Vacationing at the beach is fun. The Outer Banks offers beautiful beaches and water activities on the ocean and in the back bays. But what about those rainy days when you can’t go to the beach or out on the water? That’s when it’s time for rum.

Just off the Outer Banks is the island town of Manteo. In this town a group of four friends opened a distillery that focuses on rum. Sign up for the tour and see how rum is made and what makes this place different from other tours. The owners themselves provide the tours in a two-part approach.

They start off by providing the history of the building that houses the distillery and then discuss the history of rum making in the region and more locally in the Outer Banks. This includes an interesting story on how Kill Devil Hills in Kitty Hawk got its name.

Once the history of rum making and the distillery is completed, folks are led to the production facility where the rum is made. The entire process centers on an imported still that simply looks like a fabulous piece of art. The product that results from that still is worth the trip to Manteo.

Once the tour is complete the best part of the tour begins… Rum tasting! The owners do a great job describing the different types of rum they offer and what sets them apart from each other and the competition. Tasting includes three rums, all of them delicious.

At the conclusion of the tour folks have an opportunity to purchase rum and other items directly from the distillery. While the rum was great, my favorite product was the candied pecans. These pecans are aged in old whiskey barrels and are used in the process to make the pecan honey rum. The pecans are then candied and packaged for sale. These are excellent and should be purchased to take home. If you choose not to purchase them during your tour, you can order them online once you are home. I know this as a fact since I continue to order these treats and have them shipped to my house.

Go have some fun out there!