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Photographer: Brandon Wyness
Clinton Wyness and Wayne Oliver
Clinton Wyness (L) and Wayne Oliver (R)
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Zulu Rum Photo 1
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Exclusive Interview with Clinton Wyness, Director of North Shore Trading, Producers of Zulu Rum
Q: What is your full name, title, company name and company location?
Clinton Waynne Wyness , Director. North Shore Trading, Durban North, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Q: What inspired you to get started in the rum industry?
The first locally produced Rum from the sugar cane in KwaZulu-Natal. Zulu Rum was first thought of by me in 1999 when I was a regional sales manager in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa selling bicycles. While travelling all around KZN and seeing all the sugar cane around the province I thought it strange that KZN does not have its own Rum as in most other sugar producing areas, such as Mauritius, Caribbean and Bundaberg Australia.
I started going to talk to people I knew for support, but no one shared my same passion to start local Rum. One day I mentioned it to a close friend, Wayne Oliver, now partner in Zulu Rum. He supported it right from the beginning and made all his staff and office equipment available for the research to start Zulu Rum. So began the story of Zulu Rum.
Q: When I think of South Africa, rum is not the first thing that comes to mind, when did sugarcane get introduced in your country and by whom?
In 1848 the first sugar cultivars were imported from Mauritius, and proved to be so successful that the first mill was built on the Compensation flats in 1850, and in 1852 the Jane Morice sailed into the bay with a cargo of 15,000 cane tops from Mauritius.
Following protracted negotiations between the Natal Government and the Colonial Secretary, the Natal Parliament passed the Coolie Law No 14 of 1859. This made it possible for the Colony to recruit Indian laborers who could be brought out to South Africa under a five-year contract of indenture.
On 17 November 1860, the first contingent of 341 laborers from India to find employment as indentured workers on Natal’s cane-fields, entered the bay aboard the SS Truro.
The Phoenix Settlement, established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1904, is situated on the north-western edge of Inanda, some 20 kilometers north of Durban. Sita Gandhi writes “my grandfather’s farm … was fifteen miles away from the city, and in those days around us were plantations of sugar cane fields...”
Q: How much of the sugarcane production is destined for local vs. export markets?
The R12 billion South African sugar industry is cost-competitive, consistently ranking in the top 15 out of approximately 120 sugar producing countries worldwide. Stretching across two provinces of South Africa, namely Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, the sugar industry makes a positive difference to the lives of more than a million people and is a catalyst to economic growth and development.
Sugarcane is grown by approximately 24 000 registered sugarcane growers farming predominantly in KwaZulu-Natal with substantial operations in Mpumalanga, and some sugarcane production in the Eastern Cape. Sugar is manufactured by six milling companies with 14 sugar mills operating in the cane-growing regions. The industry produces an average of 2,2 million tons of sugar per season. About 75% of this sugar on average is marketed in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The remainder is exported to markets in Africa, Asia and the USA.
There is also direct and indirect employment through numerous support industries in the provinces where sugarcane is grown and processed. The sugar industry creates approximately 79 000 direct jobs, which represents over 11% of the total agricultural workforce in South Africa. In addition there are the registered cane growers supplying cane for processing to sugar mills. Indirect employment is estimated at 350 000 jobs. Approximately one million people or 2% of South Africa’s population depend on the sugar industry for a living.
Q: Who is behind the production of your rums (who is your distiller and/or blender)? What is his/her history and experience (where did that person learn the craft)?
Greenpoint Alcohols based in Durban SA. Distiller has been in the Liquor Industry since 1988, specializing in production with the likes of Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (now Distell) and Diageo, before opening up Greenpoint Alcohols in 2005.
Whilst with Diageo, covered an overseas assignment for Diageo in Mauritius where he headed up Operations. It was here that the interest in Rum was conceived what with the popular brand of Green Island Rum, for which the Island is well known. Greenpoint has both pot stills and columns on sight which are used in the production of Zulu Rum.
Q: What products do you currently distill? (List each one along with a description).
