Frank Ratcliffe was a dapper and handsome young man with a quick smile who recognized a need within the community and sought to fill it. (Okay, let's face it: he was a bootlegger) But unlike many 'moonshiners' of the Prohibition era, Frank focused on more than just 'corn liquor'. He developed his own versions of wine, vodka, rum and whiskey... even brandies. His legacy includes the unique story of how he passed his knowledge (and belief that one day small distilleries would flourish) on to his family in seven mason jars.
Frank's family enjoys vacations in the tropics. And, we have made a fine hobby of enjoying full bodied tropical refreshments provided that the core ingredient is a fantastic quality rum. You can actually get more rum out of the still by running it at a higher temperature. However, at higher temperatures, you will more than likely burn the blackstrap molasses. We utilize a cooking method that the old timers called 'low and slow'. We distill the rum over a longer period of time, at a lower temperature, protecting the sugars and producing a more buttery, gentler finished quality product.