Beverages

5 South African Craft Rums You Need to Try

Local is lekker!

Published

6 years ago

March 7, 2018

The rise of craft gin has been a rather exciting and rewarding trend to witness – countless local small distilleries have popped up in South Africa and we’ve been blessed with some spectacular gins over the last few years. The great news is there’s more to come and in 2018 we can expect a new spirit to step into the limelight – rum! Not just for pirates, rum is gearing up to be the next big thing in SA and beyond. Make sure you look out for all sorts of local craft rums in restaurants and on bottle store shelves in the next few months but in the meantime here are 5 delightful local craft rums you should try out:

1. Inverroche 7-Year-Old African Blackstrap Rum

This aged rum is perfect for those who prefer more bitter cocktails with coffee and savoury notes rather than sweet and sugary. Inverroche Distillery based in Stilbaai releases just 1500 bottles of this seven-year-old African Blackstrap Rum twice a year.

Visit the Inverroche website for more details about visiting the distillery for tasting tours.

2. Copeland White Rum

The most recent local craft rum on the market is already an award-winner! Copeland Rum also has more spicy notes based on the flavour notes of fynbos. The best thing in our opinion? This is the prettiest bottle we’ve ever seen!

Say hi to the Copeland Rum team on Facebook.

3. Durbanville Distillery Rum

This distillery uses a cold distillation vacuum process, which saves electricity while creating amazing flavours. The white rum has been aged in barrels at a wine estate to form dark, spicy rums which have been recently launched on the market in September last year.

Find out more about the distillation process and where to buy this spirit by visiting the Durbanville Distillery website.

4. Rhino Rum

Launched just early this year, this brand is making a name for itself as Port Elizabeth’s first craft distillery. This month, owner Eugene Coertzen is launching a spiced rum – “South Africans have not truly experienced rum yet”, he says!

Find out more out this hidden gem here.

5. Time Anchor Rum

This super cool brand is known for its flavoured rums as well as typical white rums. Expect flavours like Cocoa Rum made with roasted cocoa beans and Vanilla Rum, which is double distilled and bottled with Madagascan vanilla pods. The distillery also has plans to release a limited-edition aged rum next winter.

Time Anchor is open on Saturdays and Sundays for tours and tastings (booking required. For more information, check out their website.