7 Indian rums for your bar

Pitbull Rum, Rs 800, Mumbai and Pune; Short Story White Rum, Rs 1,950; Plantation 3 Stars, Rs 3,400/3,500 in Mumbai.

To a lot of people in India, rum translates to Old Monk. But over the last two-odd years, a bunch of small-batch rums have appeared on the shelves. On World Rum Day, we get you acquainted with the best of the lot.

Mesma Barrel-Aged Rum

If you are in Goa anytime soon, do yourself a favour and pick up a bottle of Mesma. The rum is the latest offering from Stilldistilling Spirits, which also makes Maka Zai rum. Mesma, though, is different because it is barrel-aged – in ex-bourbon casks – for about five years. Mesma makes for a lovely, aromatic sipping rum and could work really well, in, say, a Dark Daiquiri. It is crisp, just the right amount of light, and has a lovely mouthfeel. The limited-edition release is only available in Goa.

Rs 3,600

Plantation Rum

You never really go wrong with a Plantation Rum. Owned by French brand Maison Ferrand, the rum was launched in India last year by Goa-based Third Eye Distillery. On offer is Plantation 3 Stars, a white rum that is blended from aged and unaged rums from Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica, and the Plantation Original Dark, which is made of rums that are aged and blended in the Caribbean and then double aged in France.

Rs 3,400/Rs 3,500, in Mumbai

Camikara Rum

In April this year, Camikara Rum became the first Indian rum to bag a gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. The limited-edition rum, which shone in the 11- to 15-year category, is India’s first pure cane juice rum, and the IWSC judges had many nice things to say about it. The rhum agricol-ish Camikara is produced by Piccadily Distilleries, which also produces Indri whisky, and has been matured for 12 years in American oak casks. If you’ve never gone down the rhum agricole route, Camikara is as good a place as any to start.

Rs 5,800, in Haryana

Segredo Aldeia

Aman Thadani’s Segredo Aldeia was among the early craft rum launches along with Stilldistilling’s Maka Zai. Thadani runs the Goa-based, family-run Fullarton Distillery which also makes Woodburns whisky and Pumori Gin. The rum, named after a mythical village in Portuguese Goa, is available in white and a coffee-forward, sweetish cafe variant.

Rs 2,800/Rs 3050, in Mumbai

Pitbull Rum

Former alco-bev industry professionals Kalpesh Parekh and Karishma Chandy always thought that there was a gap in the market for a rum that was more premium than Old Monk but still pretty much affordable. Pitbull is their attempt to fill that gap. The rum is made in Aurangabad with sugarcane molasses and blended with barrel aged spirits. It has no added sugar.

Rs 800, Mumbai and Pune. 

Rock Paper Rum

Lalit Kalani’s family has been in the business of distilling rum for ages – they once supplied rum to the Armed Forces. With Rock Paper, Kalani is dipping his toes into the small-batch space. Rock Paper rum is available in two variants: a triple-distilled golden Indian Spiced Rum and a woody, sweet Coastal White Rum.

Rs 1,500/Rs 1350

Short Story White Rum

Third Eye Distillery’s Short Story rum is part of their new portfolio of white spirits, and an attempt to create benchmarks for the region. The rum is made by blending molasses rum with three different rums from the Caribbean – a high ester Jamaican rum and cask-aged Dominican and Trinidadian rums.

Rs 1,950.

Short Story, launched by Third Eye Distillery in late 2022.