We proudly manufacture and print our garments here in Manchester, the city where the Industrial Revolution began. The city once nicknamed Cottonopolis, home of Britain's cotton industry. A city renowned for its creativity and innovation.

RUN&FELL is on a journey, delving into the creative community of Manchester, meeting people who share our values, and make things here. We're passionate about local people embracing and excelling in their own forms of craft, launching initiatives which have a wider impact for good, and choosing to pursue positivity in their work to inspire others.

In our Made in Manchester series, we're connecting with visionaries who are cultivating their own innovative enterprises; artists and designers creating inventive new visuals; musicians driving the heartbeat of the city. The Manchester Still is Manchester's only rum distillery. We met the local lads using local ingredients to make this truly Mancunian rum.

Made In Manchester Series - Part 7 - The Manchester Still

"You basically chuck yeast and sugar into there, and it ferments for about 5 weeks, and it gets to about 12%. Then after about 5 weeks we pump it into the still over there and then we boil it, and when it starts vaporising we chuck some water into the top of it." Joe, one of the lads running Manchester Still took us on a tour of the production process. He told us the story behind how the distillery got started.

"I went to school with a guy called Sam. He's a PHD student, and had this idea that he could make booze, but being a PHD student, had no money. So he got his professor involved, who loved the idea and they started messing around with it. They started making vodka with potatoes and stuff at first, but it didn't work, apparently it always got this weird black foamy stuff coming off it. So they thought they'd give rum a go. And they used the Uni equipment to test its purity and stuff, and it worked."

Joe's tasting notes

"Then another guy got involved and they started coming up with the designs, and things all started coming together, and it just went from there. It's all gradually come together, and gone on further, and now we're in some shops and in bars."

The only rum distillery in Manchester, these guys are proud of their roots and wanted to incorporate the Manchester Bee as part of their logo from the very start. "We're all from Manchester, we make it in Manchester.

With years of experience working in and managing bars, Joe has the enviable job of tasting the rum, and dreaming up new flavours and possibilities. He was telling us all about some forthcoming rum flavours he's been working on (but unfortunately too top secret to share just yet), with a very English, locally-sourced, sustainable ethos.

Bottles of rum, ready for distribution Bottles of rum, ready for distribution

"Our next step is going to be spiced rum. And I want to do an aged rum, but obviously that takes time." As well as concocting new flavours, Joe was explaining some of Manchester Still's big plans for new products. "We're talking about doing a vodka as well, because some of the waste from this rum, you can just re-distill." Making vodka from a by-product of the rum process? Now that's our kind of sustainability.

We were handed a bottle of the Manchester Still white rum as we were leaving, and couldn't wait to sample it. And, for a product with such Mancunian provenance, it seemed only right to come up with our own Manchester-inspired cocktails. Bring on the rum!

The RUN&FELL Cocktail Menu

The Moscow Mule, is a classic, invented in New York City in 1941. It is normally made with vodka, lime juice and ginger beer, but we've switched it up and swapped the vodka for our local Manchester Still white rum. We've also incorporated a little local honey and some raspberries in there for added flavour.

The Manchester Mule

Ingredients:

1 Lime

1 1/2 shots Manchester Still white rum

6 rasperries

Ginger beer

1 tsp local honey

1/2 cup ice

Squeeze the juice from the lime and pour into a cocktail shaker. Add a teaspoon of local honey, and the raspberries, and muddle them together until your raspberries are mashed. Add one and a half shots of Manchester Still rum, followed by the ice, put the lid on and shake. Pour into the glass and top with ginger beer. We've garnished with a slice of lime and an extra raspberry.

Another classic cocktail, the Sidecar, is a drink traditionally made with cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. The Ritz Hotel in Paris claims origin of the drink, and it is thought to have emerged around the end of World War I. We've replaced the cognac with Manchester Still white rum, and added some extra zing by incorporating a local Manchester Marmalade we came across.

The "Dude Where's My Sidecar"

1 Lime

1/2 Shot Cointreau

1 1/2 Shot Manchester Still white rum

1 tbsp Duerr's Manchester Marmalade

1 tsp local honey

Squeeze the lime and pour juice into cocktail shaker with half a shot of Cointreau. Add one and a half shots of Manchester Still white rum. Scoop in a tablespoon of Duerr's Manchester Marmalade, followed by a teaspoon of local honey. Stir it really well to dissolve the marmalade. Put the lid on and give it a shake. Strain the liquid to remove any rind or chunks from the marmalade, and pour into a glass.

We're big fans of gin, and thought we'd combine a local gin, Manchester Gin, with the Manchester Still white rum. We give you, the RUM & FELL.

The RUM&FELL

1 shot Manchester Gin

1 shot Manchester Still white rum

1 grapefruit

1 tsp sugar

2 large strawberries

1/2 cup ice

Juice the grapefruit and pour into cocktail shaker. Finely chop two large strawberries and add them to the shaker. Muddle them until mashed into more of a pulp. Add one shot of Manchester Gin and one shot of Manchester Still white rum. Stir in one teaspoon sugar. Add the ice, put the lid on, and shake.