Privateer Rum Continues Their Expansion and Hires Kevin Martin of Eastern Standard as VP of Sales

Ipswich, MA – February 6, 2014 – Privateer Rum, fermented, distilled and aged in Essex County, Massachusetts, is continuing their expansion with the hiring of Kevin Martin as VP Sales. This is another step in Privateer’s growth strategy that includes the retaining of KOPR public relations from New York and partnership with Winebow to distribute Privateer in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Illinois.

Most recently, Martin was Bar Manager at Eastern Standard for seven years, where he maintained an extensive cocktail, spirit, and beer list; educated staff and managers on products, techniques, and cocktail history; and collaborated with importers and distributors to procure quality craft spirits. Martin graduated with a B.S. in Culinary Arts/Business at the Culinary Institute of America, has a proficient knowledge of food, wine and spirits, and has participated and won cocktail competitions across the country, including Tales of the Cocktail. He has been published in Kevin Fitzpatrick’s Under the Table, a Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide ©2013, Fred Yarm’s Drink &Tell, a Boston Cocktail Book ©2013 and Jim Meehan’s The PDT Cocktail Book ©2011. He will fit in well with a team whose passion for their craft and commitment to quality is evident in every bottle of their award-winning rums.

Bar Director of Eastern Standard, Jackson Cannon says, “Kevin Martin embodies the modern, well rounded beverage professional. Ever gracious in service, he possesses a discerning and developed palate and is as at home with complex culinary craft cocktails as he is with fresh fruit, fine rum and a household blender. His interpersonal skills and expertise in fine spirits will be a tremendous asset to Privateer’s national growth.”

As VP of Sales for Privateer, Martin will work directly with on-premise and off-premise accounts in Boston and New York, to build the Privateer brand; build a sales team; educate on rum, Privateer and it’s uses; promote Privateer and how it can help build a balanced cocktail list; assist with events to build brand awareness; and support Founder Andrew Cabot and Head Distiller Maggie Campbell in new product endeavors.

Martin’s knowledge of cocktails and spirits and ability to educate on them will enlighten people on rum as a spirits category and further enhance Privateer’s brand awareness.  His time spent making drinks will allow him to guide and teach bartenders on how to mix a balanced cocktail with Privateer and saturate more of the Boston and New York markets. His time working with distributors and brand representatives have helped him develop a focus on what is important to each of Privateers’ individual accounts.

About Privateer

Privateer Rum stands out from other rums in their unique fermentation, distillation, aging, batching and bottling processes. The result is sophisticated, complex rums thoughtfully developed for the most discerning palates. The location of their distillery and its maritime climate contributes greatly to the spirit’s layers of flavors; each bottle has a flavor that is more than the sum of its parts; smooth, yet bursting with flavor. www.privateerrum.com.