News / Spirits lift as Stewarts Rum flows again
RUM drinkers in Shetland are celebrating the best Friday night they’ve had in months after their favourite tipple finally returned to the isles following a long break.
Local wholesalers Hughson Brothers shipped 11 pallets of their popular Stewart’s Fine Old Demerara Rum into the isles on Friday morning – the first time the drink has been seen since April.
Rumours had been spreading that the strong, sweet spirit had dried up for good, but they were allayed when it emerged that the drought was caused by its bottlers no longer handling the product.
Forced to look elsewhere, Hughsons discovered a new bottler in Cheshire, but production was further delayed while they introduced them to the fine art of putting the finishing touches to flavouring and colouring the beverage with caramel.
The whole process starts with demerara sugar shipped from Guyana on South America’s north east coast to Holland where it is distilled into rum before being brought to Britain for testing and tasting.
Hughson’s sales manager Nathan Cross said he had no idea how popular the rum was in Shetland and beyond until the company ran dry. But there’s no reason he should have been in the dark about it, as it’s his own favourite drink.
“I haven’t had any rum for months because I couldn’t get it; I didn’t even want to try another brand,” he said.
By Friday evening the Co-op and several small shops in Lerwick were already selling the drink and reporting steady trade.
But demand is coming from further afield as well. “I have people in Aberdeen and further south who have been asking me to find a way for them to stock it,” Cross said.
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