Drum Circle on track for profits

Two years into a nervy entrepreneurial career change, Troy Roberts still works plenty of long, sweaty days.

But Roberts also still has plenty of fun, which isn't a shock given his gig begins with quite an adored title: Rum maker.

And now, with some tangible industry recognition, Roberts also says he can finally foresee a day when his rum company, Sarasota-based Drum Circle Distilling, will turn a profit.

“We've been through a lot of growing pains,” says Roberts. “But we are at the point where we think this business is greased very well.”

Roberts, a Sarasota native, left a career in software sales and Internet startups in 2007 to launch Drum Circle. He spent nearly $1 million of his money to turn an industrial park warehouse into a rum production lab and factory. (See Business Review, Nov. 25, 2009.)

Drum Circle, named after the popular Sunday evening gatherings on Siesta Key, has sold two versions of Siesta Key rum since late 2009. The rums developed a cult following locally, but Roberts got his first sip of the big time earlier this month at the RumXP International Tasting Competition in Miami.

The event was a coming out party for Siesta Key Rum. In total, three versions of the rum won four awards. The Siesta Key Silver rum won a gold medal and a Best in Class, while Siesta Key Gold and Siesta Key Spice earned silver medals. The contest was a who's who of rums brands, including Bacardi, Appleton and Cruzan.

“The awards are huge,” Roberts tells Coffee Talk. “The contest gives us the validation that we have something more than a good name. We have good stuff in the bottle.”

The awards come during a transition for the company. Roberts says the myriad of headaches connected with a startup have eased lately. For example, the company now has a distributor that will help get the rum into more liquor stores outside Sarasota-Bradenton, in places such as Miami and Orlando.

Moreover, the trial-and-error process of rum production, a spreadsheet-based, research-intensive effort, has produced fewer errors. Gone too, are the packaging and bottling snafus, like scratched labels and finicky corks.

Roberts brought on a business partner early last year, Tom Clarke, another Sarasota native who worked in technology and with Internet startups. While the business isn't yet profitable, Roberts says he and Clarke have put less of their own money back into it every month.

“The best way to sell the rum,” says Roberts, “is to get people to try it.”