Is Rum the New Gin?

The gin craze exploded in the UK over the past five years and has been skyrocketing ever since. It is now rivalling vodka as the UK’s most popular spirit of choice.

Even a global pandemic and several national lockdowns has not been able to put a halt on gins popularity. HMRC figures for 2020 show a dramatic increase in the number of new distilleries registered in the UK. The number has grown by over 100 in 12 months.

The Rise of Rum

The WSTA crowned rum the ‘drink of lockdown’. Their latest figures show that rum enjoyed the biggest growth across all spirits during the past twelve months.

In the 3 months from April to June 2020, 38% more rum was sold than in the same period in 2019, equating to an extra 1.3 million bottles sold.

We are seeing existing companies making the move into distilling. Such as the introduction of the Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum that is produced by BrewDog Distillery.

The pandemic is also aiding this growth as some investors have looked to diversify by launching new and innovative spirits that build on the quantity of what is already being offered.

Flavoured Rum

In 2019 four out of five rum drinkers would mix their rum with some form of cola or diet cola, according to data from CGA. Distilleries have been able to exploit this gap in the market with the introduction of flavoured rum.

Like the emergence of flavoured gin, we are now seeing a dramatic increase in flavoured rum.

Dead Mans Fingers, which is distilled in Cornwall offer a wide range of flavours, from passion fruit through to a zingy lime.

Welsh distillery Barti, have also burst onto the scene with a Caribbean, spiced rum, infused with seaweed from the Pembrokeshire coast line. They suggest trying it mixed with cloudy apple or ginger beer.

Our Verdict

While we are huge fans of the rumolution and agree it is one to watch. We think it will take a few years yet for rum to knock gin off its perch!