Old Monk Legends
Old Monk Is A Dark Rum Brand Produced By Mohan Meakin Limited In Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. It Is A Molasses Distilled Rum, Blended And Aged For A Minimum Of 7 Years. A Litre Bottle Of Old Monk, India’s Most Famous Rum. This Quirky Bottle Is Shaped Like The Head Of HG Meakin, A British Brewing Entrepreneur Who Moved To India In The Late 1800s And Founded The Company That Would Go On To Produce Old Monk.
“Aged in Silver Oak Wood Cask and drawn from spirits from various raw materials (sugar cane we hope!) The Legend as with other OMR rums delivers 42.8% ABV. On first approach we smell soft spices, wood, cloves, and with a small follow through of vanilla but nothing overpowering.”
Brand History
In 1855, an entrepreneurial Scotsman named Edward Abraham Dyer, father of Colonel Reginald Dyer set up a brewery in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh to cater to the British requirement for cheap beer. This brewery changed hands and became a distillery by the name of Mohan Meakin Pvt. Ltd.
Old Monk, reportedly a creation of Ved Rattan Mohan, former managing director of Mohan Meakin, was first introduced in India in the 1960s. Colonel Ved Mohan, brother of Kapil Mohan, had been inspired by the serene life of Benedictine monks and the drinks they brewed as they led their ascetic life in the mountains where they lived in content. And hence, the drink got its name. Before Old Monk, there was Hercules rum (still sold) that was distilled exclusively for the armed forces. Superior in taste and perhaps even in quality to Hercules (as loyalists believe), the brand soon became one of the leading dark rums in the world and perhaps the most popular IMFL (Indian-Made Foreign Liquor) brand in the country. The affordable pricing strategy has also worked in their favor.
