Two Drifters Distillery
Two Drifters Distillery is a UK craft rum producer and the world's first carbon-negative rum distillery, founded in 2019 in Exeter by Russ and Gemma Wakeham, selling premium rums direct-to-consumer, through retailers, bars, distributors, and select European and airline partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersExeter, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Two Drifters Distillery does
Two Drifters Distillery is a privately held, founder-owned craft rum producer headquartered in Exeter, United Kingdom, founded in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Russ and Gemma Wakeham. The company operates an all-electric distillery powered by 100% renewable energy (wind, tidal, solar, and nuclear) and positions itself as the world's first carbon-negative rum distillery, with each bottle permanently removing more than 1.2 kg of CO₂ from the atmosphere through a partnership with Climeworks (Direct Air Capture) and Carbfix (mineralization). Total cradle-to-grave footprint is 1.20 kgCO₂e per bottle versus an industry average of 2.95 kgCO₂e (cradle-to-gate), independently verified through Environmental Product Declarations by My Carbon. The product portfolio comprises four core rums — Signature (aged in French Oak ex-Madeira casks), Pure White (triple-distilled), Lightly Spiced, and Overproof Spiced Pineapple — alongside bundled SKUs (Taster Set, Rum Collection), a monthly Signature Distillery Tour (£25/person), gift cards, and sustainable merchandise.
The business operates a hybrid go-to-market model combining direct-to-consumer e-commerce (28% of sales), off-trade retailers (41%), large distributors/warehouses (24.6%), and on-trade establishments such as bars and pubs (6.4%), with international expansion underway through partner retailers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. Pricing is positioned at a premium (£38-£45 per 70cl bottle), and brand differentiation is built on sustainability credentials including B Corp certification, the IWSC 2023 Green Spirit Initiative Trophy, and award-winning product quality. Revenue mechanics are anchored in unit-based consumer purchases plus an emerging enterprise channel following a recently secured contract with a major airline. The company has raised a £100,000 debt facility from Time Finance in May 2024 to fund production capacity expansion and manage alcohol duty cashflow, following an earlier £353,665 Crowdcube raise in 2020. Production has scaled from 80 bottles per week at launch to over 2,000 bottles per week, and the company's stated ambition is to capture 1% of the UK rum market by 2028 and 1% of the global rum market by 2035.
Two Drifters Distillery firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Two Drifters Distillery
- Legal name
- Two Drifters Distillery Ltd
- Website
- https://twodriftersrum.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Two Drifters Distillery is a UK craft rum producer and the world's first carbon-negative rum distillery, founded in 2019 in Exeter by Russ and Gemma Wakeham, selling premium rums direct-to-consumer, through retailers, bars, distributors, and select European and airline partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Two Drifters Distillery industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Premium Rum / Craft Spirits
- NAICS
- Distilleries (312140)
- SIC
- Beverages (2080)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Spirits Distillery Tours & Tastings (Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka) (THAJAGAF)
Keywords
Where Two Drifters Distillery is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Exeter
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Two Drifters Distillery business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Direct-to-consumer rum sales: Products sold directly to consumers through the company's e-commerce website. Revenue from 4 core rum products (Signature Rum, Pure White Rum, Lightly Spiced Rum, Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum), taster sets, rum collections, and merchandise.
- Retail and wholesale distribution: Products sold through off-trade retailers (brick-and-mortar shops), on-trade establishments (bars/pubs), and large distributors. Distribution split: 41% off-trade, 24.6% warehouse/distributors, 28% DTC, 6.4% on-trade.
- Distillery tours: Signature Distillery Tours offered at £25 per person, providing experiential marketing and additional revenue stream. Tours include rum tasting and on-site bar experience.
- Merchandise: Sustainable clothing and accessories branded with Two Drifters imagery, sold through separate Teemill storefront.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Signature Rum - 70cl, 40% ABV |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Pure White Rum - 70cl, 40% ABV |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Lightly Spiced Rum - 70cl, 40% ABV |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum - 60% ABV |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Taster Set - 4 x 5cl bottles |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Rum Collection - 4 x 70cl bottles |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Signature Distillery Tour |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Two Drifters Distillery product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Two Drifters Distillery manufactures and sells carbon-negative rum from its all-electric distillery in Exeter, UK. The product portfolio includes four core rum variants (Signature, Pure White, Lightly Spiced, and Overproof Spiced Pineapple), taster sets, full rum collections, gift cards, sustainable merchandise, and guided distillery tours with on-site rum tastings.
