Rapper Kano is the mastermind behind The Duppy Share’s new rum

Last week the latest season of the gritty London crime drama Top Boy dropped on Netflix, and as you settle in to binge the series, its star – actor and MOBO-winning grime pioneer Kano – has you covered for drinks. He’s the driving force behind the flavourful Duppy White Jamaican rum, part of The Duppy Share brand, which, when it was founded in 2015, was the first new London-based rum company in over a century.

The company was established by George Frost, son of legendary broadcaster David Frost. Its first product, Duppy Share Aged Caribbean Rum, is a blend of spirits from two of the most celebrated rum distilleries in the world. It contains a 3-year-old pot still rum from the Worthy Park Distillery in Jamaica, blended with a 5-year-old column still rum from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. It launched at Notting Hill Carnival, and the company not only maintains offices in the area, but close ties with the community, backing social and cultural projects there and in the Caribbean.

Duppy Share has had considerable success, carving out a place in a British rum market which is still dominated by drinks industry giants. Bacardi, which is one of the largest privately-owned spirits companies in the world, and Captain Morgan, which is owned by Diageo, still account for a majority of sales, but Duppy Share is now positioning itself as the UK’s largest premium rum brand.

Rum sales saw a boom here during lockdown. Industry figures reveal that an additional 1.3m bottles were sold between April and June 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, and 50 per cent of the growth in the market has been among younger drinkers.

Rapper, songwriter and actor Kane “Kano” Robinson’s association with The Duppy Share began all the way back in October 2016, when he gave a shout-out to the brand on Instagram. The post was spotted by Frost, who packed a bag full of rum and jumped on the next train to Manchester, so that he could hand-deliver the bottles to Kano and his team, ahead of a show at The Ritz. The two hit it off, and over lockdown they decided to partner on the development of a new white rum, to expand the Duppy line. This isn’t just a celebrity endorsement, either – Kano was actively involved in the development of the new product.

He grew up in East Ham, the son of Jamaican parents, and says his life experiences informed the decision-making in the creation of Duppy White. Unlike the original Duppy Share Aged Rum, Duppy White is 100 per cent Jamaican rum, reflecting Kano’s heritage. He drew on memories of childhood visits to family in Brownstown, Jamaica to help pinpoint the flavours that would make up the liquid.

The memories varied from biting into the shells of lychee-like guineps, to the coconut drops that his mum bought for road journeys, Devon House I-Scream (Jamaican ice cream), and his mum’s favourite Julie mangoes. Inevitably, the recording artist likened the process of making a rum to mixing a track, “constantly tweaking the blend to get the perfect result”.

The end result is a vibrant, fruity delight. Mango, grapefruit, and papaya play on the nose, and on the palate they are joined by white pepper and thyme. The finish is pleasantly tart with hints of pimento and lime. It doesn’t pack a high-ester punch, but it definitely has a touch of the over-ripe, quintessentially Jamaican dunder pit. Kano and Frost say they set out to develop a white rum with the complexity of the world’s best gins, and the proof is in the bottle. Those more used to a similarly-priced, quintuple-distilled leading brand rum may be surprised by its complex, interesting flavours.

The attractive, stocky bottle displays Jamaican influences as well as Kano’s London origins. The label, inspired by a 7-inch vinyl, is black, green, and gold, and depicts scenes from Kano’s life in both places. “This drink comes from me,” says Kano. “This is my life, my family’s story inside this bottle, and wrapped around this bottle.”

At 40% ABV, Duppy White is smooth enough to sip, but it’s also outstanding in a highball, mixed with sparkling grapefruit soda Ting.

• You can order Duppy White Jamaican rum direct from The Duppy Share website, which includes a link to Kano’s Spotify playlist. Find out more at theduppyshare.com/duppywhite