Rum et al.
Our Story
Rum et al. is an experimental rum project from et aliae spirits, LLC - self-described "experimental rum makers who love the art and science behind the various techniques used to create rum." The company is built around transparency: every batch documents and shares its own fermentation and distillation details on the bottle and website. The name "et al." nods to the Latin "et aliae" ("and others," feminine plural), a phrase common in scientific literature - chosen both as a nod to founder Robyn Smith's science background and to honor everyone who paved the way before her.
The Founders
Robyn Smith is a chemical engineer, educator, and distiller who started in the spirits industry in 2018 as a research chemist at Lost Spirits Distillery, working across R&D, chemical analysis, and production. She describes herself as a bourbon person originally, who fell for rum "literally during my interview with Lost Spirits." In 2024 she partnered with Aaron Rokjer of Dead of Night Distillery to launch Rum et al., while separately building out her own boutique distillery in El Segundo, California.
How We Make It
Each batch starts from unsulfured, baking-grade molasses (sulfur inhibits the yeast), fermented in 264-gallon/1000-liter totes with distiller's yeast, often with dunder - the mineral-, ester-, and fatty-acid-rich leftover liquid from a prior distillation - recycled back into the wash to build complexity. Distillation runs low and slow, about 5 hours, on a 55-gallon Mile Hi Distilling pot still nicknamed Moira. Every rum is unaged and bottled without additives beyond reverse-osmosis water used to bring it down to proof, hand-bottled and hand-labeled. The physical bottle labels state the rums are fermented, distilled, and bottled by Dead of Night Distillery in Los Angeles, California, in collaboration with et aliae spirits.
Details
- Location
- El Segundo, CA
- Founded
- 2024
- Website
- www.rumetaliae.com
- @rumetaliae
Meet the Team
Robyn Smith
Founder & Distiller
