James McPherson: The Man Who Took It Upon Himself to Teach Australia About Rum
Chat Session 181 with James
Topic- From a two-in-the-morning revelation in a remote mining town to a decade of making rum, and the extraordinary sacrifices required to improve a nation's drinking habits.
Monday 16th November 2026 1pm https://rppfm.com.au
Two in the Morning, Karratha
It was two o'clock in the morning in Karratha, Western Australia.
After a long day as a marine engineer, James McPherson was winding down with a craft beer. Nothing unusual, except that somewhere between contemplating another beer and contemplating the meaning of life, a rather inconvenient thought struck him.
How could he be sitting in a mining town in the middle of nowhere, drinking a beautifully crafted Australian beer, yet struggle to find a decent Australian craft spirit in any of the country's capital cities?
Craft beer was flourishing. Australian wine had conquered the world. Even gin was getting fashionable.
But where were the spirits? More importantly, where was the rum?
Most people having a questionable idea at two in the morning sensibly go to bed. James decided to investigate.
Unfortunately for his future financial wellbeing, the idea survived daylight. It also survived the hangover, which is a far tougher test.
Research. Exhaustive, Gruelling, International Research.
Having spent more than twenty years as a marine engineer, James understood the importance of thorough research.
What followed was three gruelling months visiting roughly seventy distilleries overseas.
Seventy. Distilleries. Three months.
Long days discussing fermentation. Endless hours investigating distillation. Repeated, unavoidable exposure to exceptional spirits.
His liver lodged a formal complaint. It was overruled.
He kept every receipt. Nobody has ever asked to see them.
But James has never been one to put personal comfort ahead of the nation's needs. He came home with a head full of ideas, a suitcase full of samples and an unshakeable conviction that rum was the most misunderstood spirit on the planet.
Clearly, something had to be done. And James, with an entirely unreasonable degree of optimism, volunteered.
An Engineer Walks Into a Distillery…
In 2016, JimmyRum was born on the Mornington Peninsula, becoming Victoria's first dedicated craft rum distillery.
At its heart sits Matilda, a 1,500-litre copper still built in Trento, northern Italy, with rather more personality than most industrial machinery.
Her name wasn't chosen by accident. Matilda has Germanic roots meaning "mighty in battle", a fitting title for the principal weapon in James's campaign. It's also a nod to Roald Dahl's Matilda, the little girl vastly smarter than the adults supposedly in charge of her.
James particularly appreciates that comparison. Whether Matilda shares the same opinion of her owner remains open to debate.
Italian-built, Germanic name, Australian temper. She has expressed her feelings on several occasions, usually loudly and always at the least convenient moment.
And then there's James's favourite piece of wisdom from Roald Dahl's Matilda:
"Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog."
Admittedly, Matilda was explaining how the terrifying Miss Trunchbull got away with outrageous behaviour, rather than offering advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. James has chosen to interpret it somewhat more constructively.
For a marine engineer opening a rum distillery in a country that barely recognised premium rum as a category, it seemed entirely appropriate. Ten years on, he's still going the whole hog. Whether everyone assumes he knows what he's doing remains open to debate.
Rum, Respect and Rambunctiousness
JimmyRum runs on three values. Rum. Respect. Rambunctiousness.
Rum means obsessing over the craft: making great spirits, constantly improving and refusing to accept that good enough is actually good enough.
Respect means doing things properly. People, community, environment and craft.
And Rambunctiousness? That's where James really comes into his own.
Life, he believes, is about having a damn good crack. Taking a chance.
Occasionally attempting something so ambitious that sensible people begin quietly questioning your judgement.
Sensible people have been questioning James's judgement since roughly 2016. He finds it motivating.
JimmyRum takes its spirits seriously. James himself? Considerably less so.
Remarkably, the approach has worked: World's Best Hybrid Still Rum at the World Rum Awards, alongside numerous other accolades at Australian and international spirits competitions.
