Rum in the movie capital of the world
Bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Mojave Desert to the east, Southern California has a striking geography. The Transverse Ranges, including the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, provide a dramatic backdrop to the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles and the coastal cities of San Diego. In stark contrast, the arid deserts and the southern Sierra Nevada mountains offer a wild and dramatic landscape. Unlike the cooler climate north, SoCal enjoys a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and warm summers – a year-round destination.
SoCal has three regions: the Angeles Region, the Southern Empire Region, and the Channel Islands Region.
Franciscan monks founded missions along the California coast from San Diego to Sonoma. The Inland Empire known for its citrus groves in the Spanish era had fertile lands surrounding the missions. The first vineyard was planted in San Diego within a few years of its founding in 1769. Sugarcane was planted in Southern California in the 1800s and rum was modestly distilled in areas including near Santa Barbara. Some sugar is still grown in Southern California but most producers source elsewhere. The Imperial Valley dried up and South California had water scarcity to grow sugarcane.
In the 1920s Prohibition era, bootlegging, and smuggling on ‘rum row’ offshore, to supply speakeasy bars. In the rugged hills surrounding Los Angeles, moonshiners set up hidden distilleries. In the 1930s Don the Beachcomber helped popularise rum with Tiki-style tropical bars in Hollywood. Brewing beer in San Diego goes back to 1896, but really took off in the 2000s, and evolved with craft distilling in the 2010s. Tasting rooms were only allowed by law since 2014. This SoCal rum journey takes you from the Central Coast down to San Diego.
Central Coast
Renowned for its stunning coastline with dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, and charming coastal towns. Rolling hills, coastal plains, and mountains with a Mediterranean climate of warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, home to the Paso Robles the world-class wine region and rum!
Calwise Spirits Co.
In Paso Robles, this micro-distillery on California’s Central Coast was started in 2016. Paso Robles is a wine region, but Calwise Spirits makes a variety of spirits including Hazard Reef Rum. Master Distiller Aaron Bergh has family distilling links here. During Prohibition, his great-great-grandfather’s moonshining operation was shut down, and a century later his distilling roots have been re
Hazard Reef White Rum is distilled from molasses made from US-grown sugarcane. After resting in American oak barrels for over a year, the spirit was filtered through activated charcoal to create a light rum. Hazard Reef Aged Rum is aged using the solera method. Hazard Reef Navy Strength Rum is fermented with native microflora for a tropical funk and bottled at full strength. Hazard Reef Anniversary Rum, has been aged in a solera barrel system for 6 years. Each year the remaining spirit is transferred to a different barrel, finally ageing in a bourbon maple syrup barrel.
You can visit the distillery, try a tasting flight of the rum, or sip an artisan rum cocktail in their lounge. The Tasting Room hours are Thursday – Monday: 12-6 pm.
Find out more on Calwise Spirits Co.
Greater Los Angeles
The most populous area in California has coastal plains, sprawling suburbs, and towering mountains such as the San Gabriel and San Bernardino ranges. The region has a Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers, often in haze due to its basin-like topography. Ventura has a growing brewery scene and rum!
Channel Islands Distillery
Founded in the heart of Ventura in 2013, known as the location of California’s prohibition-era Rum Row where a rum fleet carried cargoes of booze. Channel Islands Distillery makes artisan spirits including rum. The Signature Silver Rum is fermented from all organic roasted whole cane sugar and molasses. It is then a small batch distilled in an old-world rum style pot-still less the aging process. The Signature Aged Rum is made the same way and then aged in American oak barrels.
Grey Ghost Extra Dark Rum is a limited edition extra dark ultra-premium aged rum for the serious rum drinker. It is fermented from all organic dark whole cane sugar and molasses then batch distilled in an old-world pot still. It is then aged in American, Hungarian, and French oak barrels. Once the barrels are emptied, crushed, and pressed to yield the “devils cut” from the oak which adds to the extra dark colour. The “Grey Ghost” was a rum-running ship which the Coast Guard destroyed in 1926
Find out more on Channel Islands Distillery
Stark Spirits Craft Distillery
The first craft distillery in Pasadena and the second in the Los Angeles area and just around the corner from the famous Pasadena Rose Bowl. The micro-distillery is owned by Head Distiller Greg & his wife Karen Stark.
Stark Spirits make a range of spirits including Stark Spirits California Silver Rum, Gold Rum, and Silver 151 Rum in limited releases. They welcome tours and tastings on Fridays & Saturdays.
Find out more on Stark Spirits Craft Distillery
Surf City Still Works
Huntington Beach Distillery was founded in 2017 by a husband-and-wife team Josh and Elena Kornoff. They create a wide range of spirits including Surfrider Rum. Surfrider Rum is a white rum distilled from Virgin Islands sugar cane,
The distillery restaurant has upscale California cuisine alongside handcrafted spirits in the heart of Huntington Beach. They offer brunch, cocktail classes, and private events and are a top destination in the region.
