It all began with a ‘what if…?’ moment between brothers Jim and John Ewen. What if we built a cane spirit distillery in Scotland? Undeterred by hurdles and underwhelmed by support, they went for it and against the odds set up and established Scotland’s first rum distillery in 2015.

Hand-made in the purpose-built distillery in Banchory, the result is a remarkable spiced cane spirit made with only the finest fresh ingredients and an attention to detail that the big boys can only dream about.

This recipe stands out not just for the freshness of the ingredients but also the notable absence of vanilla, meaning it’s serious and brooding rather than flamboyant and fluffy: perfect for days when you need to bury yourself in warmth.

Dark Matter uses the highest purity, refiner’s grade molasses, a standard almost unheard of these days in cane spirit distillation. The rare pot/column hybrid still is made by John Dore & Co. This customised still with a ten-plate copper column attached allows the Ewan brothers to realise a very pure, rectified spirit. They then add a twist on what Bourbon distillers call ‘sour mashing’. By adding a small amount of spent ale to the molasses at the beginning of distillation, they instil further complexity into their spirit.

Following distillation, the spices are added for a week-long infusion. It takes in a swathe of fresh ginger, green peppercorns, hand-crushed allspice berries and Indian long pepper. Finally, to impart the ideal balance of sweet and spice, 60 g/l of refiner’s grade Molasses is added. It is from this latter addition, and the spice infusion, that Dark Matter takes its colour (no caramel colour is added). This richly spiced spirit will satisfy the most curious of palates, whether enjoyed on its own over ice, in a simple mix with ginger beer or cola, or in updates to your favourite dark spirit cocktails such as the Old Fashioned.