A fact he mentions only when asked. Or when not asked. Or, frankly, at any pause in conversation longer than four seconds.
Not bad for a bloke whose qualifications had precious little to do with alcohol. Professionally, anyway.
Building Something Bigger Than a Bottle
James soon discovered that explaining rum to Australians was far easier when you could put some in their glass. And preferably give them somewhere comfortable to drink it.
So, the distillery grew. Today, its Dromana home combines a working distillery with a cocktail bar, restaurant and all-weather Rum Garden. Mojitos and sipping rums share space with good food, live music and the occasional regrettable dance move.
The regrettable dance moves are, by most eyewitness accounts, James's.
No pretension. No unnecessary ceremony. Just good drinks, interesting people and a healthy dose of rambunctiousness.
Ten Years. A Few Triumphs. Some Spectacularly Expensive Lessons.
In August 2026, JimmyRum turned ten.
A decade of filling barrels, building a brand and discovering that running a business bears almost no resemblance to the spreadsheets originally used to justify it. The spreadsheets have since been quietly retired. They were not consulted on the decision.
There have been awards, lifelong friendships, sleepless nights and a fairly comprehensive education in what not to do.
James has learned that engineering problems are generally cooperative. Identify the fault. Understand the system. Fix it.
A business involving manufacturing, hospitality, people and the Australian excise system is somewhat less accommodating. Nobody thought to provide the instruction manual.
The ATO, to be fair, has sent several.
The biggest lesson? JimmyRum was never a solo project. The crew, the customers, the community and the brilliant people who've climbed aboard along the way have built something far bigger than one bloke's late-night beer thought.
That's what makes the hard days’ worth it. Although, given the choice, James would still prefer fewer of them.
The Next Slightly Unreasonable Ambition
Having spent a decade working on Australia, James has set his sights further afield. The goal: Australian premium rum as a respected international spirits category.
From Dromana to the back bars of the world. Dromana being, as everyone knows, the natural launching point for global domination.
Australia, he reckons, has the ingredients, the expertise, the creativity and, most importantly, the attitude to make world-class rum. JimmyRum intends to prove it.
There is, admittedly, quite a bit of work involved. And should further international research become absolutely necessary, James remains willing to shoulder that burden. Again. For the country.
Life's Too Short for Ordinary
Underneath the nonsense sits a simple belief: life is more interesting when you're prepared to have a go.
Success isn't only bottles sold or medals on the wall. It's building something worthwhile with good people and enjoying the ride. Because what's the point of achieving something extraordinary if you didn't have any fun getting there?
James would like it noted that this is the sincerest paragraph he has ever approved, and it will not be happening again.
And when James looks in the mirror these days? A little older, a little dustier and certainly carrying a few more battle scars than the bloke who had that idea in Karratha. But there's still a glint in the eye, an unreasonable amount of optimism and a determination to keep giving it a damn good crack. Most importantly, he's learning to look back with pride at what they've built, rather than always looking forward to the next mountain to climb.
Although, knowing James, he'll probably start climbing it before anyone's finished congratulating him.
Ten years ago, a marine engineer in Karratha wondered at two in the morning why Australia couldn't make decent craft spirits.
That question led to seventy distilleries, one opinionated Italian still, a bar full of stories and a decade of bloody-minded persistence.
JimmyRum's mission? To change the way Australia thinks about rum, whether Australia wants to know or not.
Ten years down. A country still to convince.
The things a man does for his country.
Discover JimmyRum: www.jimmyrum.com.au
Visit: JimmyRum Distillery, Dromana, Mornington Peninsula.
Follow on Social Media
Cheers and keep it RUMbunctious always!
James
My hope is that when you’re looking at yourself in the
‘The Daily Mirror’
YOU SMILE
EMBRACE BEING YOU
AND FIND 10 MINUTES IN YOUR DAY TO NOURISH YOUR SOUL!
To get in touch with Cathy email smileinthedailymirror@gmail.com
'The Daily Mirror' acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.
Comments