The Rum Show 2026

The Whisky Exchange Rum Show at Glaziers Hall is always one of the highlights of my calendar, and this year the Saturday fell on World Rum Day, which felt very fitting. Spread across two days, there was plenty to keep me busy: two talks, some genuinely interesting conversations, catching up with rum friends and fellow enthusiasts, and a really diverse set of rums to work through. I’ve been coming to this show for a few years now, and it continues to deliver.

Spread across four rooms, the show felt spacious. It did feel like there were fewer brands than in previous years, but it didn’t feel smaller for it, the space was well laid out and there was no shortage of rums to sample, with a great turnout from some fantastic brands. The attention to the tasting experience didn’t go unnoticed either, with plenty of water and crackers to keep your palate fresh, plus spittoons. I’d love to see a bit more seating in the future.

Now the talks! This year’s line-up was impressive, with some of the most knowledgeable and passionate faces in the industry. The first talk I attended was “Where Does Flavour Come From?” with Dawn Davies. It was super insightful, not necessarily new information, but presented in a way that got me connecting dots I hadn’t before. What stuck with me most was, the shift away from distillation and ageing as the main drivers of flavour back towards the raw material and fermentation, how distillation is more of a concentration vehicle – enhancing what’s already there rather than creating flavour out of nothing.

The second talk was hosted by Sly Augustin, Matt Pietrek and Mitch Wilson, who spoke about “The Importance of Rum in the History of the UK”. This was done incredibly well, reflecting candidly on how history, heritage and culture are an integral part of modern rum culture, and on the importance of transparency and asking questions. Rum’s connection to slavery is uncomfortable and can be difficult to talk about well. The panelists did an incredible job of being honest, open and respectful without being performative.

My rums of the show

This has become a really popular part of my post-show write-ups, and this year quite a few people even came up to me mid-show to ask what had already caught my attention and might make the cut. So here are some of the standout rums from the show, in no particular order.

Eminente Gran Reserva, Edition N°2

Finished in Sauternes casks and blended from 80% aguardiente, this is outstanding with notes of honey, walnuts and apricot. I recommended it to a lot of people at the show, and it clearly struck a chord, by the time I made it down to the shop to get a bottle it had already sold out.

The Whisky Exchange, The Scarlet Ibis

This is the first ever rum bottled by The Whisky Exchange, and they’ve set the standard high with a delightful 18 year old from Trinidad, unlike anything I’ve had from there before. This had a distinct profile of plums with a dry fruitiness that evaporated off the tongue. It’s so new to market it was only available on pre-order.

Burdekin, Vintage Cane Spirit

I didn’t get as much time with the full range as I’d have liked, but this rum from Northern Queensland in Australia stood out. Distilled from sugar cane and aged solely in PX casks, the result is a profile that screams sticky ginger cake. The sugar cane and Pedro Ximénez are very complementary and well integrated.

Rum Trail, Belize

I sampled the full range, but the Belize stood out as my favourite. I really liked the framing of the brand too, rums they found interesting and delicious, bottled for us. The profile feels like a riff on Black Forest gateau, milk chocolate ganache and cherries moving into berries, then tropical and stone fruit. Naturally I picked up a bottle to spend some more time with.

El Dorado, Port Mourant 1999

I first tried this during the panel talk with Sly, Mitch and Matt on the history of Rum in the UK. Coming back to it with a fresher palate on day two, I couldn’t resist taking a bottle home. The depth here is fantastic, and having something from that historic still on my shelf is a welcome addition. I’ll be sharing a full review once I’ve had the chance to sit with it properly over an evening or two.

Holmes Cay, Trinidad

Holmes Cay is an independent bottler known for consistently bringing interesting rums to market, and what they brought to the show was no exception. Distilled at the now closed Ten Cane distillery in Trinidad, this 12 year old rum is multi-layered with cinder toffee sitting alongside a fresher cane influence.

Deciding my show favourites was tough this year, I had the chance to try some fantastic rums, and there were plenty of other bottles that caught my attention too. So here are a few honourable mentions:

Brugal had a sneak preview of their next release; unfortunately this is under embargo so I can’t say much for now, other than it was delicious and I’ll be picking up a bottle later this year.

Mango Bay debuted at the show after launching in February this year with their 100% pot distilled rum from Mauritius. This is one that I plan to revisit on the blog.

It was great to chat to the team at Angostura about their recent rebrand, and to spend some time with the 1787 as well as the new blend of the 1919 (more details on this to follow).

The honourable mentions section is also running away from me, and I could keep going but I think it’s safe to assume you’ll see me talking about a lot of the rums I tried at the Rum Show in future blog posts!

Looking back at the show, two things stand out to me.

The first is that it’s a genuinely great opportunity to explore brands and bottlings you might not otherwise come across. A chance to not judge a book by its cover and try something new, or something outside your comfort zone. If I hadn’t approached it that way, several of my top picks and honourable mentions would never have crossed my palate, a couple of cane juice rums included, which isn’t something I’d have expected to enjoy a year or two ago.

The second, and maybe the more important one, is that shows like this are an opportunity to grow the category. It gets bigger every year, but there’s still so much work to do to make rum more popular, more appreciated and more talked about. Every conversation shared and rum poured gets us closer to that goal.

And that’s really why I keep coming back, year after year.