Why Rum Deserves a Place at Your Christmas Table This Year

There’s a reason rum and Christmas have always felt like they belong together, the warm, spiced sweetness of a good dark rum practically tastes like the festive season itself. This year, there’s a genuinely exciting new Australian rum worth having in your drinks cabinet come December: Terrigal Rum Co’s first ever dark rum, Luscious, from NSW Central Coast distillery Distillery Botanica.

Master Distiller Philip Moore, already a genuine legend in Australian craft spirits (Distillery Botanica holds the distinction of being the first Australian distillery to win Herb Liqueur of the Year in Germany, and the first to take home gold at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London), has spent almost three years developing Luscious, ageing it across new medium-toast American oak, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey barrels and 60-year-old brandy barrels. The result is a rich, velvety rum layered with dried tropical fruit, toasted oak, baking spice, honey, peach, cinnamon, hazelnut, allspice, marmalade and toffee, arriving in a distinctive rectangular bottle with a copper-embossed label and a native heron silhouette inspired by the birds that visit the distillery’s own gardens.

Australians are genuinely drinking more dark rum than you’d think
Rum has quietly become one of Australia’s most popular spirits, and dark rum leads the way by a significant margin, accounting for around 76 per cent of the entire Australian rum market. Australians collectively drank an estimated 5.5 million litres of rum in 2024 alone, and the category has been enjoying a genuine resurgence, driven in no small part by a wave of new craft and premium distilleries popping up across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Terrigal Rum Co is very much part of that new wave, proof that Australian rum makers are increasingly worth paying attention to, not just the big international names.

Why rum genuinely suits Christmas better than almost anything else
Rum’s natural warmth, spice and richness make it a genuine match for the flavours already on the Christmas table, gingerbread, fruit cake, roasted nuts, dark chocolate and baked desserts all sit beautifully alongside a good dark rum. Philip Moore himself recommends enjoying Luscious neat or on the rocks, paired with a wedge of aged cheese, some chocolate or gingerbread, but it’s just as at home in a handful of simple, spirit-forward cocktails that let its complexity genuinely shine, rather than drowning it out.

Here are three to try this festive season.

1. Luscious Old Fashioned
The classic cocktail format, done properly, letting the rum’s toffee and dried fruit character take centre stage.

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients
60ml Terrigal Rum Co Luscious
1 teaspoon brown sugar or maple syrup
2 dashes aromatic bitters
Orange peel, to garnish
Ice
Method
Add the sugar or maple syrup and bitters to a rocks glass, along with a splash of the rum. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add a large ice cube and the remaining rum, and stir gently for about 30 seconds to chill and slightly dilute.
Express the orange peel over the glass to release its oils, then drop it in to garnish.
2. Spiced Rum and Ginger Toddy
A warming, genuinely festive drink, perfect for a cold night by the fire.

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients
45ml Terrigal Rum Co Luscious
1 tablespoon honey
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 thin slices fresh ginger
120ml hot water
Lemon wedge, to serve
Method
Place the honey, cinnamon stick and ginger in a heatproof mug.
Pour over the hot water and stir until the honey dissolves. Let it steep for 2-3 minutes.
Add the rum, stir gently, and serve with a lemon wedge on the side.
3. Rum, Fig and Orange Sour
A slightly more festive, dinner-party-ready cocktail that plays on the rum’s own marmalade and dried fruit notes.

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients
45ml Terrigal Rum Co Luscious
15ml fresh lemon juice
15ml orange marmalade, warmed slightly to loosen
1 dried fig, plus extra to garnish
Ice
Method
Add the rum, lemon juice and warmed marmalade to a cocktail shaker with ice.
Muddle the dried fig briefly to release some flavour, then shake vigorously for about 15 seconds.
Strain into a coupe or rocks glass over fresh ice, and garnish with a slice of dried fig.
The bottom line
Whether you’re after something to sip slowly on Christmas Eve or a new festive cocktail to bring to the family table, a good Australian dark rum genuinely deserves a spot alongside the usual suspects this year. With craft rum having its moment in Australia, and homegrown releases like Terrigal Rum Co’s Luscious leading the charge, there’s never been a better excuse to give it a proper try.

Terrigal Rum Co Luscious is available directly through Distillery Botanica, with tastings and barrel room tours available at the Central Coast distillery. Please enjoy responsibly.