The team behind Loch Lomond Brewery, Levenbank Distillery and West Highland Gin has launched a new small batch rum brand, Cu Mara.
This new premium Scottish spirit will debut with two expressions, a Golden Rum and a Spiced Rum, both crafted using ingredients selected to deliver ‘depth of flavour and smooth complexity’.
The range will later expand to include a dark and a navy rum, as well as additional limited-edition variants showcasing other flavour profiles, including cask-aged rums, making use of casks from Levenbank Distillery.
“The rum market is seeing strong growth and we saw an opportunity to create something distinct,” said Euan MacEachern, head of production at Loch Lomond Brewery. “A premium, small-batch rum that combines classic Caribbean inspiration with our own unique style.”
The brand takes its name from coastal folklore, drawing on imagery of the sea and mythical sea creatures to evoke ‘a sense of depth and discovery’.
With trade and on-trade enquiries open, Cu Mara’s Golden and Spiced Rums are available now via Select Drams and direct to customers on the Cu Mara website.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Loch Lomond Brewery on the launch of Cu Mara,” said Sam Connery, sales manager at Select Drams.
“There is growing demand for high-quality, small-batch rum and Cu Mara delivers something fresh to the category. We expect strong interest from both retailers and the on-trade.”
Founded by Fiona and Euan MacEachern in 2011 from a family kitchen near Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond Brewery has grown into one of Scotland’s leading independent breweries.
Known for its distinctive, award-winning craft beers inspired by the landscapes of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the brewery now operates from a 12,000 sq. ft. facility near Dumbarton, complete with a 35hl brewhouse and in-house canning line.
The brewery has received over 100 awards including CAMRA Champion Beer of Scotland (2017), Scottish Brewery of the Year and SIBA Supreme Cask Champion of the UK (2016). Fiona and Euan have gained particular recognition for the multiple award-winning ‘Silkie Stout’.
Building on its brewing success, the business has recently expanded into spirits production. With the addition of a Lomond still and whisky stills on-site, it now produces West Highland Spirits gin and vodka, Cu Mara rum and is developing a single malt whisky under the Levenbank Distillery brand. The team hope to use their expert understanding of malt and yeast to explore how different malting levels and yeast strains can affect the flavour profile of whisky.
