Spirited Union Rum

In 2019, the Spirited Union distillery debuted what is believed to be the world’s first botanical white rum. At the Amsterdam-based site, the team brings rum and botanicals – real ones, no artificial flavours in sight – together in pioneering bottlings like Union Lemon & Leaf. Founder and rum aficionado Ruben Maduro wanted to add a new approach to the rum category. He grew up on the Caribbean on the island of Aruba and was always disappointed with the amount of sickly-sweet and artificially-flavoured rums, and really wanted to combine flavours with rum in an honest way. That means completely transparent, with real botanicals. Take Union Lemon & Leaf Rum, for example, made by pairing vegetal, earthy rhum agricole from Mauritius with citric, herbal botanicals. Union Spice & Sea Salt, by contrast, sees cask-aged rum from Barbados macerated with Madagascan vanilla and cloves, Guatemalan cardamom, raw Peruvian cacao, and mineral-rich Añana sea salt for 55 days. The approach will no doubt broaden the category’s appeal for rum newbies. For the devout G&T drinker, a botanical white rum and tonic will taste familiar.