The Rum is available in three smooth varieties. We can state smooth as the test results that it had to go through to get passed by the Government Agriculture Department in Stellenbosch showed it to be one of the smoothest rums to be tested in their laboratories. We have also been told this on numerous other occasions at different shows and tastings we have attended.
Zulu Rum: a clear White rum, light in flavour. Great to use in cocktails and particularly suited for mixing with fruit juices, it has really brought life to cocktails in the KZN region.
Zulu Impi Rum: a Dark Rum with a woody flavour for those who prefer the more traditional rum and cola it is also doing very well in some local mixes such as ginger beer and called the Dark and stormy.
Q: Has the production of your rums helped create new jobs in KwaZulu-Natal? At your bottling facility, are you mainly labeling and sealing the bottles by hand or are you using an automatic machine?
Yes we are creating jobs as we grow in the market and all the labels are put on by hand. Also the packing into boxes is also done by manual labor.
Q: How well have your rums been received by consumers in and outside South Africa?
We have been received fantastically well in South Africa and even though we are only in the province of KwaZulu-Natal so far we have consumers flying down from Johannesburg and buying stock to take back with them. We have also had lots of queries from the rest of South Africa and from USA and Australia. We are also currently in talks with Russia, China and Singapore.
Q: What countries are you currently selling your rums in?
So far we are only in Kwazulu-Natal Province, one of nine provinces of South Africa, but will be launching into the other 8 provinces during this year. We will also be in Mozambique by the time this interview goes to print.
Q: Prior to your rums, what was the main spirit being consumed in South Africa? Who are your main competitors (local or foreign)?
Brandy is the main spirit in South Africa and our main competitors are foreign rums in dark and white categories as we are the only local rum.
Q: What does “Impi” mean?
Impi is a word from the Zulu tribe for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu.
Q: Is there something unique about your rums?
The Zulu Range of Rums have a uniqueness of being very smooth on the pallet and also of course being the first local rum in kwaZulu-Natal.
Q: Do you have any plans for developing additional rums in the near future?
We will be launching Zulu Gold Rum in the near future: gold in colour with a raisin flavour that mixes well with cola or lemonade and is also to the same smooth Standards typical of the Zulu Rum range.
Q: What have been some of the greatest challenges/obstacles you have encountered
thus far?
One of our greatest challenges was getting all of the legal paperwork in place and then getting the products tested and passed by the government agencies before we could even begin to start marketing. The next challenge was to break into a market that was only accustomed to imported rums and having no local rums in the market was a big mind set change for the public and still is as we roll out over South Africa.
Q: Luis and I had the pleasure of meeting you and your team at “Show Rum Italian Rum Festival” in Rome last year in October. What has happened since? Any rum events you plan on attending this year?
It was a great pleasure meeting you and Luis in Rome last year and yes lots has changed since then. We have grown to 117 outlets within KZN and we are adding new ones weekly. We have also been approached by group stores and will soon be launching nationally with them.
Zulu Rum will be represented at the Rum Festival in Paris on the 6th and 7th of April, but unfortunately without Wayne Oliver or I in attendance. We do intend to be at the London rum festival in October 2014.
Q: Who has helped you come up with Zulu rum cocktails? What is your favorite cocktail and why?
We have had the International Hotel School of South Africa prepare and create some fantastic cocktails for the Zulu Rum range. One of my favorites is called the Mnguni Cow which is named after a cow found in Zululand. The contents is 2 x tots of Zulu Impi Rum shaken with Amarula and crushed ice into a Sour Glass which is laced with Nachtmusik. It really brings out the smoothness in the Zulu Impi Rum.
Q: If people want to contact you or want to know how to get a hold of your rums, how may they reach you?
They can reach me by Email: cwyness@zulurum.com or at Zulu Rum on Facebook or Twitter.
Q: Is there a particular message or comment you would like to share with our readers?
Yes, I would like to say that since getting involved with producing rum we have discovered how small the world really is and that all rum drinkers are proud of what they drink.
United we stand!