There are certain cocktails that invite conversation and Jerry’s Punch is certainly one of them.
Over a couple of glasses of Jerry’s Punch, we caught up with Gemma from Two Drifters Distillery to talk carbon-negative rum, chemistry, Devon roots, and why sustainability was never an afterthought. Alongside the conversation, Gemma shared the story behind the brand, the distillery’s approach to rum-making, and what’s coming next for one of the UK’s most exciting spirits producers.
“Rum has been part of our story from the very beginning”
What inspired the creation of Two Drifters, and how did the journey begin in Devon?
“Rum has been part of our story from the very beginning – first date rum tasting, honeymoon in St Lucia, and Russ buying a different bottle every payday. Our love for it just grew. Russ has a PhD in Chemistry and was working in carbon capture before we started Two Drifters, so the science of making rum properly and making it responsibly was already in his DNA.”
Gemma explained that while Russ brought the technical and scientific expertise, her own background in sales and marketing shaped the storytelling side of the business.
“I’ve always loved founder stories, how people go from an idea to building something successful. With Two Drifters, I finally had a story I was completely obsessed with telling because it was ours.”
A NAME INSPIRED BY ADVENTURE
Where does the name ‘Two Drifters’ come from?
The answer begins with Moon River. “Two drifters, off to see the world’ felt exactly right – that sense of setting off on a big adventure together, not quite knowing where it would take you. Getting married felt like that, and starting the distillery felt like that too.” The lyric resonated beyond the business too. Gemma and Russ spend much of their free time sailing and living close to the water, something that still shapes the spirit of the brand today.
Although neither Devon nor Cornwall are established rum-making regions, that absence of tradition proved liberating.
How has being based in Devon shaped the identity of the rum?
“Devon isn’t a traditional rum-making region, which works in our favour – we came to it without any preconceptions about how it should be done. That freedom shaped everything about how we make it.
Can you walk us through the rum-making process?
“Everything happens under one roof – from molasses all the way through to bottling. We start with molasses, ferment it, then distil in our pot stills. From there it depends on the expression.” The Pure White undergoes an extra distillation for additional smoothness, while the Signature Rum spends a year in French oak ex-Madeira casks before bottling. Even the spiced expressions are produced entirely in-house. “There’s no outsourcing any part of it – we see the whole process and we’re accountable for every stage.”
Two Drifters has become widely recognised for being one of the UK’s first carbon-negative distilleries, but Gemma is clear that sustainability was never added retrospectively.
To be carbon-negative
What practical steps made becoming carbon-negative possible?
“We weren’t retrofitting sustainability onto an existing model – we built it in from the beginning. Every decision got the same question: is there a lower-impact way to do this?” That thinking touches every aspect of production: renewable electricity, lightweight British-made glass, labels made from waste sugarcane fibre, compostable seals, and local supply chains wherever possible.
The distillery also works with Climeworks to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the business emits. “We account for every gram we emit across Scope 1, 2 and 3, then remove more than that. That’s what makes us genuinely carbon-negative, not just on paper.”
One of the more surprising parts of the conversation was Gemma’s insistence that sustainability and quality should never be framed as opposing ideas.
What’s the biggest challenge in making a spirit both high-quality and environmentally responsible?
“Honestly? Convincing people there’s a tension. There isn’t – or there doesn’t have to be. We’ve never compromised on the rum to hit a sustainability target, and we’ve never compromised on sustainability to make better rum.” The real challenge, she admitted, is commercial. Ethical production costs more, especially for an independent producer competing with global drinks companies.
Still, those values have helped build a loyal audience of drinkers and bars that care about the same things.
How would you describe Two Drifters to someone trying it for the first time?
“Clean, and more flavourful than they’re expecting. Because we make everything from scratch, from the very first fermentation there’s nothing to hide behind and nowhere to cut corners.” Gemma spoke particularly passionately about the Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum, which gets its colour and subtle salted caramel character from waste cacao husks rather than caramel colouring.
“That reaction when someone tastes it and gets it – that never gets old.”
LOOKING AHEAD
As World Cocktail Day conversations go, this one stretched comfortably long past the first drink. And while Two Drifters is still young by distillery standards, there’s a quiet confidence about where it’s heading next.
What’s next for Two Drifters?
“We have more rum ageing than ever before, and watching what’s happening in there is genuinely exciting.”
“We also do limited releases when something feels right – our Banana Rum sold out in a matter of weeks and reminded us how much people love a reason to pay attention. There’ll be more of those.
We’re growing quickly overseas, and we’re getting noticed for the quality of the rum, but also for why we do things the way we do. The bigger we get, the carbon-negative footprint remains. That’s the point. It won’t be our rum that hurts the planet.”
Over the final sip of Jerry’s Punch, it felt less like listening to a brand talk about sustainability and more like hearing from people who simply decided there was a better way to make rum and committed fully to proving it could be done.
Whether we see you soon for a couple up at the bar, or you’re toasting to World Cocktail Day somewhere in the sun – here’s to doing things the right way.