Bumbu The Original Rum
Bumbu The Original Rum is a 750mL Barbados rum bottled at 35% ABV (70 proof) by the Bumbu Rum Company (Sovereign Brands). Distilled and blended in Barbados and aged up to 15 years in once-used Kentucky bourbon barrels, it is a soft, spice-led rum flavoured with all-natural spices and no artificial colours or flavours. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 35% (70 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Origin: Distilled and blended in Barbados — West Indies Rum Distillery (est. 1893)
- Ageing: Up to 15 years in once-used Kentucky bourbon barrels
- Style: Small-batch, blended by hand; all-natural spices, no artificial colours or flavours
- Producer: Bumbu Rum Company — Sovereign Brands
The Rum the Brand Calls Bumbu
The brand's founding story reaches back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when sailors and merchants in the West Indies blended native fruits and spices into their rum and called the result "Bumbu" — Sovereign Brands built The Original as its modern take on that tradition. The rum itself is distilled and blended in Barbados at the historic West Indies Rum Distillery, founded in 1893, from sugarcane sourced across eight countries and Barbados water the brand describes as filtered through coral limestone. Its fermentation yeast is a distillery secret the brand dates to around 1840. Browse the range on the Bumbu vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Per the brand's notes: Madagascar vanilla, soft caramel and toasted oak on the nose; a palate of cinnamon, roasted nuts, banana and allspice; and a mild, lightly sweet finish that stays smooth and easy.
How to Enjoy
Bumbu's soft sweetness makes it a natural over a large cube, and it brings instant spice-and-vanilla depth to a rum Old Fashioned or a dark and stormy. More Caribbean bottles are in our rum collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How strong is Bumbu The Original?
The US 750mL bottling is 35% ABV (70 proof). The 40% listings online are a different 700mL bottling made for Europe.
How old is Bumbu The Original?
Its rums are aged up to 15 years in once-used Kentucky bourbon barrels — "up to" is the oldest rum in the blend, not a 15-year age statement.
Where is Bumbu made?
In Barbados, at the West Indies Rum Distillery. (Bumbu XO, a different expression, is made in Panama — the two are often confused.)
Barbados spice and bourbon-barrel age — order Bumbu The Original Rum online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.