Rum holds a unique and rich history in Australia since its arrival with the First Fleet in 1788. As well as two years of food rations, Governor Arthur Phillip also brought a four-year supply of rum.
This was just the beginning of rum’s long and colourful history in Australia and, more than 200 years later, Australians are now moving beyond the rum and coke and discovering adventurous flavours and new styles of rum that reflect the land where it’s made.
Following from the success of the craft gin boom, a rising interest in artisanal and high-quality rum is due to a growing appreciation for unique flavour profiles with an influx of new brands into the domestic market.
There has been a 20 per cent market growth in Australia with 48 brands offering 111 rum products currently available, compared to just 21 brands with 38 products in 2012.
This follows a greater global demand for craft and premium rum, which has seen a 16 per cent increase during the past three years.
While rum’s roots are in South America and the sugar cane-rich islands of the Caribbean, it’s made in just about every country with a distilling scene, with Australia’s east coast providing the perfect climate for sugar cane production.
However, as a British colony, Australian rum has been made in the British style for more than 160 years and influenced the way Aussies think about the spirit.
The heavy and sweet notes of sticky toffee and vanilla from the dark aged rum made from molasses — known as English-style rum — has been the style of choice in Australia since rum production begun in the late 1800s.
Bundaberg Rum has long dominated the Australian market but new consumer demand for premium spirits is making the domestic market more diverse.
Consumer drive has been instrumental for the growth of Australian rum market — worth more than $600 million.
Husk Run head distiller Quentin Brival said the innovative spirit of Australian rum producers had brought forth a new wave of unique expressions of rums.
“Australian producers are exploring new opportunities to unlock rum’s potential and that is creating new styles and flavour profiles not currently seen on the international market,” Quentin said.
“As Australia’s only farm-to-bottle rum distillery, we make Husk Rum using fresh cane juice grown on our farm and have focused on creating a flavour profile reflective of our local region, the Caldera Coast.”
Husk Rum has spent more than 10 years developing a new style of Australian spirit made from freshly crushed cane juice, a style of rum first developed in the French Caribbean islands more than 100 years ago.
Its new release Rare Blend is a prime example of the new taste of Australian rum.
“Rare Blend is a made from two styles of rum,” Quentin said.
“The first is a seasonal 100 per cent single estate cane juice rum, our signature style which is dry and adds complexity and depth to the final product.
“The second is a rum made from Tweed Valley cane honey, which is evaporated cane juice. Cane honey is sweet, rich, and pure which creates a very smooth and round rum with fruity and floral notes.”
The resulting blend uniquely reflects the provenance, or terroir, of the Caldera Coast — the strip of coastal land that straddles the Queensland/NSW border from Burleigh Heads to Byron Bay.
Centred on Mt Warning/Woolumbin, this is the deepest caldera (a bowl-shaped depression that has been caused over many years by the collapse and erosion of a volcano) in the Southern Hemisphere, and Husk Farm Distillery lies in the heart of the caldera.
Rum has primarily been produced in the Caribbean, dominated by heavy British and light Spanish styles as well as the much rarer French-style rum, which is drier with a complex profile of zest, grass and herbaceous notes.
However, as Australian rum producers craft more diverse flavour profiles, their focus is on expressions that reflect Australian heritage, climate and circumstances.
This development is leading to a rum resurgence Down Under. Aussies are able to explore and appreciate the depth craft of rum now on offer, leading to a new understanding and appreciation of this colourful and versatile spirit.
Husk Rum founder and CEO Paul Messenger said this growth reflected evolution in the rum category.
"As rising consumer interest and the emergence of premium brands expand the category, modern perceptions of rum extend well beyond the traditional rum and coke,“ Paul said.
Husk's Rare Blend Rum, for example, can be consumed neat, with ice, Indian tonic with a thick slice of orange, or in a rum ‘old fashioned’ with triplesec, Angostura bitters and an orange zest.
“New styles and flavour profiles present opportunities to showcase the versatility of rum in high-end cocktails and new consumer trends, elevating the category and educating consumers,” Paul said.