Independent Rum Bottlers

Very different approaches

Rasta Morris is Bert Bruyneel, whom I also know through his work with Asta Morris in whisky. And when it comes to rum, I find the same qualities I appreciate in his work: a remarkably refined nose and palate, and great precision in his selections.

With Famille Ricci, we enter yet another world. They are French independent bottlers primarily focused on rum, and I am particularly impressed by their blending work.

Their blends are crafted with precision down to the millilitre. It's refined, intense and innovative, both in its approach and in its flavours. This isn't just another variation on the same theme.

And then there's Guillaume Ferroni. For me, Guillaume is first and foremost a remarkable nose, whatever the spirit.

What I particularly like about him is that he refuses to be confined to a single category. He can work with rum and blends, experiment with casks and maturation, but also revive old recipes or explore spirits and origins that are far less expected. Behind all of this is a curiosity that I greatly admire.

Swell de Spirits is another of the more recent independent bottlers I enjoy following. They have a very distinctive identity and explore a variety of origins and spirits. I also appreciate the smaller bottle formats offered by some independent bottlers: when a batch is extremely limited, they simply allow more enthusiasts to get their hands on a bottle.

How do I build the selection?

Just as with whisky, I can't choose solely according to my own tastes.

There are rum profiles I absolutely love and others that appeal to me much less. But my tastes aren't everyone's — and thankfully so! Distillicious isn't my personal rum collection.

I look at the producer and the origin, of course, but also at what happens afterwards: the maturation, the casks, any additional finishing, the blending, the ABV, the number of bottles produced and the price.

And the words “limited edition” alone aren't enough to earn a bottle a place in the selection. Rarity still isn't a measure of flavour or quality.

Above all, I try to maintain diversity: approachable rums alongside much more unusual ones, different origins, different ways of working, and bottles capable of surprising you.

I select with my palate, but not only for my palate.

Sometimes you have to recognise that a rum that isn't for me may be exactly what another enthusiast has been looking for.

And perhaps that's also what makes independent bottlers so interesting: there isn't just one way to make rum, nor just one way to enjoy it.