Forging Islay’s Distilling Future: The Original Islay Rum Wins Coveted 3‑Star Great Taste Award

Islay’s first rum distillery has secured a coveted 3‑star Great Taste award for its Barrel Aged expression, completing a run of major international honours and marking a bold new chapter in the island’s world‑class distilling story. Crafted at the restored Old Lemonade Factory in Port Ellen, The Original Islay Rum blends Caribbean technique with Atlantic influence to create a spirit that is unmistakably shaped by Islay.

The Islay Rum Distillery has achieved one of the highest honours in food and drink, securing a prestigious 3‑star award for The Original Islay Rum Barrel Aged at Great Taste 2026. Of 15,038 products entered this year, only 2% earned the top rating, placing this young distillery among the most exceptional producers worldwide.

Judged blind by more than 500 chefs, buyers, writers and retailers, Great Taste is renowned for its rigorous standards. Judges praised Barrel Aged as “astonishingly exciting”, noting its coconutty, toasty sweetness, smoky oak depth and a finish that is “balanced and lengthy… an exquisite rum.” 

The award completes a remarkable year for Islay’s first rum distillery, following Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Gold Outstanding at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, both scoring 98 points.

This success marks a bold new chapter in Islay’s distilling story.

The Original Islay Rum, launched in 2022, is the first rum ever produced on Scotland’s most famous whisky island. Crafted by The Islay Spirits Company, it extends Islay’s world‑class spirit heritage into a new category, blending Caribbean distillation techniques with the island’s rugged Atlantic environment. The result is a rum that is elegant, bold and unmistakably shaped by place and terroir. .

At the heart of the distillery is head distiller Ben Inglis, who grew up surrounded by whisky but was captivated by rum. Together with Brian and Andrew Crook of The Vintage Malt Whisky Company and Caroline James, he transformed the 1959 Art Deco Old Lemonade Factory in Port Ellen into a working distillery. A unique copper pot and twin retort still achieves a triple‑distillation effect in a single run, producing a high‑ester spirit defined by slow Scottish maturation, coastal salinity and ex‑peated whisky casks.

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The distillery’s portfolio reflects this innovative approach: Geal, a pure single white rum; Barrel Aged, matured in ex‑Islay whisky casks; and Peat Spiced, crafted with orange, ginger and cacao nibs smoked over peat.

Sustainability underpins every stage of production, from renewable electricity to closed‑loop cooling and pot‑ale reuse.

Caroline James said the 3‑star award proves “the liquid speaks for itself,” while Inglis added that Barrel Aged “could only come from Islay.” With international acclaim and a growing visitor presence, The Original Islay Rum is forging a new future for island distilling, one that both honours tradition and charts an entirely new course.

The Islay Rum Distillery, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay Website: www.islayrum.com   Email: info@islayrum.com Telephone: 01496 300 300