A Rum Story from Whisky’s Sacred Ground: Islay Rum Barrel Aged

2026.10.05

In short: Islay Rum is the first rum distillery on Scotland’s whisky island, opened in 2022 in a restored lemonade factory in Port Ellen by young distiller Ben Inglis and Andrew Crook of the Vintage Malt Whisky Company. Its Barrel Aged rum is matured in heavily peated Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain casks.

The Surprise of “Rum on Islay?”

Islay.
Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg. An island that fans from all over the world make pilgrimages to as the sacred ground of whisky, producing smoky, powerful whiskies.

On that island, in 2022, a rum distillery was born!

“Wait, rum on Islay?” At first, I was surprised too.

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A Young Distiller’s Dream: Ben Inglis

The hero of this story is a young man who grew up in Bruichladdich on Islay: Ben Inglis.

As a child, Ben grew up in Port Charlotte and Bruichladdich, climbing on old distillery casks and peering in through the windows.

Distilleries were noisy, had a distinctive smell, and stirred his curiosity, he recalls.

Growing up on whisky’s sacred ground, Ben was naturally drawn to the craft of distilling.
But when he grew up, what he chose was not whisky, but rum.

He started with spiced rums and sweet mixers, and gradually became absorbed in the world of aged and pure rums.

Origin, still type, raw materials, the producer’s philosophy: captivated by the diversity of the rum world, Ben made up his mind in his early twenties.

“I will open a rum distillery on Islay.”

But a young distiller had neither money nor equipment.
The dream remained just a dream.

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A Fateful Meeting: The Vintage Malt Whisky Company

Then fate began to move.

Andrew Crook of the Vintage Malt Whisky Company, a Glasgow-based independent bottler, acquired an old lemonade factory in Port Ellen on Islay.

Andrew had been wondering, “Could we make some kind of whisky here?” when the young distiller Ben Inglis was introduced to him.

At their first meeting, Ben spoke of his dream.

“I want to make Islay’s first rum, using traditional methods.”

Andrew was drawn to the idea.
A challenge no one had ever tried on the whisky island.
Young passion, combined with the experience and capital of an established bottler.

“Something new is going to be born from this.”

And so began the story of the Islay Rum distillery.

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Reviving a Lemonade Factory: An Investment of £1 Million

The stage was the site of the former Hastie’s lemonade factory in Port Ellen.

The factory was founded in 1955.
At a time when Islay had no soft drink factory, it solved a problem for local shops and shipped to neighbouring islands too, and was praised as a success story of local industry.

But times changed, and the factory closed. For a long time, it stood as a ruin.

Ben and Andrew decided to breathe new life into this building.

Over five years, they invested more than £1 million and carefully renovated it.
The construction was carried out by the building company of the founder’s grandson.
Reviving the pride his grandfather built, in a new form: that feeling lives in this place.

Keeping the building’s original exterior, they installed inside a special copper still inspired by traditional Caribbean distilleries. It is unique equipment found nowhere else in the UK, which Ben had dreamed of for years.

And in January 2022, the Islay Rum distillery finally began operating.

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Barrel Aged: A Rum Wrapped in the Soul of Islay

Ben says:
“When we released our first white rum, people enjoyed it. But they wanted more of Islay in it.”

The most popular whiskies on Islay are smoky, powerful peated malts.
So could rum carry that soul too?

That is why Ben took on maturation in Islay whisky casks.

Heavily peated whisky casks from Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain.
Inside those casks, the rum soaks up the memories of Islay.

[Official tasting notes]

On the nose, light smoke with green banana and tanned leather. On the palate, vanilla-like sweetness with a salted caramel accent; along with the smoky flavour you can also find estery tropical fruit, while a seaside salt breeze and medicinal notes add complexity.

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Maturing into the Future: The 3, 5 and 10 Years Still to Come

Andrew says:
“Ninety percent of the rum we have made has not been bottled yet.”

Future rum, sleeping quietly in the cask.
In 3 years, 5 years, 10 years: what changes will Islay’s climate bring?

Ben is also pouring his passion into long-ageing projects.
Will it be released as a long-aged rum, or will its peak come sooner…!

I can’t wait!

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Until a Young Distiller’s Dream Came True

The boy who climbed on Bruichladdich’s casks,
the young man who fell in love with rum,
the distiller who kept speaking of his dream,

has finally made his own rum on Islay.
A rum born on whisky’s sacred ground is writing a new chapter of history.

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Taste Ben’s Dream at Little Happiness

Of course, you can enjoy Islay Rum Barrel Aged at Little Happiness too.

A boy’s curiosity, a young man’s passion, and the decisions of the adults around him.

It is all held in a single glass of rum.

The smoky memories left by whisky casks
and the sweetness of molasses carried from the Caribbean
meet in the glass, together with Islay’s sea breeze.

This is the story of a new rum, born on whisky’s sacred ground.

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Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.

Mika Tanimoto, Bar Little Happiness

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(Reference: The Herald Scotland, “The story of the first rum distillery on Scotland’s whisky island”)