Deep down in the dark recesses of the spirits-loving community there is an underworld devoted to the appreciation of rum

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 15:54

Could the drink more associated with Caribbean pirates than connoisseurs give the whisky market a run for its money?

Deep down in the dark recesses of the spirits-loving community there is an underworld devoted to the appreciation of rum. Before now, I never had a reason to venture into their world. It was, I presumed, a culture dominated by the sweet flavours associated with sugar cane, names such as Cockspur and Watson's, mythical tales from the Caribbean and of course pirates. Apart from the dark, treacly stuff found at the back of the parents' drinks cabinet with a vague association to the Royal Navy and the transparent mixer dominated by Bacardi, rum had never really excited my taste buds.

But recently the category, that awful expression so beloved by drinks executives, has come into its own.

Most notable is the number of Scotch whisky distillers eager to get a foothold in the rum market. First we had Edrington, the maker of Famous Grouse, splashing out tens of millions for its very own rum brand, Brugal. Diageo, the world's largest drinks producer, has its own growing rum portfolio headed up by Captain Morgan and last month William Grant's, makers of Glenfiddich, announced that a huge swathe of its profits came from its rum brand Sailor Jerry. Has the world gone rum mad?

Some would say it has. It's a little known secret that Diageo's strategy department have been eyeing the growing rum market as a potential rival to Scotch. Some predict it could be even bigger. But it wasn't the potential market that caught my attention – it was the role Scots played in its history.

Over in Islay, Mark Reynier owner of Bruichladdich distillery, has been bottling small parcels of Caribbean-acquired rum for a few years. Mark has also been delving into the history of the drink.

"Many sugar estates were set up by Scots," says Reynier. "The catalyst was the The Act of Union between the Scottish and English parliaments in 1707. This precipitated a slew of young Scotsmen rushing to the Caribbean to make quick fortunes as slave masters, planters, slave doctors and administrators before the introduction of the Slave Trade Act a century later in 1807."

A quick look at the number of Scottish names in Jamaica such as Campbell, Douglas, Ferguson, McDonald and Scott testify to this. Reynier also points out that William Harvey, the founder of Bruichladdich Distillery in 1881, was a sugar trader.

"Rum," says Reynier, "one could argue, has therefore been steeped in shame, the convergence of commercial interests, slave exploitation and disreputable consumers."

Today of course, with the big drinks companies on board, you are more likely to drink rum distilled on the moon as you are to hear it mentioned in the same breath as slavery. They prefer to promote its taste and suitability as an upmarket digestif.

What of that? Well, before we critique its taste, it's worth recapping the process involved in its production. Rum is a spirit made from sugar cane, a very long grass brought to the Caribbean from the Azores by Christopher Columbus. Kingsley Amis once remarked that the sign of a serious spirit was whether one could drink it neat or with a little water. Rum can certainly be drunk neat and jolly nice it is too but it will never have the intellectual stimulus provoked by a good Scotch whisky. Its many fans will no doubt disagree.

Sailor Jerry, 43 per cent, US Virgin Islands, 17.95

Smooth and spicy with gentle vanilla undertones. This is based on the customised rums that sailors used to create.

Brugal Anejo Rum, 38 per cent, Dominican Republic, 21.95

A more serious proposition with notes of sweet varnish, vanilla and a little spice. In the mouth it has a savoury kick but is very smooth.

Black Rock 2000 Renegade Rum, 46 per cent, Jamaica, 34.95

A very different rum altogether from the boys at Bruichladdich. Sourced by head distiller Jim McEwan, it's then aged in wine barrels back on Islay. Wacky.

STOCKISTS Royal Mile Whiskies (0131-524 9380, www.royalmilewhiskies.com); The Whisky Shop (01463 710525, www.whisky shop.com); Gordon & MacPhail (01343 545111, www.gordonandmacphail.com); Waitrose; Tesco; Sainsbury's

• This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on 22 November 2009.