Award winning brand design agency PB Creative, has partnered with Sussex rum producer Rumbustian, to redesign their range of rums as part of a complete brand re-launch.

Rumbustian is a handcrafted range of small batch rums crafted in the heart of Old Town, Hastings on the Sussex coast. The Rumbustian brand represents the creation of a modern, unique blend of both fresh and aged rums from Jamaica, Guyana and the Dominican Republic. No artificial flavourings, additives or essences are used in any of the spicing and crafting processes and the rum is infused using only natural whole ingredients. The resulting blends are incredibly smooth and complex creating a unique rum experience. The range includes a Golden and Coffee & Vanilla variant as well as an award winning Spiced rum with hints of vanilla, cloves, star anise, allspice berries and cinnamon.

Rumbustian founders Jamie and Sue Keenan teamed up with London based agency PB Creative, with the brief to create a totally new brand expression that fully represented the hand crafted nature and provenance of the product. The couple were also keen to bring the raw, natural edge of the town of Hastings to life within the new branding.

The new Rumbustain brand aesthetic has an artisanal look and feel. Bottle closures have been hand dipped in black wax and a bold ‘stacked’ brand mark has been created for maximum impact behind bar. The much-loved black weather-boarded fishermen’s huts which populate the Hastings beach front, feature front and centre on the label alongside other local icons such as the castle, funicular railway and traditional fishing boats. Strong varianting and brand consistency has been achieved through using a natural substrate in different colours to represent each blend – white for the core Spiced rum, gold metallic for the Golden rum and a rich copper metallic for the Coffee & Vanilla variant.

Lloyd Moffat, Creative Director, PB Creative commented: “Every element of the Rumbustian handcrafted process is overseen by Jamie and we wanted to bring this artisanal nature, the uniqueness of the blends and their provenance to life through the brand on pack. A natural thick paper stock combined with a deep debossed foil stamp creates a very striking and tactile look and feel. Each variant has its own personality while black remains the consistent and unifying element across the whole range.”

Jamie Keenan, Rumbustian co-owner added: “This is a really exciting new launch for Rumbustian! PB have completely captured the essence of the Rumbustian brand and brought the character of our rums and their provenance to life. We’ve been mindful of all aspects of production such as having no plastic wrapping, seals or bottle stoppers. We also have an empty bottle return/recycling community scheme with money raised going to Dom’s Food Mission, a local charity helping to feed the community and combat food waste. Our blend is perfect for sipping on its own, in a cocktail or with your favourite mixer and it now has branding worthy of its quality!’

Rumbustian has recently won Gold in the best label category of the renowned World Rum Awards and was also awarded Gold for best redesign.

The new bottles are now on sale through the ‘Turn the Tide’ shop in Old Town, Hastings and online through www.rumbustian.co.uk , facebook and Instagram. Rumbustian is stocked in numerous bars, hotels and restaurants nationwide with plans for a presence at festivals and events later in the year.