Kiyomi Japanese Rum

Kiyomi white rum is distilled from local sugar cane molasses in a copper pot still at The Helios distillery in Okinawa, Japan. The sugar cane enjoys mineral-rich soils and a tropical climate, giving the rum a mineral, saline character. With a tropical climate and an average temperature of 22.5°C, this archipelago is the only place in Japan able to grow sugar cane. Helios is the oldest distillery in Japan, which started producing rum in 1961 by Mr Tadashi Matsuda after requests from the American army, who were stationed there at the time. For more than half a century, Mr Tadashi Matsuda’s family generations have been making rum by refining their barrel ageing techniques to find the perfect match between the barrel and the spirit.

In 2021, Helios distillery celebrated their 60th anniversary. Kiyomi means ‘pure beauty’ in Japanese. This rum is made from local cane sugar molasses that is fermented for three weeks then distilled in a copper pot still. A white rum is an unrivalled explosion of aromas thanks to a long period of fermentation for its sugar cane molasses, offering up truffle notes before oxidation.