Pronghorn, co-founded by Erin J. Corridor, Dia Simms, and Dan Sanborn, is a stand-alone enterprise devoted to making a template for the right way to successfully diversify any business for any underrepresented group, beginning with the spirits business and the Black group.
Pronghorn goals to revolutionize the beverage alcohol business by fostering range and supporting Black entrepreneurs by capital funding, enterprise incubation, and profession improvement. Dedicated to bridging systemic gaps, Pronghorn’s technique incorporates three principal pillars: Funding, Supercharging, and Bridge Constructing, which incorporates investing in Black-owned spirits manufacturers, providing tailor-made mentorship, and creating alternatives throughout all profession ranges.
Pronghorn’s partnership with Ten To One Rum embodies these rules. Based by Marc Farrell, Ten To One goals to re-imagine rum by mixing pan-Caribbean heritage with a unprecedented product. Farrell, a Trinidadian native, created the model to problem conventions and elevate rum’s popularity within the U.S., the place it’s typically misunderstood.
“All through the Caribbean, rum is a revered spirit with a centuries-long historical past and heritage, whereas in America plenty of that tradition finally ends up getting misplaced in trope-ish rum narratives of pirates and plantations, spring break, and so forth. Launching Ten To One within the U.S., we noticed an infinite alternative to remodel perceptions of rum, and champion a narrative of unity, group, and progress that’s on the very coronary heart of genuine Caribbean tradition.”
Ten To One’s blends, crafted from rums throughout Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana, are fully additive-free, versatile, and have been acknowledged with over 100 awards.
The title “Ten To One” displays Caribbean unity, impressed by the, “One from ten leaves zero.” This spirit of group extends to its branding, storytelling, and occasions, such because the “Kindred Spirits” cocktail handbook that includes Black bartenders, in addition to frequent collaborations with Black and Caribbean artists and creatives. Farrell wished to encourage shoppers to rethink what rum can ship and its broader significance throughout cultures.
Ciara, Ten To One’s co-owner, brings her inventive imaginative and prescient and entrepreneurial insights to the model. “I beloved Marc’s mission to reimagine rum,” she shares, recalling her first rum expertise at 21. She notes parallels between crafting music and constructing a model, each requiring collaboration and creativity. Ciara emphasizes Ten To One’s sense of group, celebrating its function in nurturing connection and delight.
“After spending time with the model and getting to grasp the numerous ways in which Ten To One can flex and carry out inside a few of your favourite cocktail mixtures, I can truthfully say to all different spirits, something you are able to do, rum can do higher.”
The place do bartenders slot in, you could ask? Bartenders play a pivotal function in amplifying Ten To One’s story, which Pronghorn helps by collaboration and schooling. “Bartenders are the gatekeepers of spirits tradition,” says Sanborn, and Ten To One’s heritage and high quality resonate with their craft. Farrell is intrigued by the quantity of creativity and innovation the model has skilled in a brief period of time.
“I hear bartenders say that they will create nearly something utilizing our rums, whether or not it’s a riff on an quaint or Negroni, an espresso martini or one thing solely completely different. In reality, we’ve had an unimaginable run of “Daiq-Off” competitions this 12 months with our bartending communities throughout New York State and Chicago, which have yielded a few of the most spectacular, sudden cocktails I’ve tried up to now. Finally, we wish our product to encourage shoppers to open the aperture of what they suppose rum can ship. If I had a greenback for each individual, who after making an attempt Ten To One, mentioned – ‘I by no means anticipated that’ or ‘who knew that rum might be this wonderful/good/versatile?’ — nicely… I’d have plenty of {dollars} at this level!”
Pronghorn’s experience has enhanced Ten To One’s development, making it one of many fastest-growing super-premium rums within the nation. Sanborn credit their strategy, as they provide strategic perception, from provide to advertising, empowering founders to scale their companies. Pronghorn’s broader mission is equally formidable, based on Sanborn.
“Our purpose is to ship $2.4B in financial influence, improve various founder and govt illustration within the business, and doing so to proceed to assist this vibrant business rooted within the notion of celebration. I imagine the mannequin we’ve constructed for Pronghorn really might be a template for the right way to diversify any business.”
The expansion of the premium rum class displays a broader shopper need for genuine tales and high quality craftsmanship. Ten To One is a shining instance of how custom and innovation can intersect, providing a contemporary perspective on Caribbean rum. With a dedication to illustration, the model just isn’t solely reshaping the rum narrative but additionally making a path to significant cultural influence by its partnership with Pronghorn.
