In the glass we do indeed have a brown rum. However I think I would possibly describe it as a golden brown with a yellow/orange hue. Rhum Agricole are sugarcane juice-based rums produced primarily in the French West Indies. Less than 5% of the world’s rums are made with sugarcane juice. These rums offer up pronounced fruity and herbaceous flavors that is often accompanied by a hint of wet stone minerality. They are very different from molasses-based rums and are almost Tequila like in their aroma and flavor profile. Being illegal, as Saudi has prohibited alcohol since the 1950s, it was allegedly secretly distilled and enjoyed for decades, and codenamed ‘siddiqui’ – Arabic for ‘my friend’ – to avoid detection.

Siddiqui was the gift of relaxation the oil workers all made for themselves,” according to Nigel Brown, CEO and Co-founder of Siddiqui Rum.Roffe, who recently took part in this publication’s Adapt & Survive Skype video series (See the below video), left his position as Managing Director, Global Travel Retail at Halewood Wines and Spirits at the end of April.

Simon has the insight and the passion to really push Penderyn to the next stage of our export plan. Our recent awards successes show that people all over the world are still thirsty for authentic Welsh whisky. Therefore, we look forward to working with him to develop wider export initiatives which will help us reach further corners of the global market.”

Penderyn will distribute these rums worldwide, but for retail customers in the UK, Siddiqui Brown Rum can be bought online here. Dom Tápparo Engenho Desde 1970 swept all the Master awards in the cachaça category for its Cachaca Duas Madeiras Extra Premium, 38% ABV; Cachaça Carvalho Americana 10 Anos, 38% ABV and Cachaça Cabaré, 38% ABV.

I sometimes wonder how influential Siddiqui has been over the last half century,’ says brand owner Nigel Brown, who is about to oversee the global launch of the spirit drinks. Reflecting on a ‘whirlwind year’ for the distillery, with whisky fans worldwide sampling its latest tastes and bottles, there is no limit to the company’s global progression, emphasises Davies. Depaz is based in Martinique and draws its sugarcane from the slopes of Mount Pelée, the active volcano at the northern end of the island. It won a Master award for three different expressions, Depaz XO, 45% ABV, Depaz VSOP, 45% AVB and Depaz Vieux Plantation, 45% ABV. Welsh whisky company Penderyn Distillery has appointed Simon Roffe as new Director of Business Development.Siddiqui Brown Rum is a spirit that, ‘Sips like a whisky and parties like a rum’, and tastes like no other spirit. It has a distinctive whisky-like smokey and oaky note, but it is rounded with a short finish as you’d expect from a quality rum.

So in the absence of any other information I may as well reach for my glass and see if this does live up to the “hype”. The hydrometer bobbed just below 40% at 39% so there is perhaps something “added” to this rum, though to be fair not a lot. If you want to read a bit more Siddiqui then please read this. I’ve had enough hyperbole for one day.It’s a big ask, but for tens of thousands of people who worked in the deserts of the Middle East over the last 68 years, the word ‘Siddiqui’ will conjure up images of hot and heavy work under clear Arabian skies, and chilled evenings around the fire with the tranquil Persian Gulf ahead and star-strewn skies above. The new Siddiqui rums, both brown and white, are being produced by Penderyn Distillery in Wales, but are said to have been inspired by the original illicit recipes from the ‘Blue Flame’ instruction book that circulated amongst the oil industry workforce. Nigel Brown of Arabia, one of the entrepreneurs behind the Siddiqui brand Brazil produces over 800 million liters of cachaça annually, with about one-third coming from small artisanal distilleries. Cachaça has been growing in popularity in the US. According to IWSR, cachaça sales in the US have increased from 6,000 9-liter cases in 2005 to around 60,000 9-liter cases in 2021. An experienced commercial leader, Roffe joins Penderyn with almost 35 years of commercial and general management experience across brands such as Diageo and Remy Cointreau. Siddiqui Brown Rum. Doesn’t sound to inviting does it? There have been a lot of “objections” recently about labelling rum by its colour. Some of it has been a bit over the top, I have to say. That said “Brown” rum is a new descriptor for me in terms of actually going out there and putting it on the label.