The World's First Social Rum - 4X50 R.N.P. Finely Distilled Superior Rum

FOUR FELLOWS. FIFTY FRIENDS. ENDLESS FRIENDS OF FRIENDS.

4X50 [FourFifty] R.N.P. Finely Distilled Superior Rum is the story of four fellows who decided to create a product. A product in celebration of friendship. Their own friendship, of course. But even more, the idea of friendship. A product to celebrate friendships old and new.

They considered luxury clothing, the specialty of Markus. Thankfully, they opted for spirits, the specialty of Hans. A master distiller, some say best in the world, Hans knew they could set a new standard for super premium rum.

Perfect, said Tom, a brand guru. What spirit is mo re sociable than rum or more in need of disruption? Enough about pirates and islands. This will be the world’s first social rum. Contemporary but
ageless. Global but placeless.

Markus, Hans, Tom. And the fourth fellow? He prefers not to be named, but they couldn’t have done it without him. Together, the four have disrupted the world of rum with a new vision and a superior product. By friends. For friends.

FOUR FELLOWS. FIFTY FRIENDS. ENDLESS FRIENDS OF FRIENDS.

The fellows knew they had achieved a new standard of rum, but they wanted proof of concept. Proof of quality. So they established the Rum Council. Fifty of the world’s top chefs, sommeliers, mixologists and other experts. All friends.

Chef of the Century” Eckart Witzigman, the first German speaking 3 Michelin Star chef, is honorary head of the Rum Council. When the full roster of members is revealed, 4X50 will be the world’s first rum backed by 100 Michelin stars.

Members of the Rum Council volunteer their honest feedback and support the kind only true friends can provide. To keep the Council fresh and relevant, members serve four year terms, then become honorary members for life.

4X50. Four fellows. Fifty friends. Connected by an ‘ the sign of crossed swords, the knightly symbol of friendship. The name tells the story. But the story continues as friends tell friends about the world’s first social rum.

FOUR FELLOWS. FIFTY FRIENDS. ENDLESS FRIENDS OF FRIENDS.

Fellows, investors and Rum Council members can all recommend friends to be members of the Friends the 4X50 society In the spirit of friendship, each new member receives his or her own complimentary bottle of 4X50. But that’s just the beginning.

Upon joining, all new Friends of 4X50 are welcome to recommend their own friends. This next wave of members receives a 4X50 tasting bottle and a 4X50 rum glass, specially developed by Riedel As the society grows, so do opportunities to meet and make frien ds.

Offline, 4X50 organizes 4X50 Supper Clubs, 4X50 Speakeasies (secret pop up bars) and 4X50 Takeovers (unique bar events) around the world. Online, it delivers unique social content and offerings. Rum is sociable by nature; 4X50 is creating a culture of sociability on top.

SUPERIOR PRODUCT AND DESIGN. DISRUPTIVE BUSINESS MODEL.

To create a new standard of rum, it was necessary to disrupt to expose the old standards for what they were, half truths and marketing ploys. The true quality of rum lies not i n its age or place of origin, but in the quality of the sugar cane, the quality of the water, and above all, the quality of the distilling. Fellow Hans Reisetbauer, world renowned distiller, spent almost a decade learning the art of rum distillation, unlocking its secrets and developing a new standard of super premium rum the R . P standard from the ground up. He and his team built a state of the art distillery completely customized for 4X50, and fully digitized that monitors every varia ble to ensure a level of quality never before achieved.

For sugarcane, Hans worked with the foremost experts, selecting only the best. For water, he tapped a unique Alpine well, his own little secret, its high degree of granite producing water of unparal leled softness. When the rum was ready, he took it to the ultimate rum connoisseur for a tasting. And the verdict? This rum was too good; it needed to be blended with others for added character and edge. Together, Hans and the connoisseur methodically tast ed 76 rums, selecting six. 4X50 is 82% Hans’ distillation, matured in casks of finest Ysper oak. The remaining 18% comprises rum from two Jamaican distilleries and one each from Guyana, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guatemala.

Another myth of rum? That sugar m ust be added. A distiller of the highest caliber, Hans knew it wasn’t true. In the end, he created a rum of superior taste with less than three grams of sugar per liter. For perspective, EU law has ruled that, as of May 25, 2021, no rum may contain more than 20 grams per liter. That’s almost six times the amount of sugar in 4X50, and yet the new law poses a real threat to many rum brands now on the mar ket.

A product as good as 4X50 needs a design to match, which is why Fellow Tom Wallmann called on another old friend, New York based creative director Alex Wiederin, to develop the 4X50 logo, bottle and packaging. Alex is best known for his work in fashi on, with brands ranging from Givenchy to Cartier, but a little side project of his the design for George Clooney’s Casamigas Tequila, which recently sold for one billion dollars more than qualified him for the job. Alex designed the sword crossed ‘ of th e logo and developed an iconic bottle featuring sustainable off cuts of leather from Fellow Markus Meindl’s family leather business, which dates to 1683. For the box, Alex selected a special recycled carton from Austrian paper company Flatz.

