New Arrival of the Week: Rump@blic rum range

The Rump@blic rum range has just landed at Master of Malt! Just in time for National Daiquiri Day (in the States, anyway, but there’s no reason we can’t mix one up ourselves, is there?).

Rump@blic Origins Ghana/Eswatini
Rump@blic Origins Spain/Venezuela
Rump@blic Origins Thailand/Phillippines
Rump@blic Jamaican Sicilian Legacy

Introducing Rump@blic rum

Now, first thing’s first, it’s pronounced ‘rum-public’. I don’t quite understand the @ sign either.

The press release explains that the sugarcane route inspires the brand and that Rump@blic wants to create “The Republic of Rum”. This is defined as a place “without boundaries… to discover unique rums with diverse identities, distillation and ageing techniques.”

The brand comes from Illva Saronno subsidiary Disaronno International UK, distributors of global spirits Tia Maria, Busker Irish Whiskey, Engine Gin, and – of course – Disaronno. This is its first foray into rum, which took place in France and Italy in 2022 with different products as far as I can tell than what arrived in the UK in July. 

The launch is divided in two, with a one-off single batch expression called Sicilian Legacy (part of an evolving series) and then the Origins range, which traces rum’s global heritage with blends from “The Rum Belt” and renowned rum-making areas. The brand also has the Mixology range, which isn’t in the UK (at least for now) and a previous Sicilian Legacy expression from Barbados (the one we have is from Jamaica). 

There aren’t many new stories left to tell for startup rum brands unless they want to divide up the remaining untrademarked pirates and be done with it, so history becomes a fertile ground for inspiration. But what is the history Rump@blic is digging into? Well, the whole history of rum, apparently. With a geographical slant. Let’s summarise as succinctly as we can. 

The history of the Rum-public 

The history of rum is the history of sugarcane, a plant belonging to the Graminaceae family, which also includes oats, rice, and corn. It originated in Papua New Guinea, India, Indonesia and the Philippines in Southern and Eastern Asia and has been cultivated since 6000 BC. The troops of Alexander the Great brought cane from Asia to the Mediterranean via Persia, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily, using its byproduct – molasses – as horse food. When the routes of colonisation were established in 15th century Central and South America, sugarcane came with them as it thrives anywhere with ample water and a humid, warm environment. There it became the basis for an entire agro-industry. 

By the 16th century, European colonization and the triangular trade were in effect and slaves were shipped to work sugarcane plantations. Molasses began to be made into a crude spirit but, over the next couple of centuries, progressive improvement of distillation techniques and the appreciation of ageing in wood led to the foundation of the early rum industry. By the mid-19th century, the column still arrives and with it the ability to distil alcohol at high ABV and in large quantities. Fast forward to Prohibition and the Great Depression, Cuban rum fills a gap left by whisky then the post-war period sees Tiki evolve as a wider push for escapism. Blended rums that were light and approachable became vogue, but before that, the distinct styles of rum made in different parts of the world had a more defining effect. 

The rum world was a result of colonial trade and so the classification of rum followed in that vain, separating the spirit into three styles: Spanish, English, and French. The former entailed rums from Spanish-speaking countries of Central and Latin America like Cuba or the Dominican Republic and were made from molasses, or “miel virgen de caña” that were typically distilled in column stills to create “lighter” styles. Caribbean territories under British domination led the English style, think Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana (Demerara) or Trinidad and Tobago. These were also molasses rums but more often distilled in pot still, or traditional columns that were more full-bodied. The French style rums originated from the French Antilles, countries with a French-speaking tradition in the Caribbean area like Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante as well as Haiti, Réunion and Mauritius. These were usually made from fresh sugar cane juice, giving it a vegetal quality in what we know now to be Agricole Rhum. 

Rump@blic Origins

In our Different Types of Rum guide, we discuss the outmoded colonial categorisations as they’re reductive in both the way they group countries by what they produce and who they credit for making them. Seeing Rump@blic’s press materials focus on these styles and lead with a broader geographical understanding of rum was something of a red flag, but pleasingly it shies away from that in favour of a more nuanced approach, contextualising this dark history and focusing on a more direct sense of place combined with a transparency for production and bottling.

The Origins series features rums that reflect how geography shaped the rum trade without whitewashing it, intending to be more of a melting pot of rum, one characterised by focusing on distinctive distillation techniques, and the ageing methods of each country they are rooted. Each bottle is signed with its country of origin’s geographical coordinates, as well as a Rump@blic travel stamp as a means of transporting people through the world of rum and its complex, multicultural contemporary environment. Everything is bottled in Sicily under the supervision of Marsala masters Florio, but we’ll get to that. 

First, let’s take a look at our original Origins lineup. There’s Rump@blic Origins Ghana/Eswatini, a blend of 55% unaged Ghanaian pot still rum distilled from cane juice and 45% unaged eSawatini column still rum distilled from molasses. We’ve got coordinates too: Ghana 06.904°N/02.608°W; eSwatini 26.571°S/31.561°E. Fun. It’s said to have a “balanced aromatic taste with peppery notes and slightly spicy hints”.

Rump@blic Origins Spain/Venezuela is a blend of two molasses rums aged for three years, one from Spain (36.889°N/03.402°W) and one from Venezuela (10.345°N/67.239°W). The blend is 75% column still Spanish and 25% Venezuelan pot still rum. Its profile is “aromatic and structured taste with floral hints”. 

Finally, Rump@blic Origins Thailand/Phillippines is a blend of 25% Thai rum, aged between 4-23 Years and distilled from molasses, with 75% unaged column still Philippine rum distilled from juice. The coordinates are Thailand (14.130°N/100.523°E) and Philippines (14.607°N/120.985°E). Maybe I should get into maps. Sounds geeky and fun. Expect this one to be “smooth and round with a spicy touch… and a liquorice aftertaste”.

Rump@blic Sicilian Legacy

Alongside Origins, there’s Rump@blic Sicilian Legacy series. Who wants some more history? Sure you do. Remember when we talked about Florio in Sicily? Well, that story goes back to 1773, when John Woodhouse landed in Marsala, Sicily and fell in love with the wine. He added alcohol to bring it back to England and viola, Marsala was born. Benjamin Ingham also got a taste and swapped Yorkshire for Palermo in 1806 to start producing and marketing Marsala. Then in 1833, Vicenzo Florio founded a company after his name and in doing so, Florio became the first Italian company to produce Marsala. Between 1924 and 1929, Cinzano from Piedmont took over the historic houses of Woodhouse, Ingham, and Whitaker, creating one company that now also bottles Rump@blic and lends casks for maturation. 

Specifically, Marsala casks. While the rum will change with each release, for every Rump@blic Sicilian Legacy line, the master of the Florio Cellars will choose a Marsala cask and where in the cellar it ages to let the environment (like that sweet Mediterranean sea breeze) do its thing.  The Rump@blic Sicilian Legacy Line is the only rum aged in Marsala barrels with product continuity and has access to a cellar with a hell of a knowledge base. Everything is done in small batches for annual releases which contain no sugar, caramel, or additional flavours and explain exactly how they’re made on the label. 

The first release came from Barbados and that’s all sold out now. In the UK, our first taste of the Sicilian Legacy series is Rump@blic Jamaican Sicilian Legacy. It’s a blend of Jamaican pot still rum aged in bourbon casks for three years and an unaged Jamaican column still rum, both distilled from molasses. It was then finished in Florio Marsala casks for six months and bottled at 43% ABV. It’s tropical, rich, and unlike many rums you’ve had before.

So there you have it. You can buy the Rump@blic rum range now.

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