Bundy Rum bottling heads south

Diageo has moved the bottling of its iconic Bundaberg Rum away from the Queensland city of the same name, resulting in the loss of ten jobs.

The brand will now be bottled at Diageo's RTD manufacturing lines at Huntingwood in Western Sydney as part of a restructure that comes in response to volume declines from falling alcohol consumption and high excise duty on RTDs and spirits.

Bundaberg Rum has been made in Bundaberg for the past 125 years, and the Bundaberg Distillery and the visitors centre, which attracts thousands of visitors to the region, will remain open, according to Diageo.

Diageo also said the hand-crafted Master Distillers Collection (MDC) will continue to be bottled in Queensland, as will its Bundaberg MDC Small Batch Rum, a permanent new trade-up solution in the range that was launched today.

The new product leverages the success of Bundaberg Rum’s MDC and has been crafted by the award-winning blenders in the Master Distillers Collective and matured in sweet cognac and brandy barrels, according to Diageo.

“Only 30,000 bottles are produced in each batch, which boasts a complex and intense flavour with exceptional fruit tones. The liquid is housed in a distinctive bottle, which marries the iconic designs of the famous Bundaberg Rum original bottle and the elegant MDC bottle,” said the company.

The Bundaberg bottling move to Sydney is expected to be completed by 1 July 2014.