Cinnabar Spiced Rum is the third release from Portsmouth Distillery. This classic spiced rum was launched in April 2019. It follows on from their first release, the Fort Gin, and their second release, the 1968 White Rum. It has become one of our favourite spiced rums.
The Portsmouth Distillery is located at Fort Cumberland, Eastney Point, at the entrance to Langstone Harbour. It was established in 2018 by ex-Naval officers Vince Noyce and Giles Collighan and wine trade veteran Dich Oatley. Vince and Giles had always shared a mutual love of rum, and the distillery was founded to make a Portsmouth Rum.
Today, in 2025, there are 7 rums in the Portsmouth Distillery Range: 1968 White Rum, a flavoured white rum called Forum “Garden Rum”, Cinnabar Spiced Rum, 1812 3 Year Old and 1747 5 Year Old Rum, a coconut-flavoured white rum called Mutiny and a Dark Navy Strength Rum bottled at 57% ABV. All are available at Fareham Wine Cellar.
Cinnabar Spiced Rum is based around their 1968 White Rum, an unaged rum made using powdered sugar cane juice imported from Costa Rica. This is then rehydrated at the distillery, and the resultant sugar cane syrup is then fermented. This is a long, slow fermentation (their very first fermentation took 4 weeks or so) after which the ferment is distilled through the distillery’s two stills, a 500 litre pot still (nicknamed Sophie Wu) and a 4 plate column still. Using sugar cane syrup instead of molasses as a base produces a more aromatic, herbaceous style of rum. Then the spicing begins!
The spices and flavourings for Cinnabar Spiced Rum, or botanicals if you will, are then macerated in the white rum for 24 hours. These include cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, orange peel and Szechuan peppercorns (which also feature in the Fort Gin).
The flavoured rum is then re-distilled. A tiny bit of caramel is added for colouring, and a little Madagascan vanilla (vanilla doesn’t take very kindly to being distilled) is added too. There is also a little Costa Rican sugar syrup added, not a lot, just enough so that the spice rum is not bone dry. This means that the Cinnabar Spiced Rum is not one of those very sweet spiced rums; instead, it has a lovely, well-balanced freshness.
Like the 1968 White Rum and the Fort Gin, this rum is bottled at 41% ABV (4 + 1 = 5, the number of corners of the Fort!). A good decent strength for a spiced rum.
The rum is called Cinnabar Spiced Rum after the red and black coloured Cinnabar moth, which is found at the fort. The red and black colours of the moth, along with a plan of Fort Cumberland, make up the label.
Cinnabar Spiced Rum has a light golden brown colour. The nose is spicy and aromatic with some slightly herbaceous notes from the base rum. However, the nose is dominated by cinnamon and vanilla aromas backed up with other baking spice notes of clove and nutmeg. There is a background note of orange citrus with hints of toffee / caramel. The palate is fairly rich and round, initially sweet but finishing dry with just a little bit of sweetness on the finish. The key flavours here are cinnamon, clove, spicy orange and a touch of vanilla. There is a slight bitter note which helps to keep things balanced and interesting and there also is something faintly reminiscent of gingerbread too. The finish is relatively dry, clean and lingering with just the right amount of heat.
Cinnabar Spiced Rum can be served neat or over ice but is probably is best served with a good cola, such as Fever Tree or Fentimans, ice and a wedge of lime. It also makes for a good long drink with tonic water and a slice of lime or as a base for many rum cocktails
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