Aged in unique barrels and crafted from a variety of ingredients, each Shipwreck Series rum features different styles of molasses, sugars and barrels, highlighting the versatility of the spirit for each offering in this series. Each batch is named for an historical Outer Banks shipwreck.
The steamer Metropolis struck a shoal off Currituck Beach in January of 1878. Despite a heroic rescue effort, 85 lives were lost out of 245 passengers. This, along with the wreck of the Huron only months earlier, encouraged the investment in a new life-saving stations by congress.
Our sixth shipwreck batch was made from a blend of traditional molasses and a small addition of sorghum molasses. The rum was then aged in Rua whiskey barrels from the Great Wagon Road Distillery in Charlotte, NC
The British tanker Mirlo was sunk off Rodanthe by a German U-boat’s torpedo in 1918. The subsequent explosion caused the ship to break in half and sink. Leroy Midgett of the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station launched their boats rescuing six survivors.
This rum commemorates the heroic efforts of those men. The rum was made using evaporated cane juice and then aged for 18 months in High Wire whiskey barrels.
Bound from Norfolk to Charleston, this schooner sank off Bodie Island on November 18th, 1825. Thanks to the help of local fishermen that assisted in a dory, only three lives were lost.
To celebrate the fall season, we decided to age our award winning Pecan & Honey Rum in once-used bourbon barrels from Highwire Distilling in Charleston, SC.
The wreck of the Huron was one of the most tragic along the Outer Banks, claiming 98 lives. The loss of life prompted congress to invest more resources into the U.S. Life Saving Service. The wreck is still dived on regularly just off of Nags Head Pier.
Our third shipwreck batch was made from a blend of molasses and muscovado sugar and aged in 30 gallon once-used bourbon barrels provided by High Wire Distilling Company.
The Monitor was the first iron-clad warship commissioned by thte United States. The Monitor is famous for seeing action against the Merrimack during the Battle of Hampton Roads, VA. While being moved to Beaufort, North Carolina the ship was caught in a storm off of Cape Hatteras and sank on December 31, 1862.
The Monitor is the second edition of Kill Devil Rum’s Shipwreck Series. This batch used a unique blend of Caribbean style molasses and evaporated cane syrup. The rum was then aged in used bourbon barrels from Tuthilltown Spirits & Ironclad Distilling.
The Irma was a three-masted schooner that wrecked along the beach in Kill Devil Hills in the year 1925, in front of the Croatan Inn. Schooners were still being used to transport cargo along the east coast at this time despite the advent of steam power. Everyone onboard survived the wreck of the Irma. Instead of wrecking on the shore the Irma ran aground and basically stayed intact. The ship’s wheel can now be seen in our distillery and the wreck of the Irma can still be seen in the shallow water just off the beach.
A blend of molasses and demerara sugar was used to compliment flavors derived from aging in four 10 gallon once used barrels from Tuthilltown Spirits in NY. They were 2 once used “Hudson Baby Bourbon” barrels and 2 once used “Manhattan Rye” barrels that we aged our rum in and then blended together. Big Ugly Brewing in Chesapeake VA was gracious enough to provide these barrels for us. The barrels have been sent back to Big Ugly Brewing and are now being used to age beer.
