Today New Life on the Road visited the most famous Tourist attraction in Bundaberg…well it is what everyone thinks of when you mention “Bundy” – Bundaberg Rum Distillery.
We already toured the Bundaberg Ginger Beer Barrel
We took three of our boys….Nicholas, Cameron and Kyle. Amazing the older two did not want to go – well after sharing what a great time we all had during the Tour of Bundaberg Rum and learning how the Rum is made; I think they would love me to go again and take them along this time!!
Bundaberg Rum Distillery
Driving up the car park I realised what I had learnt when we went there briefly on the weekend before….that you must be wearing enclosed shoes. I was the only one not wearing shoes that covered all of my feet! David had thongs on but they had the strap at the back so that was fine 🙂
I had ladies slip on shoes…oh OK they are thongs, but they are Dress Thongs! Still not good enough, so I had to hire shoes….which sounds gross but they assured me that the shoes are dry cleaned after each use – gee I sure hope so 🙂 Anyway after paying the shoe deposit and paying the entry fee we set off. I had the camera ready so I was able to take lots and lots of photos (check our our Facebook Fan Page) of Bundaberg Rum Distillery – at least up to the point of where the guide takes us on a tour and explains how the Rum is made.
Taking The Tour Before The Guided Tour
At the entrance of the Bundaberg Rum Tour is a section where you are able to read information on each wall about how long the Bundaberg Rum Distillery has been going for….how many fires they have experienced, where the Rum comes from (before it is actually Rum) and how many bottles are made each and every day.
Did you know that the Bundaberg Rum Distillery produces 60,000 Bottles (give or take a bottle or two) per day…that’s right PER DAY! That is a lot of Rum. Another thing we learnt…boy did we learn heaps!! Was that the Rum takes Two Years of sitting stored in a VATS before it can be sold to the public. So that’s at least two years of planning ahead Bundaberg Rum Distillery has to think about…..that blew me away; I am not sure I can plan two years down the track let alone 12 months down the track. If there was a fire, gee they would be in big trouble!!!
Nearly Closes Bundaberg Rum Distillery
There was a fire in the Bundaberg Rum Distillery around 1936 and nearly caused the closure of the Distillery (this was the second fire and it almost broke them). When they were re-built and ready to once more make their most famous Bundy Rum they had to wait two years for the Rum to sit in the Big VATS. After the two year there was…..a war in 1939 and the government wanted the Men overseas to stay in high spirits (no pun intended!) so all the Bundaberg Rum was commissioned for the people in the war. Once the war was over it took another year before the locals were able to purchase any of the Rum…so that means from 1936 to 1945 the Australian People had to go without their Bundaberg Rum!!! How tragic is that 🙂
Heaps More Information About The Bundaberg Rum Distillery
Normally I would have finished my post by now….but I learnt so much Information about the history, the making, the expenses, the loyalty, the dedication to the making of the Bundaberg Rum that I will have to be back here shortly with Part II of Bundaberg Rum Distillery! If you want to know more about the Bundaberg area then please stop by The Bundaberg Barrel where I shared our experience with Bundaberg Ginger Beer (no there is no alcohol in Bundaberg Beer!) or even our experience with the Postcard from Bundaberg Botanic Gardens
Location – Hills St, Bundaberg East QLD 4670
Phone – (07) 4131 2999
email – distillery@bundabergrum.com
Book online – Bundaberg Rum Online Booking
Book in person – Visit reception at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, Hills Street, Bundaberg
Cheers
Lisa Wood.
New Life on the Road
PS;- Did you know how much Bundaberg Rum those VATS hold in money value? Stay tuned where I will reveal how much money is sitting stored in the “Bundaberg Rum Distillery or Bonds Store” and how many people try to break in each year….what would happen if they were successful – Drink from the 75,000 litres which is stored in each VAT with a straw?
This is so interesting Lisa, The Bundaberg Rum Distillery is somewhere we are meaning to get too but never have (even though I live in Bundaberg) I never realised it was burnt down or it took 2 years to brew. I do like a glass of rum and coke on the odd occasion.
Jackie Stenhouse recently posted..Get Your Keywords Ranking
Hello Jackie,
We had so much fun and I would love to go back again…let me know if you would like to team up and we can go together? It sure was a great place to learn about so much history!! A hands on classroom for our boys!
Cheers
Lisa
Hi Lisa
Enjoyed the information about The Bundaberg Rum Distillery. Bundaberg Rum is one of the ingredients I use in my Christmas plum pudding each year. Fancy not being able to buy it for nine years, although it was used for a good cause.
Hello Kerry,
Wow I never thought about how long it was not available for (as in the number of years) and yes it was sent to those that were fighting for us!! We love Rum Balls, yet it was the first time I have tried Bundaberg Rum in a drink. They have a really nice liqueur which is only available at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery! Would love to go back again.
Cheers
Lisa
Do you know where i can get the bundy liqueur in Brisbane?
Hi Frank,
I am not sure – the best idea I can think of is to ring Bundaberg Rum Distillery and ask if they have somewhere in Brisbane that stocks the Liqueur – or maybe see if you can buy it from their website?
Cheers
Lisa