Smith’s Rum Cream made for enjoyment without consequences

A repeated description by people who tasted Smith’s Rum Cream at the recent Local Economic Initiatives expo hosted by the Social Development Commission and other partners was how smooth the liquor was. Thrown in the mix were other terms like “strong” and “good”.

But for its developer, Donald Smith, the rum cream also represents a “spirit of defiance and self-respect” and its lactose-free quality sees it deviating from the norm.

“So now a wider range of people can enjoy the product without worrying about ‘oh, it’s milk, this is going to give me diarrhoea tomorrow’. I just want people to enjoy it without any consequences,” he said.

Growing up in Mineral Heights, Clarendon, Smith said his family would usually make strong back drinks and his current creation is out of a failure to make his own version of that drink.

His friends, after tasting what he had created, advised him that the drink could instead be a rum cream.

Then a university student, Smith said he took the advice and would often make this beverage for his friends.

But while working as a lab analyst and living pay cheque to pay cheque, he begun to ponder business ideas. And he decided to pursue what he already knew.

Using part of his salary, Smith bought the ingredients and plastic bottles and discovered that the rum cream “wasn’t very hard to sell”.

“I realised that because of the small amount of my pay that I use to produce that batch of rum cream which is the very first batch, I was able to have money to last until the next payday, and that’s when I thought maybe this is what I should be doing instead of putting all my focus on my 9-5,” he said.

This was two years ago, and in November 2022, he registered the business after getting his regulatory certificates and importing the required machinery.

But there were challenges in starting the business, he admitted, especially when sourcing raw materials and appropriate bottles for the product.

“I had to save up as much money as I could, imported the glass bottles and I got some orders, some really big orders to fill. That’s when I realised that I could not cap my bottles. The lips that came with the bottle were blanks, and I didn’t know that we needed a special machine to put on the caps,” he said.

The astute Smith said he sought the help of the Social Development Commission and successfully launched at the Denbigh festival in August.

He said he currently uses facilities provided by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation to manufacture the product.

The rum cream comes in four flavours: original, vanilla, coffee, and butterscotch. Smith said a bottle costs $1,500 and is currently available in bars and parties.

But for 36-year-old Smith, the dream for his eponymous rum cream is bigger.

“I am aiming to be the number one rum cream company in the entire Caribbean,” he declared.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com