SUPERIOR PRODUCT AND DESIGN. DISRUPTIVE BUSINESS MODEL.

Determined to disrupt the world of rum, the fellows of 4X50 started with extensive research to identify the sweet spot in the industry, the super premium segment. They approached their business plan as if they were building a tech company and decided to partner with strategic investors from the outset. Next, the fellows methodically analyzed all aspects of the business, from prod uct to brand to distribution to community, challenging every outmoded assumption and seizing every opportunity to innovate.

To create the right product and control its quality, they needed to own their own production. To leverage the value of their produc tion, they produced and set aside more than 50,000 liters of product, now aging in casks of Ysper oak at the facility. To liberate rum from the tired old cliches, they reimagined it as ageless and placeless, positioned it for a contemporary, cosmopolitan a udience female as well as male and focused on the most critical component of rum’s DNA, its sociability.

The world’s first social rum was born, and with it the opportunity to build a community of like minded people who would treat 4X50 as a kind of social currency, recommending it to friends and creating a network effect, the first of its kind for an alcoholic beverage. To harness the true potential of the network, they knew they needed to talk and sell to their community directly. In another first for an alcohol brand, 4X50 develop s an innovative ‘drop ship' e commerce model. The team works on an API that corresponds with the ERPs of 4X50’s distributors, country by country, ensuring unprecedented ease of ordering and fulfillment. Distribution deals with pa rtners for Austria, Germany and the USA have already been completed. Partners for Benelux, Czech Republic, Switzerland, China and Taiwan are currently in the pipeline.

With each new country that comes online, 4X50 plans events similar to its first, hel d at Vienna’s world renowned Steirereck to begin community building. With the support of Rum Council members, 4X50 Supper Clubs and Launch Events are planned with Tim Raue in Berlin, Cornelia Poletto (for a girls only event) in Hamburg and Jacob Jan Boerma in Amsterdam, among many others. 4X50 Takeovers are scheduled for Upholstery in New York and Freundschaft in Berlin. Meanwhile, legendary mixologist and bar owner Charles Schumann, has already concocted the 4X50 Sling (recipe attached), the first of many original cocktails and dishes catering to the Friends of 4X50. Such steps are just the beginning of the worldwide community building activity that will establish 4X50 as the world’s first and only social rum. By friends. For friends.

RUM COUNCIL – THE FIRST 23

FOUNDER

MARKUS MEINDL

A passionate entrepreneur and creative freethinker, Markus has been managing a family business—Meindl Fashion, founded in 1683—for more than 20 years. The business is located in Kirchanschöring, Upper Bavaria, and the world of the mountain city dweller is Markus’ special domain. He designs and produces unique products for the overlap of mountain and city, products that are now at home in many areas of life. Markus’ passions influence his actions and thoughts. Sustainability is no momentary phenomenon for him; it is a conviction by which he lives and has been a part of his brand’s DNA for many decades. He believes that honest products, as much today as ever in the past, follow a cycle that does not depend on seasons. Markus’ vision of sustainability can be found in all of his products. Timeless design and uncompromising quality are more important than growth and profit.

HANS REISETBAUER / THE MASTER DISTILLER

For more than 25 years, Hans Reisetbauer has been managing the renowned distillery in Upper Austrian that carries his time. Fourteen skillful employees, state-of-the-art distillation technology, the special maturation of the barrel and Hans’ unparalleled sense of quality are what makes his distillates so unique “Quality creates friendship” has been Hans’ motto and guiding principle since the beginning. Its meaning comes to life in his orchard and distillery, where quality can be tasted and the warmth of friendship can be experienced firsthand. Ultimately, it is also the quality of the raw material that determines the quality of the distillate, which is why he allows only the best to go into the bottle.

TOM WALLMANN, ENTREPRENEUR / BRAND & MARKETING ADVISOR

Tom is the Brand & Marketing Advisor of BOGNER Luxury Fashion and the personal advisor of Mr Christian Völkers (Chairman, Engel & Völkers), amongst others. He is a Founding Partner and Managing Director of the For Fellows GmbH, parent company of 4X50 R.N.P. During his studies at the University of Economics and Business in Vienna, Tom began working at American Express. In 1996, he followed his dream to live in New York, where he built, together with a partner, the talent agency Walter Schupfer Management, among other ventures. In 2004, he returned to Austria as a Marketing Consultant for Red Bull. Also during this time, together with Ahead Media, he launched Nespresso Magazine. In 2009, after numerous projects in publishing, Tom took over the position of Global Marketing Director at Dedon, the world’s leading outdoor luxury furniture maker. In 2012, his wish to be closer to his Austrian home lead him to Marc O’Polo, where he spearheaded Global Marketing until 2018. He now advises both renowned heritage brands and promising new ventures on branding, marketing and business development. Tom combines an instinct for disruption with a passion for digitization and a powerful sense of community.

COMPANY

For Fellows GmbH

Zum Kirchdorfergut 1

4062 Kirchberg-Thening

Austria

Phone: +43 7221 636 90 20

Contact: info@4X50.com

Website: www.4X50.com