About The Original Rum Bum®
I’m Kevin Snook, but please call me Snooky.
My life in hospitality has taken me from professional kitchens and award-winning restaurants to St Lucia and Mustique, where my love of Caribbean rum, its people and its culture became part of my story.
From Michelin-starred kitchens to the Caribbean
I started working in hospitality at just 15, and it has been part of my life ever since. My early career took me to France, where I trained in renowned three-Michelin-starred restaurants including Le Moulin de Mougins and Bonne Auberge in Antibes. From there I headed to Canada, where I later owned two multi-award-winning restaurants of my own.
But it was the Caribbean that really got under my skin.
I moved to St Lucia, where I worked in hospitality and ran a beach bar and restaurant with, as I’ve said before, “sand between my toes and music in the air.” Rum was part of everyday island life. I loved discovering it properly, sharing a glass with the locals, talking about what they drank and why, and understanding how much history and personality could sit inside one bottle.
That love only deepened when life took me on to Mustique. I spent years immersed in island hospitality, creating food and experiences for villa owners and guests, working alongside local chefs and learning from the people around me.
Many moons later, those experiences are still very much with me. They influence the way I think about flavour, hospitality and, of course, rum. The Original Rum Bum® is a continuation of that story.
Where the Rum Bum story really began
The idea of creating a rum of my own came much later.
After a lifetime in hospitality, I knew that if I was going to put my name to a bottle, it had to be something I genuinely wanted to drink and something I would be proud to pour for other people.
I wanted the character I had come to love in Caribbean rum, but with the balance, quality and attention to detail I had always expected from everything I served.
That idea eventually became Rum Bum No.1 Signature Rum.
Only 250 bottles were ever produced, but that first release became the beginning of something much bigger. Its success, and the recognition it received from international spirits competitions, gave me the foundation to take The Original Rum Bum® into its next chapter.
That is where the Core Range begins.
Award-Winning Foundations
What began as a run of just 250 bottles went on to earn recognition at leading international spirits competitions. Those awards gave me the confidence to take everything I had learned from Rum Bum No.1 and build the next chapter.
RUM BUM (n.)
“A lover of rum who can often be found on the beach, with toes in the sand and rum in hand.”
Food, rum and a few stories along the way
Writing has always been another way for me to share the things I love. Over the years, my books have taken me back through food, travel, the Caribbean and many of the experiences that have shaped my life in hospitality.
I’ve been fortunate enough to receive international recognition at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, including “Best in the World”, which still means a great deal to me.
More recently, A Rum Lover’s Journal brought two enduring passions together: rum and cocktails. Fifty-two recipes, plenty of room for your own notes and, hopefully, a reason to raise a tot or two along the way.
Supporting Mental Health
This is a subject very close to my heart. The Original Rum Bum Company believes in giving back. 5% of all sales go to support mental health charities managed through the Berkshire Community Foundation (Registered Charity No. 1155173).
