Revelling in the rum renaissance

There’s a rum renaissance going on. Right here in Scotland!

Along with Scotland Food & Drink, Burness Paull sponsored The Scottish Rum Festival which took place at Patina in Edinburgh last Saturday, kicking off Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight. This was the first in-person festival since previous virtual festivals presented online during lockdown, and celebrated the hard work of local producers in this exciting and embryonic drinks category. To see rum enthusiasts and first-timers come together to mix with those so clearly thrilled to share the stories of their brands was fantastic and there was a real buzz in the room.

Thanks to good friend to the firm Jacine Rutasikwa of Matugga Rum, I was absolutely delighted to be asked to join the keynote panel session alongside Ross Bradley of Sugar House Rum, Ben Inglis, Head Distiller at Islay Rum, and Jamie Shields, Director at The Summerhall Drinks Lab, to speak about the importance of protecting Scottish Rum and the option of establishing a distinct and protectable reputation for a product originating from an area like Harris Tweed or obtaining a Geographical Indication along the lines of Scotch Whisky or Stornoway Black Pudding.

Geographical indications are a useful way for an industry to safeguard its reputation, ensuring anyone trading on its name possesses the qualities and standards that are synonymous with that origin and sense of place. With a growing number of premium Scottish rum brands entering the market, it’s an area that we as sector specialists should recognise, support and protect.

It was a stimulating and productive discussion. There was a real sense of community and collaboration amongst the Scottish rum producers at the event and the positive energy and excitement about what could be achieved was palpable.

On the panel, we discussed the unique features of Scottish Rum which are worthy of protection for future generations.  The sense of place that it has in Scotland.  Not just our Scottish water, the maritime climate for maturing the product in cask in Scotland, but, perhaps most importantly, the wealth of talent and skills that we have in Scotland, many of whom were trained at the world-renowned Brewing and Distilling course at Heriot-Watt University.  Of course we also draw from centuries of experience in the Scotch whisky sector, an industry with which we’re heavily involved at Burness Paull.

With that proud legacy to learn from, the future is bright for Scottish Rum.