Two Drifters is a distillery founded by Russ and Gemma Wakeham, a husband-and-wife team from Devon. As the world’s first rum distillery to have a carbon negative footprint, Two Drifters are always on the search for new and improved sustainable technologies, from their packaging to their use of electric vehicles.

Why did you decide to create your rums and what were you doing before?

Russ has a PhD in Organic Chemistry which took us to various academic institutions all around the globe. Along the way he worked on carbon capture projects, fuelling his passion for carbon emissions and innovative sustainable practices. It was in Vancouver where we decided to start a rum distillery. Rum has always been a huge love for us, we even went rum tasting on our first date! We wanted to move back to Devon and do something that hadn’t been done before. British rum, made in Britain, is still rare! I have a background in medical sales, I now love telling the Two Drifters story!

What would you say to other people who are considering switching to Flexi-Hex®?

DO IT! Flexi-Hex is a win-win, sustainable and strong. We have significantly less breakages with Flexi-Hex, compared to any other packaging we have tried.

What’s your favourite way to drink your rums?

Totally depends on the weather! But after a summer of cocktails, I’ve gone back to our hero serve of Lightly Spiced Rum, Ginger Ale, wedge of orange and ice – simple, quick and delicious.

What are you doing to play a role in helping to solve the climate crisis?

Where do we start! We’re the world’s first rum distillery to have a carbon negative footprint. We’re determined to make carbon emissions a hot topic, just like plastic. If CO2 had a colour then I’m sure people would produce less of it, but it doesn’t so we have to shout! We avoid creating CO2 everywhere we can. For example, our distillery is electric and runs on 100% renewable energy, we use electric vehicles, our new bottles are thinner glass, the label is made from waste sugarcane, our tamper seal is from wood pulp, I can go on and on! However, we’re not the whole problem, we account for our supplier CO2 as well – if we didn’t order from them then the CO2 would not have been created. So if we can’t find a sustainable alternative, we calculate the emissions and remove them with Climeworks.

Which brands do you always have on your drinks shelf (other than your own of course!)?

Apart from rum, Russ is a big beer/lager drinker. So our fridge is usually filled with Verdant and Utopian cans. I love trying British spirits and wines, the UK is exploding with new drinks brands right now, so if I can lower the air miles it has taken to get to me, then I will love to try it!

Any exciting plans for the rest of 2021?

We’ve just launched our stunning, new, sustainable bottles and the response has been overwhelming. We’ve got some big customer announcements coming, plus Christmas is our busiest time of the year!