Rob Whitehead has the unique pleasure of sourcing the world’s best spirits for us, and there’s one style he believes is woefully overlooked: rum. From the rich and fruity to the refined and elegant, the world of rum is every bit as fascinating and varied as whisky. Here, he tells us why he loves rum so much, and why you should too.  

Being the Spirits Buyer at Berry Bros. & Rudd is my immense pleasure and privilege. It means I get to work with some of the greatest, most respected and best-loved distilleries in the world. I don’t take that lightly.  

Rum is the least explored of the truly great spirits categories. Part of my role is about finding new, smaller and lesser-known producers, alongside the superstars – giving them the love they deserve alongside our other wonderful categories. The world of rum is full of all sorts of producers, right across the spectrum. There are distilleries that have been operating for centuries; others for mere months. There are distilleries operating on truly epic scales of production, fermenting millions of litres; and there are distilleries operating out of sheds and converted stable blocks, garages and farmhouses.  

The rum distillery is where the craft and work of the distiller is paramount. There are so many incredible visionaries creating beautiful products tied to the land, keeping as much of that terroir, that soul of the place – trying to translate that from the local sugarcane as closely as possible into the finished drink. But there are also passionate makers producing fine rum thousands of miles away from where it’s even possible to grow sugarcane. 

Neither is better or worse, neither is fundamentally the only and correct way to do things. Both have the propensity to make truly world class spirits. The rules surrounding rum production are generally fairly loose, and that allows for a wonderful combination of strict traditional expressions and maverick experimentation right across the globe. There is nothing to stop anyone, anywhere, buying some molasses and making rum – and that’s what makes it all so thrilling.  

Over my time working in this ever-blossoming industry, I’ve found rum to be full of fascinating and welcoming producers. Everywhere I go, from Guyana to Stevenage, I’ve found committed, passionate people – wanting to share their home, their heritage, their ideas, their stories.  

Rum can be as great and as versatile as any other drink in the world. Styles range from the unaged and spiced to truly fine, top-quality stuff on a par with the world’s most exquisite spirits. After nearly two decades of my time here, the world of fine rum has very gently and slowly started opening up. More people every year are doing exceptional work. There’s just so much to explore. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.  

Three favourites  

Foursquare, 15-Year-Old, Berry Bros. & Rudd Private Cask Selection, Barbados  

Richard Seale and his team are arguably some of the best rum distillers in the world. Richard has this incredibly mysterious, mercurial genius when it comes to selecting the casks to put together to create a beautiful bottle – and this 15-Year-Old is just impeccable. It’s rum at its most elegant, its most beautifully coiffured and manicured. It’s pristinely made with intelligent production, but with real love for the place and the molasses; real care and attention to what a Barbados rum should be. This is truly the work of a brilliant maker.  

El Dorado, Berry Bros. & Rudd Exclusive Cask, 9-Year-Old Rum, Guyana  

Diamond Distillery is the only commercial distillery in Guyana. Here, rums are made in a range of styles: some light, others incredibly dense and rich – with everything in between. What’s interesting here is that they are, unlike some rum distilleries, creating rums on different stills, with different characters. Sean, Sharon and the team here are making incredible spirits with this range of styles. They then put them together and age them in cask, as opposed to ageing each independently. This 9-Year-Old is deep, dark and full of pruney, figgy, chocolatey notes. We have macerated cherries. We have sack loads of spice. We have gooey, treacley toffee – stuff just landing and sticking to the palate. It’s maddeningly complex. Extraordinary distillation, beautiful blending.   

Berry Bros. & Rudd Jamaica Rum  

Jamaica has a reputation among rum lovers for producing the most characterful and funky styles of rum – much like Islay has among whisky-lovers. This is from Clarendon Estate, who make high-ester, smoky, fascinating expressions. It has a classic Jamaican character: overripe, almost rotten, fruit; gooey, crushed-in-your-hand stone fruits; orchard and citrus fruits; charred, toasted spices. We have thick cane molasses and treacle. It feels impure, far from pristine. This is mucky stuff, but my gosh, it’s wonderful.