Joe Sinagra

MEET THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD’S BEST RUM SARAH WATSON

“TOGETHER, WITH A TEAM OF HARD-WORKING EMPLOYEES, SARAH HELPED STEER BUNDABERG INTO THE DIRECTION OF PRODUCING PREMIUM RUMS“

Behind every great brand is a team of passionate, hard-working and loyal staff. At Bundaberg Rum, Sarah Watson is just one of many employees who fits the description. Read on to find out how Sarah became the Liquid and Innovation Lead for the company.

Sarah grew up in Stirling, a city in central Scotland that is clustered around a large fortress and medieval town. As a child, she would take walks with her family and recalls being fascinated by the big, black buildings that lined the route. Little did she know that the buildings were the bond stores of one of the most famed Scotch companies in the world, Johnnie Walker, or that this was the beginning of her interest in what would soon become a long, and successful career in the alcohol industry.

Years later, after an intensive period of study, Sarah received her BSc Hons degree in Science with a focus on Toxicology from Edinburgh Napier University. Putting her books aside, and escaping the cold weather, she travelled to Australia and explored the whole of the East Coast, where she fell in love with the culture, the people, and the Australian way of life.

Sarah had a knack for learning, so she enrolled in a Master’s of Science at the University of Sydney, which she completed in 2007. Having lived in a metropolitan area for some time, Sarah decided to give the country a go, and so moved to Bundaberg in Queensland to take a job as the Laboratory Manager of a local soil and plant testing company. Her knowledge of analysis soon led her to an entirely different role working as an Instrument Chemist for the Quality Assurance Team at Australia’s favourite rum producer, Bundaberg Rum. Here, Sarah built a passion for the intricacies of the blending process and later moved into the role of Liquid Scientist. Together, with a team of hard-working employees, Sarah helped steer Bundaberg into the direction of producing premium rums.

Examples of successful innovations Sarah has led include the Master Distillers Small Batch Rum, voted World’s Best Gold Rum at the 2016 World Rum Awards; the Master Distillers Small Batch Vintage Barrel, matured in 100-year-old port barrels; and the Master Distillers Blenders Edition 2015, crowned the World’s Best Rum at the 2016 World Rum Awards.

Today, Sarah is the Liquid and Innovation Lead at Bundaberg Rum where she is responsible for the management of liquid development, maturation, blending, and bulk dispatch at the distillery. She also provides technical advice and support on the production process for the distillery and for parent company Diageo.

WE ASKED SARAH A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT BUNDABERG

FAVOURITE RUM: Bundaberg Rum Small Batch.

BEST PROJECT: Working on Bundaberg Rum Small Batch.

BEST THING ABOUT WORKING FOR

BUNDABERG RUM: The people... Bundaberg is a close community and it’s great to be able to work at such a special place with your family and friends.

BIGGEST CHANGE TO THE DISTILLERY:

When the Barrel House was built in 2011. It was a huge milestone for the company as it represented a significant investment into the experimental tinkering of liquid development to seriously move into the premium rum market.

FUTURE PLANS: To continue to develop our premium offering, while ensuring we maintain the core Bundaberg Rum flavours that have made it Australia’s favourite rum.

NAME A FEW OF THE LIQUIDS YOU HAVE WORKED ON:

Bundaberg Master Distillers Small Batch Rum, Bundaberg Master Distillers Small Batch Vintage Barrel and Bundaberg Master Distillers Blenders Edition 2015.