It seems that the UK’s love affair with rum isn’t going to slow down in 2018, with a Rum and Reggae Festival set to have its first event later this month, with festivals planned all over the UK in the coming months.

The first of these events will be hosted at The Clapham Grand in London on 17 February, with later festivals taking in the likes of Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Bournemouth, Manchester and Liverpool between now and September.

There will be plenty going on at these festivals for rum aficionados to enjoy, with tastings, cocktail demonstrations and rum talks among the events planned throughout the day.

Live entertainment and an indoor Caribbean rum beach party will ensure that it’s a lively and fun day out, while those who are serious about rum can visit the trade stands to find out about new distilleries or types of rum coming onto the market.

According to the Bournemouth Echo, which explained that the town’s event will be hosted on 14 July at the BIC, there will be rare and craft rums on offer for visitors to sample, including tipples from Cuba, South America, the West Indies and the US.

With a growing number of distilleries popping up all over the world to tap into the growing rum market, anyone who’s looking to develop their own rum may want to go along to get some inspiration.

Of course, distillers also need to source the highest quality organic grain alcohol to make a premium spirit such as rum.