Rum’s versatility and diversity has long been viewed by many in spirits as both a blessing and a curse. The fact that the category runs a gamut of styles from highly mixable white variants to dark, aged expressions better-suited to sipping and savouring allows rum to target a very broad demographic - but what is its true identity? Party spirit, complex drink on par with the finest cognac or single malt? Or something in between?
This conundrum is also reflected in the changing environments for flavoured and spiced rum. For years, this combined segment p
How flavoured and spiced rum are faring along the premium path – Category Intel
Long seen as a party drink, this versatile and diverse segment has faced an uphill battle to be taken seriously. That’s all changing as brand owners work to premiumise.

Former newspaper journalist Richard Woodard has been writing about the global wine and spirits industry for nearly 20 years, and is a regular contributor to a number of magazines and websites.



