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One Tank Trip: Siesta Key Rum
Siesta Key Rum is an award-winning craft distillery with roots in Sarasota. You can find the sweet but spiced products from Florida to Washington State, but at its Sarasota location, you can tour it and taste the rum.
SARASOTA, Fla. - A local distillery spices things up with their specially-crafted rum. In fact, you can call it liquid gold.
Regulars and the owner of Siesta Key Rum say the sweet distinct flavor from the craft rum lingers -- and transports you to a tropical getaway. Troy Roberts started the craft distillery more than a decade ago.
"I found that people were starting small distilleries and making rum," he recalled, saying he started with only one still – which turned into a sweet success. "There's a lot of details from the yeast you choose to the molasses you use and how you run your still.”
Each batch of rum is handcrafted, and the flavors at this distillery include toasted coconut, spiced rum, coffee and beer-barrel spice.
"It really took off because we take a real traditional approach with making rum with real products," Roberts explained. "Real coconut, real spices. That's kind of unusual these days. Word of mouth sort of grew the company more than anything else."
Over the years, Siesta Key Rum has won plenty of awards for its craft rum, which are on display at its Sarasota distillery. (FOX 13 News)
Now, you can find their rum on store shelves from Florida to Washington State. If you happen to be visit the Sarasota-based distillery, you can tour it and see how it's done in person. There are no secrets here.
"You're really going to learn about making rum. We walk you through and show you all the equipment," Roberts said. "We don't keep any secrets. We answer any questions you have. We tell people exactly how rum is made from the sugar cane in the field to the rum in the bottle."
From being handmade to hand-bottled and hand-packaged, Siesta Key Rum is known for its top-notch quality. Their success can be seen on their walls, which are filled with awards and national reviews.
"To have rum reviewers and professionals say the things about our rum, we are very proud of that," said Roberts.
The tasting room lets you try each rum. Barbara Stio lives in Sarasota and told FOX 13 she brings out-of-town guests to try out the rum. She can tell you how it is, firsthand.
"I've had the other popular rums before. The way they really described their rums," she said, "are the truth."
The tasting room at Siesta Key Rum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. If you want a tour, they ask that you pre-register on their website. (FOX 13 News)
From its home roots in Sarasota, Siesta Key Rum has made a big name for itself.
"I really didn't have any expectations. I just bought the stills and started having fun making the rum," Robert said. "It really took off."
Siesta Key Rum is located at 2212 Industrial Boulevard in Sarasota. They're open every day. They carry some special rums you can only buy on site.
LINK: For more information visit the distillery's website