The rum itself is a delicious local small-batch, 40% ABV spiced botanical rum with a truly unique flavour of strawberries and sweet tones, derived from salted caramel and honey with a warmth of spices.
“The flavourings used have come from extensive market research to identify a unique selling point that’s different to other products.
“We have sourced popular local botanicals to ensure the best flavours possible are in the product. I’m really passionate about supporting and promoting local.”
‘A taste experience to be remembered’
The rum, which is priced at £34.99, is produced and bottled by Lost Loch Spirits, a distillery in Aboyne founded by Peter Dignan and Richard Pierce in 2017.
Kevin plans to produce small batches of the product in each run, the first being 800.
Despite not being available to the public until autumn, the entrepreneur has received positive feedback from friends and family and plans to sell the product in a 70cl bottle.
Kevin said: “Feedback based on the brand and its impact after announcing the business publicly last week has been incredible.
Growth within any business takes time but I’m passionate about Twice Buried and cannot wait to see where it can get to in the months and years to come.”
Kevin Bonarius.
“I’m immensely proud. I’ve wanted to do this for as long as I can remember so for it now to be happening is exciting.
“We are now working towards our first batch being produced with pre-order becoming available in early autumn 2021.
“Growth within any business takes time but I’m passionate about Twice Buried and cannot wait to see where it can get to in the months and years to come.
“I’ll definitely introduce more rums. I would love to introduce more flavourings under Twice Buried moving forward and this will be researched more as it becomes established in the market.”
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