Marc Farrell
grew up with an appreciation of rum.
“Rum has always been our spirit of choice,” says the born-and-raised Trinidadian entrepreneur.“Rum plays a role in all the moments of celebrations we have: our family get togethers over Easter, over Christmas.”
Farrell’s impressive resume started when he was merely a teenager. He attended MIT at just 16-years-old, followed by Cambridge University and Harvard Business School, all before becoming, at the time, the youngest ever vice president in Starbucks history.
When Farrell, now 39, first moved to the U.S.he realized that rum had many connotations. In American culture, it was widely associated with cheap drinks, Spring Break, and sugary mixers. In 2019, hoping to change the conversation and to prove that rum, like whiskey or fine wine, can stand alone as an elevated drink, Farrell launched his own rum brand, Ten to One.
“Ten to One for me is rum reimagined,” says Farrell, who is now based in New York. “It is finding a way to turn what the everyday consumer thinks about rum on its head, to shatter [those stereotypes] and create something that feels more contemporary and more inspired, but that is still grounded in Caribbean history and heritage. Hopefully in doing that, people will have a different perspective on Caribbean culture as well.”
Ten to One’s design and contents lean heavily on the Caribbean. The brand’s logo is the scarlet ibis, Trinidad and Tobago’s national bird, while its typeface is taken from an old postage stamp celebrating the country’s independence. The name Ten to One refers to the original Caribbean Federation, which consisted of 10 countries.
Ten to One has already made its mark in the three years since it was launched, winning two gold medals at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In October last year, the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Ciara joined Farrell as an investor, co-owner, and director. “She brings a lot of the energy of the brand, she can scale that story to new audiences as we go forward,” he says.
Farrell’s primary ambition is to prove that Ten to One’s White Rum and Dark Rum—neither of which are made with the added sugars, colorings, or flavorings typically found in cheaper brands—can both stand alone as a sipping drink of choice and become a go-to ingredient for craft cocktails.
He hopes that the brand will help add nuances to the perception of his home country in America. “I grew up in the Caribbean until I was 16,” he says. “But my entire adult life has been in the U.S. consumer culture. The bridge Ten to One is building is unique.”
Farrell shared a few of his favorite things with Penta.
The restaurant in my hometown that I love to take a visitor to is… not a restaurant per se but a food tour in Trinidad: it’s such an amazing cultural mix with people of African, Syrian, Indian, and Chinese descent.
One of my favorite things about Trinidad is… this latent energy, vibrancy, and joy that is almost impossible to describe and can really only be experienced.
If I were to buy a piece of art, it would be by… Boscoe Holder. He was a Caribbean artist, a genius. He was born in the 1920s and was very much a multi-hyphenate: an artist, a performer, a dancer, a man of the day. He has these incredible depictions of the Caribbean person. My parents are collectors, so they have a number of his pieces. It reminds me of home.
A cocktail I can’t stop making is… a spicy watermelon daiquiri, with a little bit of muddled jalapeno. Super easy to make.
I drink my rum… on the rocks or with a splash of soda water.
A person who inspired me to do what I do is… I think of my life as this composite or mosaic of the influences and investments of so many other people, starting with my parents. They are my primary inspiration for sure. [Starbucks CEO]
Howard Schultz
is an amazing mentor of mine. My entrepreneurial hero for a long time has been
Richard Branson
—I always thought it would be so cool to be able to build an incredible business and look like you were having fun while doing it.
If I could have a meal with anybody, anywhere, it would be with…
Barack Obama.
He’s charismatic, he’s thoughtful, he is this unique intersection of feeling very erudite while being accessible. He has been a ground-breaking historical figure of our time for so many people.
A passion of mine that few people know about is… yoga. I played traditional sports and was very resistant to the idea of yoga [growing up]. When I moved to Seattle, I picked it up and fell in love with it. I try to do it every Sunday and Monday as a way to reset my week.
The thing that gets me up in the morning is… the aspiration and desire to build something special.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
