MEMORY LANE: Taxi Charity takes Veterans for a trip to Shropshire distillery
Updated: Nov 3
The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans recently organised a special outing for a group of war veterans to Shropshire. The short break included a visit to Distinct Distillers, the award-winning rum distillery located near Ironbridge, a site steeped in wartime history as it stands on a former WWII fuel depot.
Eight veterans attended the event. Among them were D-Day heroes, a serviceman who participated in Operation Market Garden, and a veteran of the Burma campaign. The group received a warm welcome, complete with a spread of homemade cakes, before setting off on a guided tour of the distillery.
One of the highlights was exploring the underground fuel tanks, once used to store wartime fuel and now used for cask ageing. Veterans learned how the distillery crafts its 44 dark rum, a special edition created to honour the D-Day landings.
The master distiller explained the process, detailing the use of the finest molasses, sherry and bourbon barrel oak chips, and flavours like demerara, caramel, and coffee.
Sales from the 44 rum contribute to funding the Taxi Charity’s work. The visit offered an engaging glimpse into both history and craftsmanship, while supporting a cause close to the hearts of those in attendance.
Hannah Boon, MD, Distinct Distillers, said: “The Distinct Distillers team felt so privileged to have these WWII heroes on our site.
“We were delighted when the charity accepted our offer to visit our distillery and we were keen to explore how we could raise additional funds to support their work with veterans. After the popularity of the 1944 Dark Rum, we’re expanding our plans with the charity further and will be releasing another line ready for VE day in 2025. We have also launched our Heroes Reserve Cask Programme, which are available to purchase with a £350 donation per cask going to the Charity. We also laid down 12 barrels, each one dedicated to those veterans who visited, and we’ll mature these for 5-7 years until ready for release.”
Dick Goodwin, Vice President of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, said: “The Commemorative D Day rum has raised over £750 to support our work and it was really fascinating to see and hear how it is made and to visit the huge underground tanks which store the casks under perfect conditions.
“Later that evening the team from Distinct Distillers visited our hotel for a rum tasting which went down very well, especially with our naval veterans!”
