A family-owned highland craft distillery has been revealed to be a winner in the World Rum Awards 2021.
Pixel Spirits‘ White Rum was the overall winner in the taste category of unaged rum, distilled in pot and column stills.
Pixel Spirits Distillery, owned by the couple Craig & Noru Innes, opened in 2017 to create a gin for their bar at Loch Leven Hotel, a former 17th century coaching inn.
From there they have grown to produce gin for themselves and some other gin brands across Scotland.
Craig Innes, one of the owners of the business said “We launched our first products almost four years ago after two years of converting former farm byres on site with the help of friends and family.
“We knew how exciting the potential for the distillery could be and have been absolutely thrilled to see it grow and far exceed our original plans”.
“The past year has been challenging across the board, but it has given us time to work more on our exciting new rum expressions and other products on our Artisan Range”.
They began distilling rum almost two years ago with most going to cask to mature.
Rum maturation is a lot slower in Scotland compared to the tropical climates of the Caribbean where it originates.
Noru Innes, an owner of the business says: “We have been experimenting with a variety of casks over the past couple of years from virgin American and European oak to former bourbon.
“It is a myth that putting a bad spirit into a cask will make it better, you need first to ferment and distill an amazing white rum capable of aging.
“We also have a botanical rum expression that we are perfecting”.
From early on Pixel Spirits has ran a gin school in the distillery where students come and are guided through recipe development before distilling their own bottle of gin.
Craig said: “Adding a rum school seems like a natural progression allowing our rum lovers to also enjoy our distillation experiences.
“They will be able to distill either their very own bottle of white rum or botanical rum and can add the option of a tiny American oak barrel to take home and age their rum should they wish”.
Loch Leven Hotel has held the Highland title for Best Bar with the Scottish Hotel Awards for five years.
However, now the couple has decided to focus their attention on their distillery, while Effective Hospitality Management (EHM) is going to manage the hospitality side of their business.
