CBD Spiced Rum Review

Spiced rum is a thing and CBD is a thing so it was only a matter of time before the two came together.

Top Beverages is a new spirits company launching onto the market with two CBD-infused spirits. Under the label ONE, first out is their CBD Craft Spiced Rum – Navy Strength at 54.5% ABV. Also out is a CBD Craft Gin – Navy Strength, also at 54.5% ABV.

What is CBD?

I take it you know what a spiced rum is – the clue’s in the name – but you might be less familiar with CBD, knowing only that it has something to do with cannabis. Obviously it isn’t cannabis, otherwise this spiced rum would be illegal in lots of places.

CBD is the abbreviated name for cannabidiol, which is a chemical found in the cannabis plant. It can be extracted and turned in to an oil, and is believed to have medicinal properties. You can find out more about CBD and its possible effects on the body here.

Top Beverage Founders Saf Ali and Nicholas Pullen

Top Beverages

Top Beverages was formed in January 2019 by two friends, Saf Ali and Nicholas Pullen. American-born Pullen is an attorney turned entrepreneur, while Ali is from the UK and has worked in the music business as an executive, and run his own real estate company.

The Bottle

It has to be said that the rum comes in one classy bottle. It’s made of Italian glass and unusually only holds 100ml of spirit. The bottles are hand-filled and hand-labelled, and each spirit comes in a limited edition of 500 bottles. The bottles are smooth, slim and elegant, about the size of a hip flask, and will definitely be a conversation piece when seen on the drinks shelf.

CBD Spiced Rum Review

Top Beverages doesn’t give too much away about its rum. It’s spiced with cassia bark, orange peel, ginger, and Indian vanilla pods, plus 10mg of CBD per bottle.

We also don’t know what the rum is distilled from, if it’s aged or not, only that “Top Beverages distills all of its spirits on the scenic coast of Scotland.” Well, Scotland has well over 6,000 miles of coastline, most of it scenic, so that doesn’t really tell us much.

However, as the old saying (which I’m just about to make up) goes: “The proof of the spirit is in the sipping”. In many ways it doesn’t matter whether the rum is made from molasses or sugarcane, or whether it’s unaged or aged for five years, three months and two days in barrels held together by golden hoops. What matters is what it tastes like.

On the Nose

The spiced rum is a beautiful dark-straw colour, which means that either some ageing has taken place or some colouring added, because unaged rum is a clear spirit, like vodka. On the nose it’s very delicate and very floral. There’s a vanilla sweetness to it, and although ginger is one of the spices used, I get a gentle aroma of nutmeg. There’s an unusual scent of incense too, which took me right back to my childhood days as an altar boy. I may not know much about it, but I know already that this is definitely a quality rum.

On the Palate

You’d expect the alcohol to make its presence felt, and it’s certainly potent. It has a vanilla creaminess, a smoothness, a smoky incense again, and spices, and on the palate it’s a lot more robust than the delicacy of the nose would suggest.

The Top Beverages website suggests drinking it neat or pairing it with a craft cola or ginger beer. Really?? Given the price tag, would you really want to do that? Read on.

The Price

The initial announcement of this spiced rum said that it sold at £30 for a 100ml bottle. That’s the equivalent of £210 for the average 70cl bottle. If you go to their website, the only place it’s available, it now sells for £20 a bottle, the equivalent of £140 for a full bottle.

I recently reviewed an absolutely wonderful 12-Year-Old El Dorado rum from Guyana, which sells on Master of Malt at £36.95 a bottle. So, for the same equivalent price as this spiced rum you could buy three bottles of El Dorado and still have £30 change.

It is a very tasty and very smooth rum, and you will have a beautiful bottle to keep, if you’re into collecting bottles. Whether it is worth the price tag is up to you.