In September, Ian Burrell publicly announced the end of his involvement with Equiano Rum. The separation came as a surprise to many. This was the first brand that the man known across the international spirits sector as the ‘global rum ambassador’ had put his name to as a co-founder. And the rum itself, a blend of African and Caribbean liquids named after a former slave turned influential abolitionist figure, was warmly received by the industry,

But, just five years after the release of the first bottling, Burrell was announcing his split from his other co-founders Aaisha Dadra and Amanda Kakembo and citing an alleged trademark dispute as his reason for doing so.

Burrell’s involvement with Equiano began in 2019 when he was approached by the other three founding directors with a view to launching a rum brand.

“It started off with a team of four of us [Dadra, Kakembo, and Oli Bartlam] from different walks of life,” explains Burrell. “I was from the drinks industry and the other three partners were from the music industry but had dabbled in the drinks industry in some capacity. They only knew my reputation in rum, which is why they approached me. I looked at these guys as enthusiastic and people who could bring something fresh, which is why we created the Equiano brand.

“It was the first brand I’d been involved with creating for myself, as opposed to doing it as a consultant for other people. So, there were certain things that I was learning on the job.”

Another key factor behind the brand’s success was the enlistment of Richard Seale to assist in creating the liquid. Seale is the distiller and blender behind Foursquare and perhaps rum’s most celebrated producer, having collected countless awards for his rums and being named the Master Distiller of the Year at the 2021 International Spirits Challenge – a first for any rum producer.

“I came up with an idea, a concept about the style of liquid, the story, the narrative, the direction of where we wanted the rum to go,” Burrell continues.

“Then I approached Foursquare in Barbados. Richard [Seale] was very instrumental in not only blending the liquid but also giving us pearls of wisdom. So, he became our partner in creating the actual product.”

With a brand identity and liquid in place, investment was needed to get the project off the ground – much of which,  Burrell says, was generated through his connections with the spirits industry.

“Raising funds wasn’t too difficult. A lot of people saw the brand as a really great idea, including an American whiskey brand called Uncle Nearest, which invested quite heavily. The money from Uncle Nearest and [owner] Fawn Weaver kept us moving, but naturally, with a young brand that’s growing very fast, you need more funds. It got to a stage where we were running out of funds, and then, what happened with Uncle Nearest meant they couldn’t finance us anymore.”

Trademark dispute

In July of this year, Uncle Nearest was hit with a $100m federal lawsuit for allegedly defaulting on multiple loans. With that vital investment stream gone, Equiano was forced into administration. It was at this time, while seeking new investment, that Burrell claims it was discovered that the Equiano trademark wasn’t owned by the Equiano Limited controlling company, but instead by another company, owned by another director.

As he says: “When we asked that director what was going  on, there were a lot of different stories as to why the trademark had been filed this way, but the new potential investors wanted to know that if they invest in the company, the company owns its name.”

Burrell asserts that the demands of the trademark-controlling director left potential investors unwilling to put funds into the company, ultimately resulting in the administrators selling the Equiano assets to another new company, Equiano Global Limited, owned by another previous director.

“So, an ex-director now had the asset, and an existing director owned the trademark, and I’m on the outside. There’s no way they’re going to use my name, my reputation and the liquid that we created to continue selling a brand that I’m no longer involved with. That’s the reason I went public with my exit from Equiano.”

This version of events has been disputed by the remaining directors. A statement provided by Equiano Global Limited to Drinks International claims that: “The company did not own all intellectual property and trademark rights. The IP had in fact been secured by the company’s design agency, something that all directors, including Ian, were aware of well before administration.

“Following this, Ian assembled a syndicate of new investors that sought to negotiate and secure the business and assets of Equiano Limited while also attempting to purchase the IP and take full control of the brand. The administrators, acting independently and in the best interests of creditors, ultimately rejected their proposal to purchase the assets of Equiano Limited and instead accepted an offer from Equiano Global Limited, a company backed by existing shareholders.

“While we thank Ian for his past contributions, it is important to be clear: he was a director throughout, he knew the ownership position of the IP, he attempted to take control of the business through the administration process he initiated, with a new set of investors, and that attempt was unsuccessful.”

Next project

While the details of the split are contested by each side, there’s clarity with Burrell’s next project – an as-yet-unnamed joint venture with Foursquare, similar to the distillery’s bottlings with Velier, that will not just use recipes originally designed for Equiano but also a brand that will break new ground for both Burrell and Seale.

“Richard and I have the liquid – a liquid that’s won many awards in blind tastings – and we’re just going to create a new brand with the same liquid. The first brand will be the same recipe as Equiano, plus a few other recipes that we had in reserve. Richard has 50,000 barrels of rum in reserves, and we’ll also have access to tasty rums from Ghana, Mauritius and elsewhere in the African continent.

“So, the new brand will still be African and Caribbean, that's a concept I created, and it’s part of the narrative to blend rums from two different areas that are intertwined through history and culture. Those Equiano-style rums will be ready for the middle of 2026.

“On top of that, Richard and I are creating another brand with nothing to do with Equiano, but still with the style and flair of something that we know bartenders and the industry will love. Our first launch will be a rum liqueur. Something people probably wouldn’t expect from Richard or me, but this is a historical product, and it’s delicious.

“We wanted to create something that had historical relevance, as well as a flavour that could be identifiable once you put it into a cocktail, and it’s got a great, strong flavour, and it’ll be 45% abv, so is not to be sniffed at.

“We’re hoping to bring that to market in the first quarter of next year. We’re just going through names and making sure that trademarks are done properly.”

For a man who spent a career in the rum industry educating consumers and telling stories about innumerable different brands, he’s clearly developed the bug for creating rum brands of his own.

“I have two young boys, and I want to create a legacy for them,” he explains. “Being a rum ambassador and working with brands around the world, I’m employed for what I know and how I tell the story. That’s not something you can leave for your kids.

“Creating a rum brand was about creating a future for them and something to leave them. That’s why I put a lot into Equiano. It was the first brand I’d actually created from start to finish, and the story of Olaudah Equiano was actually told to me by my mum, so that makes the situation sting even more.

“But it’s given me a hunger. My boys are getting older, and I want something to leave them. When my oldest is 18, maybe he’ll work with the brand. Creating that legacy, that’s what’s driving me.”