Take a strong Bermudian alcohol brand, add a dash of entrepreneurial spirit and you have Rum Barrel — veteran retailer Stephanie King’s business at Royal Naval Dockyard.

Rum Barrel primarily sells Gosling’s Brothers branded clothing and other goods, and is a retail and duty-free outlet for Gosling’s drinks. Other offerings include Bermuda Tabs shorts, handmade cards and tiles by Vivian Hayward, Limestone and Cedar brand candles and Outerbridge’s sherry peppers and rum swizzle mix.

Ms King says she approached Gosling’s to propose the store concept.

“I saw such a huge demand so I created a few clothing designs for Gosling’s to review and they loved them,” she said. “That was our entrée to making a fuller proposal.

“Rather than create a new brand and push that towards tourists, I thought it was better to focus on something in existence, and do more.

“Gosling’s have done a great job of promoting into the United States, so people know their brand. Everyone knows what a dark ‘n’ stormy is.

“The basic idea was to push the brand and sell Bermuda.”

The store, located in the gazebo across from Island Outfitters, opened last June.

“We had a great response, it was phenomenal,” Ms King says. “As soon as we opened, duty-free just exploded. Normally, the last day a cruise ship is in, it’s a circus around here.”

The business operates daily from April until Christmas, taking on two full-time staff in addition to Ms King.

“In the winter, we work on our designs for new products,” Ms King says. “That’s our creative time.”