For the latest in our series of columns with Franklin & Sons, SLTN visited Edinburgh rum bar Ruma to chat quality craft mixers with co-owner Steven Aitken.
Stevie was also kind enough to prepare two delicious highball serves featuring Franklin & Sons products.
Tell us how yourself and (co-owner Jamie Shields) came to open Ruma
Steven Aitken: “We were over in Germany for the football and we were in this amazing wee rum bar in Berlin. There were loads of brilliant rums. No pretence.
“We had two amazing drams in there and started talking about how there wasn’t anything like that in Scotland. Everything in Scotland is whisky-focused, and rightly so. It’s what we make here. But there wasn’t anything like that for rum.
“We wanted that specialist spirit experience, but rum rather than any other kind of product.”
How do you pick the rums for the back-bar?
“With the Scottish rums we always make sure it’s distilled in Scotland, rather than something that’s Scottish because it’s been sat next to a whisky cask for 20 minutes.
“We’ve got a few rules. It’s got to be something that’s made at source. For example, spiced rums need to be spiced at source. And they need to be rum-focused. You can taste the rum before you get the spices.
“A lot of them, we’ll have the conversation about whether or not it should be on the back-bar. And then if it fits everything we’re looking for and fits all the right criteria it will go on there.
“Obviously it has to taste good as well!”
How are your customers drinking their rum?
“We get a lot of people drinking it with a mixer or in cocktails. What we’ll do as well is we’ll give you a little bit of the rum neat and then some mixer, some ice or some lime on the side so that you can decide if you want to mix it or have it neat. It just gives you that option, especially when it’s something people haven’t tried before.
“People will come in and try one thing and, before they know it, they’ll have had five amazing rums. If they have left here with their new favourite rum we’ve done something right.”
Why use Franklin & Sons products?
“I’ve used Franklin & Sons for years. When I was working with distilleries I always used Franklin & Sons. I just think it’s really high quality and the flavour actually comes through, rather than it just being all sugar.
“There are a lot more bubbles to them as well. That’s something I’ve heard a lot of people saying, that there’s a really high carbonation on them. The Pineapple & Almond Soda is one of my favourite things to drink.”
How important is rum – and specialist rum venues like Ruma – to Franklin & Sons?
Global brand ambassador, David Robinson: “For me, to have a venue in Edinburgh that is specialising in rum and is filling, perhaps, a gap that existed in the city, is amazing.
“Myself, Stevie and Jamie go way back and being associated with a team that are knowledgeable and really embody what hosting and professionalism should be is a very big thing for me and for Franklin & Sons.
“We’re certainly seeing growth in rum. We released our flavoured sodas a few years ago, and that range really does give guests and operators an opportunity to play around. We give our recommendations, for example to pair our Pineapple & Almond Soda or our Guava & Lime Soda with rum, but there are a plethora of other products in our range that really do go well with rum as well.
“So we very much leave it to the guests and the operators to make those decisions.
“One of our big talking points at the moment is carbonation and exploring what that carbonation can do to a rum on the palate is really exciting.”
J Gow & Tonic
J Gow Hidden Depths Vol.2
Manzanilla Sherry
Dash of lime juice
Franklin & Sons Premium Indian Tonic Water
Mint sprig to garnish
Clement & Soda
Clement Rhum Agricole
Dash Angostura Bitters
Topped up with Franklin & Sons Pineapple & Almond Soda
Garnish with lime wedge
