OPINION: Rum, a true outlier?

OPINION: Rum, a true outlier?

Rum allows distillers to show off their creativity, so why is it an outlier in the spirits pack?

Thoughts from... | 18 Oct 2024 | Issue 203 | By Liza Weisstuch

  • Share to:

George Clooney, Nick Jonas, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Rita Ora, Eva Longoria, and Lebron James are just a few of the stars who’ve started or joined forces with Tequila brands. That partial list doesn’t even begin to compare with the catalogue of celebs who’ve hitched their names to whisky’s star: Metallica, Bob Dylan, Nick Offerman, Rod Stewart, Matthew McConaughey, David Beckham, Conor McGregor, and the latest entrant into the spirit industry’s bar of fame, Queen B herself. There’s gin from Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dogg, vodka from 50 Cent, and Cognac from Jay-Z. And who can forget Mariah Carey’s line-up of cream liqueurs?

 

But in the star-spangled liquor aisles, there’s a conspicuous absence. Where is all the rum? With the exception of Bruno Mars and Kenny Chesney, the amount of star power pushing everything but rum makes it feel like there’s an effort to keep it out of the spotlight. I always find myself asking: aren’t there more celebrities confident enough in their fame to go rogue and get their fans to discover a product with a different cool quotient?

 

I’ve been thinking about rum a lot lately. It happens a few times a year — usually whenever the seasons change. When summer arrives, I shift into a tropical mind frame, and succumb to Daiquiri daydreams and tiki fever dreams. When the cooler temps set in, I sometimes opt for a rich, aged rum in a Manhattan over a zesty rye. I live in a New York City apartment, so I don’t have a fireplace, but I can easily cosy up in front of the fireplace of my imagination with a snifter of enigmatic Panamanian or Venezuelan rum. The fragrant, mysterious essence of Latin nights warms my heart and tempts my better judgements.

 

Rum is undoubtedly one of the more versatile spirits. Perhaps this has resulted in it being a case study of how something’s greatest asset can also be its Achilles’ heel. Each of its hallmark cocktails are equally known and beloved in the popular conscious. This is unlike how Tequila is widely associated with the Margarita and gin with the Martini and Negroni.

 

Nobody can take away from the nuances and distinct beauty of every bourbon or single malt or mezcal, but at least there’s a connective thread. They are variations on a theme — and by ‘theme’ I mean legally established production parameters. These categories are easier to explain, and understand, than rum. Rum has a Wild West aspect to it. It’s made anywhere. Few, if any, regulations dictate production. Maybe the lack of clarity contributes to the perception that it’s just a cheap rogue spirit. Or maybe it’s that many people’s first — and lasting — impression of rum is cloying flavoured varieties or as a companion to Coke. The numbers bear that out. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, super-premium rum accounts for three per cent of the volume of sales in the country. Compare that with 18 per cent for American whiskey sales, and 25 per cent for Tequila and mezcal.

 

Despite it all, dogged, passionate distillers love to make rum and share it. We needn’t look further for evidence than the mecca of Scotch production, Islay. This summer, I visited the delightfully scrappy Islay Rum Company, founded by local Ben Ingles and the Vintage Malt Whisky Company. He started distilling in 2022, and now has several products, including a peat-spiced rum, and an expression aged in ex-Islay-malt barrels. He acknowledges the lax regulations — when there are any — and the perception that rum is a party drink, but he’s more interested in how it can express a sense of place. The freedoms that the lack of strict regulations allow thrill him. He says the resulting variances are more akin to global wines than whiskies.

 

“What drew me to rum was the vast expressions you have,” he tells me. “There are rums all over the world, all from the same base material, but all different. I wanted to know what Islay rum could be like. What should the house flavour be? It’s exciting to see our own identity emerging and to compare it with wonderful rums from all over the world.”

 

Taking a sip of the unique, slightly smoky barrel-aged rum, I wholeheartedly agreed. 

Magazine Archive

From the archive

Select an issue

Subscribe Now

Subscriptions for
Whisky Magazine are available
in print, digital or as a
complete package

The Benefits

8 print editions a year

Enjoy the convenience of home delivery

Full access to every digital edition via desktop, iOS or Android device

Latest Issue Subscribe Now

The Whisky Encyclopedia - Coming Soon 2024

Discover the world of whisky with our comprehensive encyclopedia
Featuring companies, distilleries, brands, glossaries, and cocktails

Join The Community

Sign up to the Whisky Magazine
newsletter letter and get access to the latest
in all things whisky

paragraph publishing ltd.   Copyright © 2024 all rights reserved.   Website by Acora One

Consent Preferences