Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Roger & Robert Just Drinking. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Roger & Robert, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
We are two guys who are from the Midwest that are out to show the world how many rums are out there that can compete with any other liquor in the world. Yeah we said it… You put the finest Whiskeys, Tequila, Vodka, gin or anything else you think can compare and we will show you a rum that can go toe to toe with it on any scale. When we started this channel we called it “Just Drinking” because we thought we would move on after we completed all the rums, because at that time we thought rum was the 4 or 5 large brands and just a handful of small brands. We had no idea the complexity and depth the rum industry had to offer. Now we realize we will never leave rum and this has become a lifetime commitment for us to uncover as many rums as possible to share with our rum community. Along with that we have built an amazing community to help share this knowledge and welcome anyone in that finds us or wants to know more about what kind of rums are out there. (Shoutout to everyone in our community by the way, they are the real MVPs for helping us make this judgement free rum space so much fun.)
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
We got started at the kitchen table sharing some rums that Roger had brought back from a recent cruise. After tasting a few, giving each other a hard time and having some fun in doing so (after all rum is fun) the suggestion was made by Roger’s daughter (my wife Rylee) told us we should turn the camera on and start a YouTube channel. So, we went out to the garage and did just that. What an amazing time we have had. Looking back, it’s easy to see that we have come a long way with our reviews. One of the main things we want to express is that everyone is welcome here. We are just a couple of regular guys that stumbled into this industry on our own journey of exploring rums. If you would have told us 3 years ago that we would be a voice in the rum industry, running a digital rum club that sends rum directly to households and help people who gave up on rum years ago find rums aged in wine or Bourbon barrels that rival their favorite current alcohols, than we would have called you crazy. What we honestly do is record our rum experiences and share them with the world so others can learn with us on our own journey and hopefully inspire them to start a journey of their own. Our live shows help give people a place to meet other rum enthusiasts of all levels that you can ask questions and get answers from not only us, but also distillers, bartenders and major influencers in the rum community.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Something that we try to educate people on is there is no right our wrong way of trying rum. Many rum enthusiasts were taught that if a rum is made a certain way or is at a certain price point than you only are allowed to taste it in an elegant way such as sipping alone, having it on the rocks or making a sophisticated cocktail. Though those are great ways to drink those rums, we bring a much more modern perspective of “you should drink it the way you like it”. That means if you want to take that $90 bottle of aged oak barrel rested rum and pour some Coke into it to see how the flavors blend than you should do just that without any thought anyone thinking lesser of you for it. We do it with pretty much every rum regardless of the type or price point to help educate those who are new to rum that will probably try it like that, as well as develop a sense for what it does to the flavors we taste on our own palate. We should be encouraging this, not criticizing people for it. If they happen to find that they like it better that way, they are more likely to keep exploring new rums rather than quit because the standalone flavor was not enjoyable to them. This is how the rum industry can continue to grow.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Funding? Never heard of her… Jokes aside we started this venture with our own savings. We have spent thousands over the years to buy new rums, travel to rum festivals and pay for our own website and gear. We only just this year actually started a rum club on our Patreon that we charge a small monthly fee for, but even that is mostly used to ship rum to the club members and provide a fun experience for them. For us it has never been about making money, but rather creating the most welcoming and fun rum community in the world that people can just “hang out” in. We have aspiring cocktail creators posting recipes, distillers sharing upcoming projects and news, other rum influencers with platforms of their own and just everyday regular people who want to know the best rum they can get for $30. If we are going to be able to continue to do this, we know we will have to raise more funds to keep it up. We will keep finding ways to bring value to our community and those opportunities will come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wearejustdrinking.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/247648669968336
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWFYS0NLRiVgmcg1Eomncg
- Other: Online rum club: https://www.patreon.com/justdrinking TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@robertisjustdrinking