How is Bumbu the #1 Selling Super-Premium Rum?

Bumbu the Original isn't legally rum in the US or EU but the brand says its the #1 selling super-premium rum. What's the scoop?

Aug 21 • Matt Pietrek

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Meeting Arthur Roberts, Who Saved the Royal Navy's Rum Recipe

Arthur Roberts kept his handwritten 1963 Royal Navy rum recipe for sixty years without realizing it's importance. Here's the story of meeting him.

Aug 7 • Matt Pietrek

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July 2026

Planteray OFTD Rum Turns Ten

Its creators look back on its creation and legacy

Jul 20 • Matt Pietrek

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June 2026

Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 4 - Hacking Ester Creation With the Cousins Process

Fermentation alone can't make super funky rum. In 1906, a British chemist in Jamaica hacked ester formation at distillation using chemical jujitsu…

Jun 23 • Matt Pietrek

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Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 3 - Bacteria and Muck

Yeast gets all the credit, but bacteria are behind the most extreme flavors in weird, high-ester rums. What's a muck pit? Part 3 of a 4-part series…

Jun 8 • Matt Pietrek

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May 2026

Making Funky, High Ester Rum Part 2 - Dunder and Acid

How do Jamaican distillers make funky, high-congener rum? Part 2 explores dunder, and cane acid, the ingredients that push fermentation beyond the…

May 22 • Matt Pietrek

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Making Funky, High Ester Rum - Part 1

Flavor Chemistry and Yeast Species

May 4 • Matt Pietrek

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April 2026

Patrick Mayers, a Driving Force in Caribbean Rum, Passes Away

Remembering Barbados’ Patrick Mayers, whose decades of service and quiet leadership helped shape the modern Caribbean rum industry.

Apr 16 • Matt Pietrek

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Which Rum Brands May Be Up for Sale?

A possible Pernod–Brown-Forman tie-up raises a bigger question: when portfolios overlap or turmoil hits, which rum brands stay—and which get sold?

Apr 6 • Matt Pietrek

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March 2026

Touring Appleton Estate in 1950

Step inside Appleton Estate in 1950. A rare Wray & Nephew brochure and archival photos reveal how Jamaican rum was made—from cane fields to pot stills.

Mar 9 • Matt Pietrek

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February 2026

France’s Largest Rum Maker Hides in Plain Sight

You know Saint-James and Negrita—but do you know the company behind them? Meet France’s largest rum maker, shaping the industry from Martinique to…

Feb 20 • Matt Pietrek

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Appleton Estate Rum: How the Brand Began

The little-known story behind Appleton Estate Special and how it marked the true beginning of Appleton Estate as a rum brand in the 1940s.

Feb 2 • Matt Pietrek

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