Spliced at sea

As a spirits company based in Cornwall, the sea is at the heart of everything Mainbrace does, inspiring a new partnership with British sailors. 

When asked about the brand’s ethos, Richard Haigh, Co-Founder of Mainbrace, commented: “When launching Mainbrace, we really wanted to put a modern spin on the traditional maritime aspect of rum to attract a new contemporary audience into the category. In doing so, we aim to evoke the essence of the sea and ethos of maritime life with every sip, encouraging people to come together to celebrate their victories, no matter how big or small”.

Unsurprisingly, the name Mainbrace itself hails from maritime traditions, born from the naval phrase “splice the mainbrace”. In the days of sail, the main mast of a ship was steadied, or braced, with a thick rope called the mainbrace. Due to its importance, it was often targeted by enemy fire in the heat of a battle, meaning that a brave team of sailors had to repair it by splicing the rope back together to save the ship. As a reward for successfully achieving this titanic task, the captain would order the ship’s purser to issue a double ration (or tot) of rum or gin to the brave team as a toast to victory. Today, the phrase “splice the mainbrace” has inevitably become a naval euphemism for a celebration and is always accompanied by a toast to “the Queen – God bless her”. 

With this iconic story in mind, Mainbrace has recently teamed up with double Olympian Saskia Tidey and upcoming British talent Freya Black as Mainbrace’s latest brand ambassadors. This is a natural partnership for the rum brand, especially as their story is inspired by and based around the spirit of the sea and the values of courage, teamwork and friendship. Mainbrace will be supporting their training across the UK and abroad ahead of their international racing circuit in the build-up to Paris 2024. 

As an all-women team in a traditionally male dominated and physical sport, they are committed to the empowerment of female athletes to challenge the gender norms in life – a fitting partnership, as Mainbrace wants to attract female drinkers to the rum category. 

Saskia and Freya are excited about the partnership, commenting: “Mainbrace is a small brand, and we are a small team, so we feel we can work together in achieving our goals. Mainbrace share similar values to our campaign, especially teamwork, which underpins everything we do. We feel like it’s the perfect partnership going forwards!”

Mainbrace Rum

www.mainbracerum.com