Top Indian Rum Brands to Stock Your Home Bar

With a rich diversity of resources available in India, the spirit industry never fails to amaze us with its distinctive flavoured alcohols. And rum is something which can be best had during the times of monsoon. With certain flavours from the Himalayas and some of the oldest rums in the country, we have a wide variety of options to sip on. This is an ode to some of the best Indian rum brands. 

Short Story Rum 

Short Story Rum is a product of Third Eye Distillery launched in 2022. This white rum is made to represent a Caribbean rum. The makers achieved this by blending Indian molasses rum with three different rums; a Jamaican rum, balanced with a touch of a cask-aged Dominican & Trinidadian rum. On the nose, it has tropical grassy notes and a long and complex finish. 

IDAAYA

IDAAYA is a dark-sipping rum created in the Himalayas. It is created from a blend of pure Indian rum and 12-year-old rum aged in bourbon casks. Water from the snow-capped Himalayas is used in the making of this spirit, which is blended in sal wood casks - a practice native to the Himalayan region of India - using the Solera system. 

Nomad Oscuro Rum

Nomad Oscuro Dark Rum is an amber-coloured rum with toffee, caramelised bananas, palo santo, vanilla, and Hinoki cypress wood scent from East Side Distilleries. This smoky, spicy, and smooth spirit is a complex blend of ingredients from three key geographies: sugarcane from India, wood chips of the Hinoki tree (Japanese cypress) from Japan and Oak barrels from the Caribbean island. 

Camikara Rum

Camikara is India's first pure cane juice rum. Unlike most rums that are prepared with molasses or by-products of sugarcane, Camikara is a sipping rum naturally aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 12 years. This edition is bottled at a strength of 50% ABV and contains no added sugar, flavour or colour.

Rock Paper Rum

Rock Paper Rum has one of the diverse flavours of Indian-made rums. Their triple distilled rum upholds elegantly spiced nuances – handcrafted and made in small batches, with sugarcane. They have flavours like Indian Spiced and Roast Coffee which are dark rums and Coastal White, Zesty Lemon and Tropical Coconut which fall under the white rum category. 

Old Monk Rum 

When talking about Indian rums, it is almost illegal to not mention Old Monk. Almost everyone who is of a legal drinking age knows about this rum. Old Monk is a product of Mohan Meakin Ltd. which was launched in 1855, making it the oldest rum in India. This dark rum is made by traditional method, blended for 7 years. In the manufacturing process of Old Monk Rum, only the original rum mixtures are used, some of which may be 50 years old. 

Maka Zai Rum

Maka Zai Rum is a product of Stilldistilling Spirits. This distillery uses locally sourced ingredients to make two types of rums; a Bartender's Edition white rum and a Tribute Edition golden rum. Both are crafted with carefully sourced sugarcane, ensuring a clean and natural flavour profile.

Jolly Roger Rum 

Jolly Roger is a rum from Allied Blenders & Distillers. It offers a blend of matured special spirits that infuse great flavour. It's a dark rum that is aged well and blended with fine ingredients. 

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