As the brand celebrates its first two years of award-winning business, ambitious British rum distillery DropWorks has laid out bold and rapid plans for growth – with a clearly defined target of becoming the UK’s go-to rum of choice. Having recently appointed Graham Appleyard as its new CEO, DropWorks has announced its intention to grow threefold in 2025, building on the success of its first 24 months of trading. Now stocked in more than a third of the UK’s top cocktail bars, DropWorks’ plan is to build on this strong foundation with partnerships in hundreds more premium venues and bars over the coming months. Established in 2023 by industry expert Lewis Hayes, DropWorks is proudly created for bars and crafted in Britain, so they can bring high quality rum centre stage and into the spotlight.
Graham, who has over two decades of experience in the drinks industry including marketing roles at global giant Diageo, said: “Building a drinks brand to national and international heights is a very delicate operation, grounded firmly in how excellent the product is. We’re producing what I know is a truly unique and unprecedented British spirit, which takes the experience of drinking quality rum to a whole new level, so the stage is set for success. Now we are foot to the floor on the accelerator with quick and targeted growth.
“Our rum in all its various Drops is being snapped up by some of the UK’s most well-known and exclusive bars as the thrilling ‘new kid on the block,’ with interest secured through a combination of Lewis’s long tenure both behind and leading world-class bars and our fresh, creative and bold branding.
“It is truly the most exciting time for a small business with a huge passion and a lot of ambition when the door to growth starts to open. Our plan is to continue to build the brand in premium on-trade with an end goal of expanding into retail too. We believe there is a huge opportunity on the table in the premium rum category, especially for our British-made product, which has been created purposefully for bartenders.
“We know there are so many bars, venues and consumers who are yet to discover DropWorks just waiting to be wowed by our range and we can’t wait to get in front of them and begin their British-distilled rum discovery.”
Located in the heart of Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest, DropWorks Distillery is the largest of its kind in Europe, spanning 17,000 sq ft. The facility can produce up to one and a half million bottles of rum a year and up to 10 barrels of rum a day.
The distillery houses copper stills which have been made bespoke for DropWorks production. The team ferments, distils, ages and bottles every Drop of rum on site and has oversight of every single step of the production process.
Founder and Master Distiller at DropWorks, Lewis Hayes, said the business’s plans for 2025 and beyond were set to be the most exciting part of his career so far.
He said: “It’s a joy to see what began as my scribbles on the back of a bar mat – simply a pure passion to find a quality Rum that would come alive in the hands of bartenders – develop into a range of Drops with the potential to be the UK’s number one choice of Rum. “What we’ve made and continue to develop with our Clear Drop, Spice Drop, Dark Drop, Funk Drop and Barrell Drop rums is a brand new arena for British-stamped cocktails. The aim has always been to create a rum for bartenders to have fun with, to blur the lines and craft new experiences for their customers – not sticking to the rule book but feeling free to invent new tastes and creations and explore what can be done with Rum. This next chapter of our story will see that opportunity expand across the UK, with DropWorks about to be stocked in hundreds more venues and bars throughout the British Isles.” Riding the wave of the success of its first 24 months of trading, DropWorks Distillery Tours & Tastings was awarded Experience of the Year at the 2025 Nottinghamshire Tourism Awards. Judges applauded the business’s creativity, authenticity and passion for its product which is brought to life when visitors take a tour of ‘where the magic happens’ at the Distillery.
This accolade sits next to a wide selection of industry awards already scooped by Lewis and his team in just two years since launch, including wins at the Rum and Cacacha Masters, Bartenders Brand Awards, People’s Choice Spirits Awards, IWSC, ISC and the World Rum Awards 2025.
Posted on 13 May 2025
