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As you will more than likely be aware, we take great pride in our Devon spiced rum that we produce here at Lyme Bay, with our Lugger Rum being a labour of love that we are immensely proud of. Unlike most commercial spiced rums, ours is not defined by an overpowering vanilla characteristic. Instead, we created a rum that offers a full profile of spices, meaning we age Caribbean rum in bourbon-charred oak barrels right here in Devon before spicing it with nutmeg, orange peel and cloves, as well as vanilla.
Such is the popularity of spiced rum that it now has TWO dedicated celebration days, giving you the excuse (if you need it!) to enjoy a tipple or two. World Rum Day falls in July on the second Saturday of July, while National Rum Day in the United States falls on the 16th of August.
The History of Spiced Rum
Rum, or what is commonly known to be rum now, was first produced in the seventeenth century. However, there are historical references to a “wine sugar” which historians assume to be an early form of rum dating back as far as the 14th century.
But when it comes to spiced rum, that is just a baby in comparison to other forms of the spirit. But such is the demand for spiced rum that there are a plethora of brands that are solely focussed on producing the spiced spirit.
Trying to narrow down when spiced rum first became recognised as a variety of rum is quite tricky, though, due to the rules for what qualifies as a standard rum differing depending on where you are in the world. The Captain Morgan Rum company first started offering their spiced rum in America in 1984, which was probably one of the first commercial offerings of the spirit.
There are some variants of spiced rum that some rum aficionados have a bit of an issue with, as they don’t like what spiced rum represents. This is because, traditionally, rum is 40% ABV. Here in the UK, it can legally be 37.5% ABV, but if you go over to America, it is legally 40%. However, our Lugger Rum hits the golden score of 40% ABV, so we’re sure it won’t rub anybody up the wrong way!
If you’d like to learn more seafaring tales on the history of rum, check out our blog post here and for some more inspiration and other cocktail ideas, you can check out another post here.
Enjoying our Rum
We are often asked how the best way is to enjoy our Lugger spiced rum is, and our answer is simple – however you like! That being said, we previously put together this helpful guide on enjoying Lugger rum which has a few ideas that you might not have thought about before.
We’ve also created a spiced rum punch recipe that you might want to enjoy. It’s a warming cocktail that is perfect for the upcoming autumn months. Mix together in a punch bowl if you have one, but it will taste delicious no matter what vessel you use!
Ingredients
2 oranges
1 pineapple
Juice of 5 limes
100ml fresh orange juice
250ml good-quality pineapple juice
300ml Lugger spiced rum
500ml ginger beer, or the equivalent ginger ale if you like it less sweet
Lots of ice, to serve
¾ nutmeg, for grating
Splash of grenadine (optional)
Method
- Mix together the pineapple juice, orange juice and the juice from the limes either in your punch bowl or jug.
- Stir in the rum (and the grenadine if you are using it).
- Just before you serve, top the punch with the ice and ginger beer or ginger ale (depending on your choice).
- Finely grate over the nutmeg and top with the oranges and pineapple to serve.
- Enjoy!
How Do You Drink Yours?
We love it when you get in touch and let us know how you’re enjoying our products, so if you’ve got a favourite spiced rum cocktail using our Lugger Rum that you’d like to share, you can tag us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
