As one of the stars of the ABC series, “The Rookie”, Eric Winter shows his passion for acting. That’s not the only thing that’s captured his heart. Deco caught up with Eric over the weekend, and he was hitting the bottle, but that’s a good thing.
People know Eric Winter as Sgt. Tim Bradford on “The Rookie.”
At The Tower [Club] in Fort Lauderdale, he put the business of acting aside for the other love of his life.
Eric Winter: “Palm Republic’s a passion of mine. I fell in love with rum 20 years ago.”
Eric wasn’t a fan of that particular spirit until a future family member laid down the law.
Eric Winter: “And I flew to Puerto Rico to meet my girlfriend’s family, and my father-in-law sat me down and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna sip on some rum, and we’re gonna chat.'”
Those few sips were all he needed to become obsessed with rum.
Eric Winter: “And I was floored when I basically had this 8-year-old rum and how complex it was, how sophisticated it was, and it wasn’t anything I thought of sugary spice.”
The next step was obvious — get in the game.
Eric Winter: “My wife said you should start a premium rum. I said, you know what? You’re right, I’m passionate about rum. I want to do something that has no added sugar, not spiced, and I want to try and change the perception of rum.”
That’s how both versions of Palm Republic were born.
Eric Winter: “Our aged is — 8 years aged, Panama, Jamaica, [United States Virgin Islands], and we’re really leaning into a blend. Some people blend down; we actually blended up. And our silver, obviously not aged, is from Jamaica, USVI. The silver has blown people away ’cause everybody just thinks, ” Ah, it’s gonna be a cheap rum, and I’m gonna mix it, you can sip on that all day.”
Eric was ready to put his liquid love to the final test.
Eric Winter: “I’m gonna throw down behind the bar. We’re gonna mix some things up. I’ll do my very best. I’ll have some great, skilled bartenders at my side.”
He took his role as a mighty mixologist totally seriously and turned out classic cocktails for the whole crowd. He got pretty good reviews for his work.
Guest: “I think that being able to bartend at your own launch event is super iconic.”
Guest: “Between you and me, the rum’s amazing.”
Guest: “I love the fact that he’s selling phenomenal rum.”
Eric can work behind the bar. But what about his work in front of the camera? What’s coming up on “The Rookie”?
Eric Winter: “Is Tim gonna survive? I don’t know. You know, it’s been an incredible run. We are, you know, just wrapped up with season 8. We have a season 9 pick-up. Excited to get back to work and find out what’s in store.”
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