A plantain-infused sipping rum is the latest addition to family-owned Kromanti’s libations. Like the father-and-daughter-run brand’s debut Tamarind offering, this new blend is a homage to the true spirit of Island life, being imbued with traditional infusions and an authentic mix of Caribbean fruits, herbs, and spices.
Following the launch of its signature flavour, Kromanti Tamarind, Kromanti Plantain is inspired by family recipes and offers a beautifully smooth and balanced rum. Using traditional methods and produced in the UK, the liquid is naturally and laboriously infused with Plantain via dehydration for maximum flavour.
The base is golden and contains a blend of rums, including two-year-old and three-year-old Venezuelan rums and a sugar cane juice rum from the Dominican Republic, which gives grassier, lighter notes.
They set out to reclaim the lost stories of rum, honour the ancestral homelands of the Caribbean diaspora, and bring to life the methods, flavours, and infusions used to create rum over generations.
Danielle David, co-founder of Kromanti, said, “Plantain is something that unites the diaspora. With this flavour, we want people to see a reflection of themselves in a bottle. The idea is to bring everyone together and celebrate something that was brought over by our ancestors.”
More than Pirates and Plantation Houses: The Rum for the People Dem
More than a drink, rum has been central to the customs and practices of Caribbean ancestors and communities for centuries. It is poured on the floor in ‘libations’ to celebrate life’s moments—from birth to death.
Rum infused with herbs and spices has also been used to carry functional remedies that travelled from the Caribbean to England with the Windrush wave of expats and passed on orally in stories, sayings, and proverbs.
Yet Kromanti founder Cashain, a child of the Windrush generation, saw the rum traditions he identified with, were being erased and manipulated by the majority of modern rum brands.
Cashain said, “When people think of rum, they think of pirates, they think of plantation houses, they think of carnival, they think of beaches. The more common brand stories are really about people who profited and exploited rum and the sugar trade.
“Those stories didn’t represent me—they eradicated the real story of rum and, in doing so, silenced the communities behind it. I want to tell a much richer story of ritual, celebration, and remedies.”
Kromanti is named after and inspired by Kromanti Kojo and Julien Fedon, who together inspired Grenada’s rebels to seize control of the plantations they were forced to work on and established a Maroon community at the island’s centre.
The herbs, spices and fruits in Kromanti rum can be traced back to the customs and practices of this community, which strove for freedom.
Kromanti is honouring age-old tradition in the process of infusing the rum with plants, where recipes unique to each family or bar owner are based on local knowledge and resources that provide physical and spiritual nourishment to their community.
“The ingredients that we choose are remedies passed on from one generation to another. Kromanti says something about valuing land, culture, and old knowledge from one generation to another.”
Suggested serve – Plantain Libation
- 50ml Kromanti Plantain
- 15ml sugar syrup
- Three dash bitters
- Dash of lemon
- Dash of soda
Kromanti Tamarind was launched in November 2020. It won an IWSC Award in 2021 and Silver at the London Spirits Competition in 2023. The second flavour in the brand’s range, Kromanti Plantain (£43.00), is available now on Kromanti’s website at www.kromantirum.com.