When most people think of Scotland’s Islay region, the first thing that comes to mind is intensely smoky scotch from the likes of Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg. But rum? Not so much. There is, however, a distillery on the island that is solely focused on rum production, and it just released a new single-cask expression that was entirely aged in sherry casks.
The distillery, aptly named the Islay Rum Distillery, was founded in 2022 when the team behind the Vintage Malt Whisky Company decided to convert the Old Lemonade Factory in Port Ellen, the main town on Islay, into a rum distillery. That makes it the first, and to date only, distillery on the island that devoted only to producing rum. Ben Inglis is the head distiller, and he is the main force behind the production there, which takes place on a copper pot still designed “to create a smooth, high ester, effectively triple distilled spirit, all from a single distillation run,” according to the distillery.
There are several different rums in the lineup, including un-aged and barrel-aged versions, as well as a spiced rum that’s smoked over a peat fire to give it some of that classic Islay character. The latest release is a single-cask expression that was fermented for a lengthy amount of time, distilled on July 18, 2022, and aged entirely in an Oloroso sherry cask before being bottled at 100 proof. There are other rums finished or aged entirely in sherry casks, of course, and the results are often quite appealing as the tropical fruit notes of the spirit mingle with the spice and dried fruit notes derived from this type of maturation. We did not get to try this rum, but the official tasting notes describe layers of dried fruit, spice, and sweetness on the palate.
