distributor diageo country of origin australia introduced 1888 colour dark and white website http www.bundabergrum.com.au bundaberg rum is a dark rum produced in bundaberg australia . it is often referred to as bundy . the bundaberg distilling company owns its own cola producing facility which supplies the cola for its ready to drink bundaberg rum and cola products . contents 1 history 2 distillery 3 variant flavours 4 sponsorship 5 recognitions 6 advertising 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit bundaberg rum originated because the local sugar mills had a problem with what to do with the waste molasses after the sugar was extracted it was heavy difficult to transport and the costs of converting it to stock feed were rarely worth the effort . sugar men first began to think of the profits that could be made from distilling . the vital meeting was held at the royal hotel on 1 august 1885 w m c hickson served as the chairman and other notables in attendance included all the big sugar mill owners of that time w g farquhar f l nott s mcdougall t penny s h bravo and a h young all to become the first directors of the company . they started with a capital of 5 000 . 1 the bundaberg distilling company began its operations in 1888 . bundaberg rum was first produced in 1889 production ceased from 1907 to 1914 and from 1936 to 1939 after fires the second of which caused rum from the factory to spill into the nearby burnett river . 2 h t christsen pty ltd operated their own bundaberg rum bottling plant in bourbong street bundaberg at the rear of their large grocery and hardware business in the centre of town . the spirit was sold at up and op strength from their business . spokesperson for the original family mr rod patch recalls the origins of the shape of the current bundy bottle . it originated from the bushells coffee chicory bottle that bundaberg folks sold to his grandfather at the firm for one penny a bottle after which they were washed and filled with the famous spirit . the shape remains the same but the capacity has been increased to the current 700ml . patch s great grandfather hans truval christsen a danish immigrant from copenhagen and his son frederick christsen had an employment policy of employing staff from the salvation army faith in the rum bottling process as they were less likely to be tempted to sample the spirit . the christsen family supported settlement farming families through hard times and these good deeds were acknowledged with the naming of christsen park at bargara beach . in 1961 the company introduced the polar bear as its unusual choice of mascot to imply that the rum could ward off the coldest chill . 3 in 2000 the bundaberg rum company and distillery were sold to british company diageo . 4 in 2014 a decision by diageo to relocate the bottling operations of queensland s iconic drink bundaberg rum to the western sydney suburb of huntingwood resulted in local job losses in the city that bears its name . the decision drew criticism from all levels of queensland politics premier campbell newman said it was a disappointing move particularly in a region that had suffered devastating floods in recent years . 5 bundaberg mayor mal forman said i m saddened by the announcement but i had been assured the company had a commitment to the city . cr forman said i understood demand for bottled bundaberg rum had declined as more people bought pre mixed cans a trend i wanted no part of . later a diageo spokeswoman clarified by saying some premium products such as the master distillers collection would continue to be bottled in bundaberg . this was not a decision we have taken lightly however it is a necessary one to ensure the longer term sustainability of the distillery . we remain absolutely committed to bundaberg and the distillery and will continue to invest and focus on our core business of distilling maturing and blending great quality rum in bundaberg as we have done for the last 125 years . 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 distillery edit visitors centre & big bundy bottle the bundaberg rum distillery is open to visitors for tours of the facility . there is also a museum which offers free samples of bundaberg rum products for visitors in a historic queenslander house . the big bundy bottle is also outside of the bondstore . variant flavours edit bundaberg rum up 37 % 14 bundaberg rum original 100 proof 50 % 15 bundaberg rum overproof 57.7 % 16 bundaberg red 37 % 17 bundaberg red 100 proof 50 % 18 bundaberg five 37 % 19 bundaberg select vat aged 6 years 37 % 20 bundaberg mutiny spiced rum 37 % 21 master distillers collection small batch 40 % 22 master distillers collection small batch vintage barrel 40 % 23 master distillers collection 280 40 % 24 master distillers collection black barrel distilled 2004 black glass 40 % 25 master distillers collection black barrel distilled 2004 clear glass 40 % 26 master distillers collection black barrel distilled 2005 clear glass 40 % 27 master distillers collection blenders edition 2014 40 % 28 master distillers collection blenders edition 2015 40 % 29 bundaberg tropics pineapple & coconut 23.5 % 30 bundaberg royal liqueur banana and toffee 20 % 31 bundaberg royal liqueur coffee and chocolate 20 % 32 bundy wings heritage label original 37 % 33 sponsorship edit walkinshaw racing holden commodore ve of fabian coulthard at the 2011 clipsal 500 adelaide bundaberg rum is a major sponsor of the australian wallabies rugby union team and also sponsors the bundaberg rum rugby series . bundaberg is also a sponsor of the nsw waratahs . 