From Sailors to Sippers: How Rum Became Britain’s Most Interesting Spirit

For three centuries, rum was a sailor’s drink. The Royal Navy issued a daily rum ration to its sailors from 1655 until 31 July 1970, a day known in naval circles as Black Tot Day. For a long stretch of that history, Britain was the world’s biggest rum-drinking nation. Then, somewhere around the 1980s, rum slipped quietly into the back of the cupboard, alongside the holiday souvenirs and the Christmas Baileys, while gin and whisky took over the front of the shelf.

That story has changed in the last decade. Modern rum is a different drink: barrel-aged, regionally specific, sometimes Caribbean and sometimes Scottish, sipped neat from a tumbler rather than mixed with cola. It is currently the fastest-growing premium spirit category globally, and the UK is once again starting to pay attention.

This is a friendly UK guide to where rum has gone, what to buy in 2026, and how to drink it properly. We’ve put it together drawing on years of helping customers at our independent shop in Portobello, Edinburgh, many of them coming in for their first bottle of proper aged rum and not quite knowing where to start. The good news is that rum rewards a small bit of curiosity, just like sherry or vermouth before it.

The British connection (a brief, honest history)

Britain’s relationship with rum goes back nearly four hundred years. The Royal Navy ration started as a substitute for the spoiled beer and water of long sea voyages, eventually becoming a tradition that lasted until 1970. For most of those centuries, rum was Britain’s everyday spirit. The country drank more of it than gin, more than whisky, more than anything else.

It’s also worth saying clearly that rum’s history is tied to the colonial sugar trade, the brutal history of Caribbean plantations and the transatlantic slave trade. Modern Caribbean producers are increasingly open about that history, and the contemporary premium rum movement has, in part, been led by Caribbean distilleries reclaiming their craft on their own terms.

The colonial trade also created the regional rum styles we still drink today. English-influenced islands like Jamaica and Barbados developed rich, full-bodied, pot-still rums. Spanish-influenced islands like Cuba and the Dominican Republic made lighter, smoother rums. French-influenced islands like Martinique and Guadeloupe developed rhum agricole, made from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses. Each has its own personality, its own use, and its own loyal following.

What is rum, exactly?

Rum is a spirit distilled from sugarcane, either from fresh sugarcane juice (the French rhum agricole style) or, more commonly, from molasses, the dark syrup left over after sugar is refined. It is then aged in barrel, sometimes for a few months, sometimes for decades, before bottling.

The colour and character come from the ageing. Unaged rum (sometimes called white rum) is clear, light, and used mostly for cocktails. Aged rum picks up gold to deep amber colour, plus flavours of vanilla, caramel, dried fruit and oak from the barrel. The longer it ages, the richer it gets, though tropical ageing in the Caribbean works faster than European ageing because of the heat.

You will also see spiced rum, where botanicals (vanilla, cinnamon, citrus peel, sometimes sea botanicals) are added during or after distillation, and flavoured rum, where a specific fruit or ingredient is infused into the spirit. Our rum collection covers the main styles plus a few more unusual smaller producers.

Four bottles that show what modern rum can do

A customer came in last month asking for something to replace his Christmas Baileys. He wanted a bottle he could pour after dinner with a couple of friends, no cocktail-making involved. We sent him home with an aged sipping rum. He came back a week later for a spiced rum (his partner had liked it), and the week after for a white rum (he’d discovered he could actually make a Mojito at home). Three bottles, three completely different drinking experiences, all properly rum.

Here are four bottles, each representing a different face of modern rum.

For Mojitos and Daiquiris: Plantation Three Stars

White rum is the foundation of the modern cocktail era. The Mojito, the Daiquiri, the Piña Colada and the Cuba Libre are all built on it. Plantation Three Stars is specifically blended for these drinks: rums from Trinidad (elegant), Barbados (rich) and 12-year-old Jamaican (deep), giving it more character than a plain white rum without losing the bright freshness cocktails need. Planteray White Rum Three Stars is the bottle to buy if you make rum cocktails at all regularly. It quietly does a lot of work.

