Flavoured and spiced to replace white as favourite rum style in UK off-trade

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 30 April, 2019

Flavoured and spiced rums are storming their way to becoming the most drunk style of rum in the off-trade, and could be the most sold style in the UK by the end of the year.

The prediction, made by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), is based on the fast paced sales of flavoured and spiced rums, which totalled almost 10 million bottles in the last 12 months.

This is just over half a million bottles fewer than white rum, which is currently the most popular rum in shops and supermarkets.

Once associated with low quality mixing spirits, flavoured and spiced rums have been boosted by the movement for handcrafted, quality drinks in recent years, and popularised by the likes of The Kraken, Sailor Jerry’s and Captain Morgan.

“If crafted as a premium sipping rum with an innovative flavour profile, spiced rum can become an accessible alternative for spirit drinkers with more refined tastes as well as a new, exciting luxury drink for those exploring the rum world,” Dan Buckland, co-founder, Drum & Black Rum Co. said.

“It’s been another great year for rum sales in the UK,” Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA added. “British drinkers have more choice than ever before when it comes to rum. Craft spirits are ‘of the moment’, and an increasing number of artisanal spirits producers are crafting their own interpretations of the spirit - often alongside their gin range.”

Last year, domestic rum sales netted £1 billion from 35 million bottles, while the number of rum brands has risen from 50 in 2006 to nearly 200 in 2019.

Combined, white and flavoured / spiced rums were worth £137 million in 2018.

Golden rum is still the most popular choice for drinkers in the on-trade: sales of golden rum were worth £374 million in 2018, a 7% increase on the previous year.

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