Spirit of Wales Distillery wins two silver medals for their Welsh rums from The Spirit Business, 2022 The Rum & Cachaça Masters, to find excellence within the category. The Welsh distillery walked away with a silver medal for their newly launched luscious Steeltown White Welsh Rum and a second silver medal for their Dragon’s Breath Welsh Spiced Rum, adding to their array of global awards.
In February 2022, The Spirits Business hosted The Rum & Cachaça Masters’ competition in search of the finest rum and cachaça brands on the world stage. The panel comprises leading spirits specialists from around the globe who judged the entries through a blind tasting. Their goal is to discover the Rum and Cachaça Masters of 2022 and recognise excellence in the category, with silver, gold, and experts awarded in each category.
The Spirits Business, The Rum & Cachaça Masters received a record-breaking 220 entries, showing that the volume of rum producers moving to create balanced and flavourful rums. Consumer demand driven by a change in the perception of rum served with a sweet mixer, but a sipping drink or the perfect spirit for a cocktail. The IWSR Drinks Market Analysis shows that rum has reinvented itself as the new drink in consumers’ hands. Furthermore, with a diverse range of rum styles available, there is wide category growth creating demand for flavoured and spiced rums appealing to millennial drinkers.
Daniel Dyer, the founder of the Newport distillery, explained, “In January, we utilised our downtime for our new production, changing some of our methods and processes and integrating a streamlined continuous fermentation to the distillation process. As a result, our rums have improved, and the taste and flavour combinations are remarkable.”
This move has paid off for the Welsh distillery, with their Dragon’s Breath Spiced Rum winning its second global award. The first, a bronze medal from the International Wine and Spirits Competition in 2021, and now a silver medal from the Rum & Cachaça Master. Made with baking spices in mind, the Spiced Rum of Wales has flavour notes and botanicals, as with the gin category. The bottle proudly displays the Welsh Dragon, symbolising Welsh passion and Celtic heritage. Breathe in the aroma of vanilla and cinnamon, on the backdrop of sticky caramel and cloves. Next, taste a light, fruity start, followed by warming Dragon’s Breath clove spice and woody cinnamon. A beautifully light and spicy sip.
James Gibbons, head distiller of the Spirit of Wales, commented, “Our curiosity Welsh spirit, Dragon’s Breath Spiced Rum is always a favourite for visitors to our distillery. It is great to receive a second award in recognition of our Welsh-inspired rum.”
Although more traditional rums feature less in the category, the Spirit of Wales created a white rum, the second silver The Rum & Cachaça Masters for 2022. Steeltown is a range of contemporary spirits inspired by the people, landscapes, and places of Wales, with each bottle paying tribute to the Welsh and celebrating Welsh culture. Steeltown Welsh Rum is a molasses-based White Welsh Rum with Crisp notes of fresh-cut grass intermingled with deep aromas of toffee, soft baking spices, and oak. Inspired by the steel and coal workers of South Wales, a tip of the hat to the Welsh fishing industry that still feeds our nation today.
When speaking about his newest creation in the rum category, James explained, “Our Steeltown Welsh Rum is a great first step into the world of rum, I am looking forward to building on the momentum we have achieved in our first year as a distillery. In the coming months, we plan to expand further on our rum-making capabilities and the launch of new Welsh spirits for our customers to enjoy.”
With rum on the rise in the spirits category, the distillery plans to listen to their customers’ growing demand for rum with future releases to introduce flavoured, smoked, and spiced rums to the rum category. To date, the Spirit of Wales Distillery has won seven awards, including additional medals from The Spirits Business, a silver Gin Master and two gold Vodka Masters in 2021, along with an additional silver medal for their Steeltown Welsh Dry Gin and a bronze medal for the Dragon’s Breath from the IWSC.
In closing, Daniel Dyer commented, “Whilst evolving with creative gin and vodka products, our spirit without borders is rum and we expect to develop new products as sales in this category rise.”
