Millaquin White Rum 1970s with Super Rare Box 750mL

Millaquin White Rum 26.4 Fl Oz (750ml)

About This Bottle

This bottle comes from the private collection of an executive who actually worked at Millaquin in the 1970s. The bottle and the box are in excellent condition. Bear in mind though, that both are 40 years old and so there is appropriately ageing. There seems to be only a small amount of ullage.

About Millaquin Rum

Millaquin Sugar Company was one of Australia's oldest and most successful rum distillers. By the 1970s, their best known product Bundaberg Rum was renowned throughout Australia and the world. Millaquin White Rum was the second try at the lucrative white rum market in Australia and was initially developed in 1968 by Dr Alex Saranin. Dr Saranin was a Russian immigrant and was the chief chemist at the Millaquin Sugar Company up until May 1970. Dr Lou Muller took over the chief chemist position and completed the Millaquin White Rum project in 1973. Millaquin White Rum was bottled in the newly built bottling plant adjacent to the Millaquin Sugar Mill in May 1973. It was released towards to end of 1973. It was decided that Millaquin White Rum was to be marketed exclusively by the Millaquin Sugar Company despite numerous requests from Australian Rum Distilling ARD. ARD was owned by Sam McMahon - the creator of Bundy Bear and brother to then Australian Prime Minister Billy McMahon. Both the 375 and 750ml bottles were available in gift boxes which had a caricature of a 1970’s gentleman dressed in a black suit with a pink shirt. Two of the 750ml boxes placed side by side offered a full size picture. Poor marketing by the Millaquin Sugar Company ensured the failure of the white rum venture despite the fact it was actually a very good rum. After a very short 3 year production run Millaquin White Rum was phased out in 1976. After the phase out of the Millaquin White Rum, leftover bottles were utilised for other rum lines by Bundaberg Distilling Company (BDC). BDC also had access to a bottling plant for the first time. This allowed Bundy to begin bottling their own product instead of wholesaling to distributors. Millaquin White Rum bottles are highly sought after by Bundaberg Rum collectors today, with Millaquin rum products taking pride of place in many Bundy collections. An excellent and detailed web page exists on the Bundy Showcase web site.