Founded in 2008, Banks is based in Port Louis, Mauritius. It is bottled at 43% abv and sells 6,000 cases annually, starting at a suggested retail price of US$29.99.
Founder and master blender Arnaud de Trabuc is said to have been inspired by the travels and discoveries of 18th-century British explorer and botanist Sir Joseph Banks. So, Banks is blended according to a secret formula developed by blending rums from up to seven origins including Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Panama, Guatemala and Java. The final blends are aged in previously used bourbon barrels.
The company says de Trabuc, whose experience as CEO of the Angostura Group, and president of cognac producer Thomas Hine & Company, as well as former managing director of the Caribbean region for Premier Wines & Spirits, gave him the ability to source rums from otherwise competing islands.
The portfolio includes Banks 5-Island rum, Banks 7 Golden Age Blend and various limited editions. Bacardi says Banks rum is currently available in some of the most influential on-premise establishments in the US, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Denmark and Singapore.
