According to Gates, Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum forms an “interesting bridge between gin” that could encourage drinkers to sample the new spirit. This will be much more of a Brewdog-led identity, and the way that’ll look is we’ll use some symbiotics and brands that people recognise with Brewdog, and transfer that onto spirits but in an authentic way,” Kersley explained. After distillation, Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum is aged in casks and is bottled at 40% ABV without artificial flavourings. Some of the other spices used were: Clove, Lavender, Cardamom, Mace, and All Spice. All are illustrated on the label. And then we wanted to play on a classic but do our way authentically. Coconut and rum have been best buds for however many years now, and this is probably my favourite of the three. We’ve taken toasted coconut and infused that into the rum, which balances out with the molasses and complements the burnt-sugar flavour, while making a super bright drink.” New innovation: Seven Day Vodka joins the growing Brewdog Distilling spirits portfolio New vodka range: Seven Day Vodka

The Five Hundred Cuts Botanical rum is “distilled in the world’s first triple-bubble still, after a five-day fermentation it is then double-pot distilled to create a white rum rich in flavour of tropical fruit and dark berries.” BrewDog Distilling Co’s latest release is made using sugar cane molasses that has been fermented using red wine yeast. The spirit is double-distilled using the brand’s copper pot stills and is infused with whole botanicals to produce a rum that tastes like “like Christmas cake in a glass”. The BrewDog Distilling Company is charged with a single mission; to challenge perceptions of what a spirit can be. This is done with a meticulous eye for detail and an approach born of non-compromise – meaning everything is done under one roof, from scratch. Nothing is rushed. For a case in point we unveil their incredible hand-made rum Five Hundred Cuts – which took six months and thirty-five recipes to uncover. But their work has been very much worth it.That said with all these botanicals we are still getting a lot of additives. Not something that concerns me with a Spiced Rum but we have around 50g/L of additives. Part of the rum is then infused with Tonka Beans,Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and spices. The remainder is then Pot Distilled again with a mixture of fresh orange peel, Schezuan peppercorn, green cardamom and cloves. In October 2021, Brewdog overhauled its spirits selection to coincide with the opening of its new distillery in Ellon, Scotland. We had the opportunity to attend the launch of the new Botanical/Spiced rum created byBrewDog,which was held at the Chelsea Physic Garden, where we had a chat with Steven Kersley, the young master blender behind this new spirit. Now the brewer and distiller is growing its spirits portfolio with the launch of Gunpowder Gin, a punchy 57% ABV bottling recommended for sipping straight, or for mixing in a Martini or Negroni.

The ferment is then distilledand once done, they then “infuse a combination of this white rum with Tonka beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and spices; the remainder is pot-distilled with an abundance of fresh orange peel,Schezuanpeppercorn,green cardamom and cloves, over four hours, with a little unrefined muscovado added for subtle sweetness.” So lets see what the Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum is all about. As with all good (and bad) Spiced/Flavoured/Botanical rums we have a story behind this particular brand.He said: “Gin is a category that is well understood, and a lot of people are asking when that bubble is going to burst and where are people going to divert their attention to if it does. The move included a redesign of its 500 Cuts botanical rum and Lonewolf Gin ranges, bringing both brands under a more “Brewdog-led identity”, according to Steven Kersley, the company’s head of distillation. With the Raspberry and Lime, Kersley and his team found “raspberry distils really well into vodka” and took inspiration from a traditional raspberry-flavoured Scottish dessert, cranachan.