Product overview
Two Drifters Distillery produces a portfolio of carbon-negative rums manufactured in Devon, UK. The core product line consists of four distinct rum varieties: Signature Rum (aged in French Oak ex-Madeira casks), Pure White Rum (triple-distilled blend), Lightly Spiced Rum (with waste cacao husks), and Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum (60% ABV with pineapple and caramel notes). These are complemented by The Taster Set (discovery bundle of 4x5cL bottles), The Rum Collection (full bundle of all four 70cL rums at a 15% discount), the Signature Distillery Tour (1.5-hour guided experience with tasting), Gift Cards, and sustainable Merchandise. All products emphasize the company's carbon-negative production methodology, with each bottle permanently removing over 1.2 kg of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Signature Rum
Quantifiable outcome
- 1.20 kgCO2e total footprint per bottle (cradle-to-grave) vs industry average of 2.95 kgCO2e (cradle-to-gate)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Two Drifters Distillery
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Two Drifters Distillery technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Two Drifters Distillery partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ClimeworkscorePartnership with Climeworks, a leader in Direct Air Capture technology, to physically remove CO2 from the atmosphere for any unavoidable emissions. Climeworks captures CO2 and Carbfix turns it into stone underground, providing permanent carbon removal.
- CarbfixcorePartnership with Carbfix to turn captured CO2 into stone and store it underground permanently. Works in conjunction with Climeworks for complete carbon removal.
- DPDminorCarbon-neutral delivery service used for UK domestic shipments. Two Drifters uses DPD for most direct-to-consumer deliveries.
- ShopifycoreE-commerce platform powering the Two Drifters online store. Shopify handles online store operations, payment processing, and order management.
- My CarboncoreThird-party verification service for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). My Carbon independently verifies Two Drifters' LCA studies and carbon footprint calculations.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Two Drifters Distillery competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Foursquare Rum Distillery: Award-winning Barbadian craft rum producer operating at a comparable premium-craft scale with a similar limited-SKU, single-distillery model and focus on quality-driven positioning versus mass-market rum.
- Diplomático Rum: Premium craft rum brand with a comparable aging-and-blend focus and award-led premium positioning in the same price band as Two Drifters' Signature and Overproof SKUs.
- The Real McCoy Rum: Single-distillery, traditionally-made craft rum brand with a strong awards profile and premium pricing — directly comparable in go-to-market positioning to Two Drifters' craft premium narrative.
- Willy's Rum: Independent UK-based craft rum distillery competing in the same on-trade and off-trade channels as Two Drifters, with a similar founder-led, small-batch operating model.
Emerging players
- Nc'nean Distillery: UK-based organic, net-zero whisky distillery with a sustainability-led brand identity and small-batch craft positioning; analogous business model and ESG-driven consumer targeting despite a different base spirit.
- Discarded Spirits: Sustainability-focused spirits brand that upcycles food waste into flavoured rums, vodkas and gins — directly comparable on circular-economy storytelling and eco-conscious consumer targeting.
Broad incumbents
- Chase Distillery: Established UK farm-to-bottle craft distillery producing a wider spirit portfolio (vodka, gin, whisky) at a larger scale; comparable on UK craft-distillery operations and on-trade/off-trade distribution model.
- Sipsmith: Iconic London craft distillery with broader spirits range, established on-trade presence and B Corp credentials — relevant comparable on UK craft spirits scale-up trajectory and premium distribution strategy.
- Bacardi Limited: World's largest rum producer with global distribution; relevant for benchmarking the competitive dynamics, retail-shelf economics and category economics Two Drifters faces in the rum segment.
- Diageo: Global spirits major with major rum brands (Captain Morgan, Zacapa); useful comparable for understanding retail buyer dynamics, regulatory exposure (duty, labelling) and the global route-to-market Two Drifters would need to scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Two Drifters Distillery social profiles
Digital presenceTwo Drifters Distillery financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Two Drifters Distillery leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Two Drifters Distillery funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Two Drifters Distillery M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Two Drifters Distillery
What does Two Drifters Distillery do?
Two Drifters Distillery manufactures and sells carbon-negative rum from its all-electric distillery in Exeter, UK. The product portfolio includes four core rum variants (Signature, Pure White, Lightly Spiced, and Overproof Spiced Pineapple), taster sets, full rum collections, gift cards, sustainable merchandise, and guided distillery tours with on-site rum tastings.
Is Two Drifters Distillery a public or private company?
Two Drifters Distillery is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Two Drifters Distillery founded?
Two Drifters Distillery was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Two Drifters Distillery based?
Two Drifters Distillery is headquartered in Exeter, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Two Drifters Distillery make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Direct-to-consumer rum sales are the primary driver. The others are retail and wholesale distribution, distillery tours and merchandise.
Who are Two Drifters Distillery's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Foursquare Rum Distillery, Diplomático Rum, The Real McCoy Rum and Willy's Rum. Emerging players are Nc'nean Distillery and Discarded Spirits. Broad incumbents are Chase Distillery, Sipsmith, Bacardi Limited and Diageo.
Does Two Drifters Distillery have an API?
No public API is recorded for Two Drifters Distillery.
What industry is Two Drifters Distillery in?
Two Drifters Distillery's product category is Premium Rum / Craft Spirits. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAIAC, Spirits Distilling & Brands, with a secondary code of THAJAGAF, Spirits Distillery Tours & Tastings (Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka). Its NAICS code is 312140 and its SIC code is 2080.