The Homegrown Rums We Love

For years, India has been running on gin and tequila, with rum somewhere in the background after Old Monk became background noise with the Gen-Z generation. Even so, there has been a renewed interest in rum in the recent years in India. The country’s rum market, valued at $2.6 billion in 2025, has been growing at roughly 5% annually. Yes, the numbers are not mind-blowing but the India’s craft rum market is still experiencing better growth: It’s projected to reach $193 million by 2030, growing at 7.7% annually. No wonder many new homegrown brands are entering the race to capture the rum market.

The raw material case writes itself: India has vast sugarcane belts, centuries-old jaggery traditions, coastal spice routes that were literally the reason Europeans came here in the first place. What's newer is the ambition. Distillers are now treating rum not as a utility spirit but as a canvas — ageing in indigenous woods, blending Caribbean and Indian stocks, drawing flavour maps from the Himalayas to the Konkan coast. The results are genuinely surprising.

So give up or don’t give up on tequila, but don’t ignore the new rum brands taking over India’s alcobev market.

LOST & FOUND

Third Eye Distillery — the Goa-based operation that already gave us Stranger & Sons — debuted its tropical spiced rum recently. Tropical spiced and born from native botanicals, this rum tastes like coastal salt, warm spice, and a hint of sweetness. It's a very Goa product, for better or worse.

IDAAYA

Those Good Distillerss founder Karishma Manga Bedi entered the rum category with a thesis: patience makes better spirits. IDAAYA makes the case convincingly. Blended by Master Blender Chris Armes, it layers 12-year Bourbon-cask rum with Indian rum matured in a Solera system using Sal wood — a process that takes time. The result is deep amber and  complex: caramel and vanilla up front, dark chocolate and toffee through the middle, a long finish of ripe fruit and oak.

RUM BHAROSEY

From Kantala Spirits comes a spiced rum that doesn't overcomplicate. Bharosey — trust — is exactly what it promises: a warm, balanced pour built for gatherings, casual celebrations.

ROCK PAPER RUM

Good Barrel Distillery, based out of Bandra, triple-distils this one and gives you two ways in. The Coastal White is clean and vibrant with vanilla edges. Meanwhile, the Indian Spiced is warmer, oakier, malt-forward. The branding by Delhi's Firstbase — deep navy, beige, orange, sharp type — is among the best in Indian spirits right now. These bottles earn their shelf space visually before you've even opened them.

AMRUT BELLA

Amrut has been proving India can make world-class spirits for two decades, and Bella is amazing. A 100 per cent jaggery rum — bella means jaggery in Kannada — sourced from the sugarcane belt of Chikodi in Belagavi and aged six years in ex-Bourbon barrels. The result is sweet and nutty in a distinctly Indian register, miles from molasses-standard rum.

DAKU RUM

Gwalior's Bapuna Alcobrew — the Chambal gin people — name their rum after the dacoits who once ruled these ravines. Daku Gold is the more interesting bottle: deep burgundy, smooth and velvety, with restrained caramel, a whisper of cinnamon, and just enough sherry. Not cloying, which is rarer than it should be in amber rum. Daku Silver, the clear variant, goes lighter — vanilla-forward with floral notes. Currently in Goa and Maharashtra.

SHORT STORY RUM

Also from Third Eye Distillery, Short Story takes a different approach to their Lost & Found: instead of terroir, it's about blend. Indian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Dominican rums come together in a matured white that leads with banana and coconut and finishes with a grassy, spiced complexity — clove, vanilla, lingering and interesting. It's a rum that's clearly been built for bartenders, and it'll do excellent things to your daiquiri.

SEGREDO ALDEIA

"Secret village" in Portuguese, produced at Fullarton Distilleries in Goa by the team behind Pumori Gin and Woodburns Whisky. The white rum expression is the one to try: vanilla, sweet wood, caramel, and toffee in a smooth, elegant package that behaves itself beautifully in citrus-forward cocktails. The café rum variant adds another dimension for those who want to explore. Low profile, high quality — the kind of bottle that earns loyal regulars rather than splashy launches.