Rum continues to redefine its place in the global spirits landscape. While creativity and innovation thrive, the category still navigates what premium truly means for its long-term future. According to The Spirits Business, success will depend on how well rum leverages its natural strengths without losing accessibility.
“Rum is arguably the most compelling and diverse category right now,” says Nick Gillett, managing director of Mangrove Global, in comments reported by The Spirits Business. However, he also cautions that rapid innovation brings growing pains, especially as brands struggle to balance experimentation with clarity.
This tension sits at the heart of today’s premium rum conversation.
Premiumization remains the category’s defining force, according to Jassil Villanueva, maestra ronera for Edrington-owned Brugal rum (The Spirits Business). She points to increasing consumer interest in sipping rums and technically driven releases.
Villanueva adds that rum introduces “something fresh to the luxury space through its versatility and sociability,” a quality that differentiates it from more rigid premium spirits categories.
Supporting this view, Nathalie Parte, global marketing director at Havana Club, tells The Spirits Business that growth depends on showcasing rum’s range—from refreshing cocktails to high-end sipping experiences.
Villanueva references IWSR data showing that super-premium-plus rums grew 5.5% in value globally in 2024 compared to 2023 (The Spirits Business). She explains that more consumers now see rum as both a refined sipping spirit and a cocktail staple, which has renewed interest in aged and cask-forward expressions.
Parte also notes a resurgence of Latin classic dark rums, calling them “the fastest-growing subsegment globally,” as consumers pay closer attention to origin, people, and production methods.
Jack Orr-Ewing, CEO of Duppy Share, believes ready-to-drink formats play a critical role in recruitment. He tells The Spirits Business that younger consumers often enter the rum category through RTDs, using them as an accessible stepping stone before trading up to bottled expressions.
Orr-Ewing describes the market as polarizing into a “barbell” structure, where value and premium segments grow while the middle softens—a pattern increasingly visible across spirits.
Despite the focus on premiumization, Pedro Mendonça, global senior vice-president at Bacardí, stresses that it is “not the only story,” according to The Spirits Business. Rum’s adaptability allows it to serve multiple occasions, from classic mixed drinks to premium sipping.
“Demand is growing across classic serves, long mixed drinks, flavour-led cocktails, and premium sipping rums,” Mendonça explains, adding that this balance keeps rum culturally relevant.
He also identifies recruitment as the category’s biggest challenge, noting that rum must adapt to evolving social behaviors, new geographies, and emerging cultural moments to connect with the next generation of drinkers.
Beyond traditional markets, Mendonça highlights Asia—particularly India and China—as regions with significant long-term potential, especially for spiced and flavored rums (The Spirits Business). Parte echoes this optimism, citing strong growth opportunities for Havana Club’s super-premium offerings in Mexico, China, and global travel retail.
Euromonitor International forecasts global rum volumes to rise from 154.4 million nine-liter cases to 157.3 million by 2026, data cited by The Spirits Business. The category, as Gillett summarizes, still has “a bit of maturing to do.”
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The Spirits Business Article — World Spirits Report 2025: Rum, written by Rupert Hohwieler
The image of the article is courtesy of © Evgeny Karandaev via Canva.com
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