34 bundaberg rum sponsored the rugby league anzac test till 2009 . bundaberg rum signed a 5 year deal with the nrl to be the official dark rum of the nrl . they are also the naming rights sponsor of nrl friday night football . from 2009 until 2011 bundaberg rum sponsored v8 supercar team walkinshaw racing . 35 recognitions edit bundaberg rum has been distinguished with numerous awards . in 2011 bundaberg rum s master distillers collective rum was launched with the first three releases the 10 year old port barrel and golden reserve winning awards in the global stage . 36 37 advertising edit bundaberg rum has also been criticised for targeting its advertising towards young people and boys through television commercials during nrl broadcasts and other promotions . 38 39 a series of advertisements featuring the bundaberg rum bear a polar bear known as bundy r. bear were produced by advertising agency leo burnett to align the product with a larrikin approach to australian mateship . 40 the bundaberg rum bear first appeared in 1961 . it was designed to soften rum s aggressive image and broaden its appeal from the traditional older male drinker to a more sociable audience . 41 the advertisements have been cited as a favourite among australia s youth . 42 see also edit queensland portal alcohol advertising anzac test beenleigh rum list of rum producers 1936 bundaberg distillery fire references edit dunstan keith bundy a centenary history robinson julia 2001 voices of queensland words from the sunshine state oxford university press bundaberg rum website history section . bundaberg rum website . retrieved 26 march 2008 . diageo plc 6 december 2000 . diageo acquires bundaberg rum from bundaberg sugar group ltd press release . just drinks . archived from the original on 13 february 2014 . a b atfield cameron 18 may 2014 . workers sacked as bundaberg rum bottling moves to sydney . brisbane times . fairfax media . archived from the original on 7 june 2014 . kay ross ; buchanan kallee 16 may 2014 . sydney rum bundaberg rum to move bottling operations south . australian broadcasting commission . archived from the original on 22 august 2014 . buchanan kallee 16 may 2014 . residents outraged over bundaberg rum bottling move . australian broadcasting commission . archived from the original on 17 may 2014 . bundaberg rum workers laid off as plant moves to sydney . news mail . 15 may 2014 . archived from the original on 19 may 2014 . kruger colin 16 may 2014 . bundy rum to be bottled in sydney . the sydney morning herald . fairfax media . archived from the original on 25 october 2015 . bundaberg rum workers laid off as plant moves to sydney . 15 may 2014 . archived from the original on 25 october 2015 . bundy rum bottling heads south . food & drink business . 19 may 2014 . archived from the original on 7 april 2015 . bowling danielle 22 may 2014 . jobs cut as bundaberg rum shifts bottling to sydney . food magazine . archived from the original on 12 april 2015 . wells james 16 may 2015 . diageo says bundy bottling move caused by low sales and high taxes . the shout . archived from the original on 21 september 2015 . bundaberg rum up 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg rum original 100 proof 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg rum overproof 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg red 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg red 100 proof 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg five 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg select vat aged 6 years the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg mutiny spiced rum 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 master distillers collection small batch the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 19 september 2015 master distillers collection small batch vintage barrel the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 18 september 2015 master distillers collection 280 700ml the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 mdc black barrel black glass bottle the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 18 september 2015 mdc black barrel distilled 2004 clear glass the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 mdc black barrel distilled 2005 clear glass the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 mdc blenders edition 2014 the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 mdc blenders edition 2015 the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg tropics pineapple & coconut the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 bundaberg royal liqueur banana and toffee the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 18 september 2015 bundaberg royal liqueur coffee and chocolate the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 19 september 2015 bundy wings heritage label original 700ml 2014 the bundaberg distilling company pty limited archived from the original on 25 october 2015 sponsors & partners nsw rugby archived from the original on 24 january 2009 bundaberg rum pulls out of v8 supercars speedcafe 5 december 2011 distillery profile bundaberg rum . australian bartender . retrieved 21 october 2013 . mike knott . judges wowed by bundy rum . newsmail . retrieved 21 october 2013 . teenage boys abc radio national australian broadcasting commission 3 november 2002