The Voodoo Rooms’ Steven Aitken talks all things rum
RUM as a category is performing well, with a growing number of consumers looking to learn more about the sweet distillate.
That was the view of Steven Aitken, bartender at The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh, who shared his thoughts with SLTN on the opportunities rum offers bars.
With over 70 expressions on offer, from over 30 brands, Steven said The Voodoo Rooms has “a lot of very popular rums – and all our staff are well-trained and capable of recommending one when people are on the fence or looking to try something new”.
The ability to suggest new serves to customers is especially important nowadays, reckons Steven, who said more people are looking to better their understanding of rum.
He said: “There has been a noted increase in the number of people looking to understand it as a category. None more so [than] in the increased demand for our rum tasting masterclasses, where groups get the opportunity to try six beautiful expressions of rum with history, tasting notes and information on each.”
At the moment, while Mojitos and Daiquiris remain popular, Steven said a rum cocktail currently growing in popularity is The Captain Scene, which is a mix of Diplomatico Mantuano, Oloroso sherry, bitters and home-made pistachio gomme.
And Steven reckons rum may soon go back to its roots, “as there seems to be an increase in tiki-style cocktails and tiki-themed nights, which we love at The Voodoo Rooms”.