For sipping: Planteray Isle of Fiji

Modern premium rum is built for sipping. Aged in a barrel, served neat or over a single ice cube, slowly, the way you would drink a good whisky. Planteray Isle of Fiji is made from Fijian sugarcane, first aged in bourbon casks in the tropical Pacific heat, then sailed to the south-west of France for a second ageing in French oak. The result is warm, slightly tropical, with notes of exotic fruit, raisin and gentle spice. Planteray Isle of Fiji is the bottle that shows what aged rum actually is, and why people are starting to treat it like cognac.

For something genuinely different: Plantation Pineapple Stiggins Fancy

Flavoured rum can be a gimmick (anything banana-coloured in a supermarket), but the best examples are properly interesting. Plantation Pineapple Stiggins Fancy is the benchmark for the category. The rinds of Queen Victoria pineapples are infused with Plantation 3 Stars white rum and then pot-distilled, while the flesh is infused into Plantation Original Dark rum for three months. The two are then blended together. Real pineapple, real rum, no syrup. Plantation Pineapple Stiggins Fancy is brilliant over ice or as the base of a properly grown-up Piña Colada.

For the British angle: Downpour Hebridean Spiced Rum

Here is where the modern rum story takes an unexpected turn. Spiced rum is no longer a Caribbean monopoly. Downpour Hebridean Spiced Rum is made by North Uist Distillery, on a small island in the Outer Hebrides, using a Caribbean rum base infused with botanicals foraged on North Uist: wild thyme, pepper dulse seaweed, pineapple weed. It is properly Scottish in character and properly rum in execution. Downpour Hebridean Spiced Rum is the bottle that proves rum is no longer just a Caribbean drink, and probably the most interesting British rum being made today.

How to drink rum properly

Three things to know.

Glassware. Sipping rum is best drunk from a small tumbler or a brandy glass, something that lets you swirl and smell. Cocktails get whatever glass the drink calls for: a tall glass for Mojitos, a coupe for Daiquiris.

Temperature. Aged sipping rum is best at room temperature or just below. White rum for cocktails should be cold, straight from the fridge. Spiced rum sits comfortably in either, though it tends to be more aromatic at room temperature.

With or without. Aged rum is best drunk neat, or with a single large ice cube and a small piece of orange or lemon peel. White rum is built for mixing. Spiced rum splits the difference: lovely with ginger ale and a slice of lime, equally good in a hot toddy or a winter punch.

Common questions about rum

Is rum made from sugar?

Yes. Rum is distilled from sugarcane, either from fresh sugarcane juice (the French rhum agricole style) or, more commonly, from molasses, the dark syrup left over after sugar is refined.

What is the difference between white, dark and spiced rum?

White rum is unaged or briefly aged then filtered clear, used mostly in cocktails. Dark rum is aged in barrels, sometimes for years, picking up colour and rich flavours of vanilla, caramel and dried fruit. Spiced rum is rum with botanicals added (vanilla, cinnamon, citrus peel, sometimes sea botanicals), giving it a warmer, sweeter character.

Can you drink rum neat?

Yes, and aged premium rums are designed to be drunk that way. Pour a small measure into a tumbler or brandy glass, swirl, smell, sip slowly. Treat it the way you would treat a good whisky. A single large ice cube or a piece of citrus peel is optional.

What is the best rum for a Mojito?

A good white rum. Mojitos need a rum that lets the mint, lime and sugar shine through rather than dominating them. Plantation Three Stars or another well-made Caribbean white rum is ideal. Avoid using aged or spiced rum for a Mojito; it overwhelms the cocktail’s freshness.

How long does rum keep once opened?

Indefinitely, more or less. Unlike wine or vermouth, rum is a spirit and does not oxidise quickly. An opened bottle kept somewhere cool, dark and tightly sealed will hold its flavour for years. Cream-based rum liqueurs are different and should be refrigerated and used within six months.

A final thought

Rum has come a long way from the Royal Navy ration. Today’s category covers everything from a clean Caribbean white built for cocktails to a richly aged tropical sipper, a serious flavoured rum like Pineapple Stiggins, and a properly Scottish spiced rum from a North Uist distillery. Britain’s relationship with the spirit is getting interesting again.

If you’d like to explore further, our wider spirits range covers the gins, whiskies, vermouths and bitters that pair with these rums in classic cocktails. We’re an independent shop in Portobello, Edinburgh, and we ship across the UK. Please drink responsibly.