Rum may be more commonly associated with the tropical islands of the Caribbean than the rugged British Isles, but in 2015, rum distillation came to Scotland for what was thought to be the first time when Dark Matter Distillers unveiled its first product. Since then, a number of Scottish producers have moved into the rum category and expanded their product lines beyond the country’s most famous drink. Aged for up to 12 months in oak casks, the rum is spiced with a selection of fresh tropical fruit and exotic spices, including pineapple, orange, cacao and allspice There are sure to be many more Scottish producers set to enter the rum market in the coming years, including Ellon-based brewer BrewDog, which recently revealed plans to launch a rum this year under its spirits arm. Revenge’ has been distilled in Orkney and then aged in ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks for three years. Garry and Shona Wilson are the people behind Rumburra Scotland Ltd in Fife and their small-batch golden aged rum brand Rumburra. This family business has been in operation since 2019 and their signature rum, Rumburra Orach, is a premium, craft, golden aged rum. It is small batched and handcrafted in Scotland at 42.3% abv.

Today, they are proud to continue that centuries-old tradition, bringing a taste of the Caribbean to this famous city, courtesy of their sublimely smooth and softly spiced rum. A harmonious fusion of far-off spices and homegrown endeavour, each gloriously golden drop is expertly blended and bottled right here in Scotland’s capital.This mix of flavours results in a classic “sweet and salty” taste (a version of salted caramel). The 45 is then aged in a bourbon/whisky cask, one that has been used for years in the US bourbon craft and subsequently more years in Scotch whisky distilling. This finish brings together the flavours of Scotland and the USA and in an unfiltered, real rum. Glasgow’s first Rum Distillery in over 300 years was opened by Wester Spirit Co. The Wester premium spiced rum is “made the old fashioned way in the west end of Glasgow” and was started in 2018 by Zander Macgregor and Allan Nairn. Made in small batches using traditional ingredients and small pot stills.

This is a single-cask limited-edition Banditti Club Glasgow Spiced Rum. It is aged and spiced like the rum above, but instead of cutting it down with water, this one has spent another 18 months in a cask previously used for Glasgow 1770 Peated Single Malt. The cask brings a layer of smokiness into the spirit. Smoky Rogues is bottled at a higher ABV of 52.2%. Only 390 delicious bottles were made available. Banditti Club Glasgow Spiced Rum launched in 2018 and has since received a Gold Medal at the 2020 London Spirits Competition and 2021 Spirits Business Rum & Cachaca Masters. The Banditti Club Port Cask finish, which launched in early 2022, has recently been awarded a Gold Medal at The World Rum Awards.Nose Sweet, molasses and spice a real musky aftershave/perfume hit that reminds me of my youth and queuing to get into nightclubs, Christmas fruitcake, orange peel, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, marzipan and icing, sage & apple combo (stuffing)

The Matugga distillery was established in 2018 by husband and wife team Jacine and Paul Rutasikwa, who had been selling their range of rums since 2015. Aberdeen-based Ardent Spirits, an independent bottling company, recently launched an exclusive ‘Sea Shanty rum’ with proceeds going to Aberdeen RNLI. The Original combines the finest Scottish barley and the exceptionally pure water of Loch Katrine to create the finest spirit and is handcrafted in copper pot stills Banditti Club Smoky Rogues is a testament to our ever-expanding range of innovative small batch releases and the creativity of our team, who continue to push the realms of flavour experimentation in spirit making. This new expression joins our Port Cask Finished expression of Banditti Club, which was our first foray into these experimental rum releases. The reception has been fantastic and we have more releases planned for the future.”

Collin van Schayk is the Director and Head Distiller at J Gow Rum and VS Distillers in Orkney, Scotland. Named after Orkneys very own 18th century pirate John Gow, J. Gow Rum Distillery sits metres away from the sea on Lamb Holm, a 0.15 square mile uninhabited island, making it (probably) the smallest rum producing island in the world. Made at Ogilvy Spirits, the fermentation of the cane molasses (the spirit’s base ingredient) is done at low temperature for four weeks using both rum and champagne yeast, which gives this drink its unusual flavour profile.