You can join a distillery tour and take a look at what it takes to make each spirit with a cocktail in hand.
Find out more on Surf City Still Works
Hook Hand Rum
Founded by a father and son team, Dan Olson and Andrew Olson. Hook Hand Rum Hook Hand is a Blood Orange Flavoured Rum designed to be experienced with friends. Rum sourced from Puerto Rico is brought into the United States where it’s aged with oak chips, flavoured, and bottled at Surf City Stillworks in Huntington Beach. The rum is distilled from molasses. After ageing it’s flavoured with Blood Orange extract and Madagascar Vanilla. In 2024, the latest expression is Bartholomew’s Blood Orange.
They offer a membership called Original Crew. You can visit their partner distillery Surf City Stillworks to see how the rum is made. Hook Hand Rum can be found at the bar and enjoy it with a blood orange sunset.
San Diego County
San Diego city is situated on the Pacific coast north of Mexico and enjoys a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild winters. Its terrain is a blend of rolling hills, pristine beaches, and rugged mountains. The city’s iconic San Diego Bay is a natural deep-water harbour sheltered by the Point Loma and Coronado peninsulas. Renowned as the “capital of craft,” San Diego has pioneered the craft beer scene since the early 2000s and craft distilleries in the 2010s, there’s so much to explore in “America’s Finest City”. Distilleries centre on the Miramar (Spanish for ‘sea view’) neighbourhood.
Shadow Ridge Spirits Company
This veteran-owned small craft distillery was founded by Sean Hallman and his wife in Oceanside, San Diego County. A former Navy Surface Warfare Officer and Federal civilian employee for the Department of Navy, making a Navy rum was a natural step to take.
Shadow Ridge makes barrel-aged, silver and overproof rum is a pot-distilled piloncillo sugar and Grade A molasses-based rum that’s fermented with Kveik Ale yeast. 1893 Navy Strength Rum is a minimum 114 proof distilled from a piloncillo sugar and molasses wash, then barrel aged in ex-bourbon barrels. They recommend trying it in your regular Old Fashioned. You can find their rum at the Oceanside Distillers online store and partner retailers.
Find out more on Shadow Ridge Spirits Company
Clever Fox Rum
Based in Oceanside, just north of San Diego is this Woman and Filipino veteran-owned craft rum distillery making rum. Nisse and Kelly use all-natural Louisiana sugar cane syrup, filtered San Diego water, and secret heritage yeast from San Francisco. The rum is distilled on handmade copper stills, cuts are made by hand, and in small batches. Clever Fox Reposado Rum starts with Clever Fox Silver Rum and is then allowed to rest in new American oak for 3-4 months. The Clever Fox Rum is bottled in recycled glass and follows sustainable packaging and practices. You’ll find the rum at stores and bars across the region.
Club Kokomo Spirits – Seven Caves Spirits
Founded by Mike Love in 2022, co-founder of The Beach Boys, along with his son Brian Love. and wife Jacquelyne Love, Club Kokomo Spirits produces bottled rums and ready-to-drink canned cocktails. The father-and-son duo partnered with distiller Geoff Longenecker and his Seven Caves Spirit artisan distillery in San Diego, where Club Kokomo Spirits are being produced until the completion of their distillery in the Fall of 2024.
Club Kokomo Spirits launched a full line of rum in March 2024; Artisanal White Rum a unique blend of demerara cane sugar rum distilled on-site and traditional Jamaican pot still rum that is blended and bottled by hand. Tahitian Vanilla Rum adds whole Tahitian vanilla beans resting with the Artisanal White Rum, slowly imparting flavour without additives. Barrel Finished Rum is made with a proprietary blend of 8 and 10-year-old Jamaican, Barbadian, and Dominican rums, aged in new oak, ex-whiskey, and port casks. It is finished in hand-selected bourbon barrels, with no added sugars, flavoring, or colors.
Seven Caves Spirits was founded in 2016 by Geoff Longenecker inspired by the natural formations of La Jolla’s Sea caves. The duo’s partnership began with Seven Caves producing canned cocktails celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Beach Boys. Club Kokomo Artisanal White Rum is a blend of demerara cane sugar rum distilled on-site and traditional Jamaican pot still rum. Club Kokomo Barrel Finished Rum has a blend of 8-10-year-old Jamaica, Barbados, and Dominican Republic rums, aged in new oak, ex-whiskey, and port casks.
Seven Caves Spirits uses molasses and cane sugar and age rum in new oak casks. Every cask is hand-selected to match the spirit created. The Limited Release Series features secondary finishing barrels. Seven Caves Spirits Black Label Barrel Aged Rum, a 5-year-old rum aged in new oak, then 4 years in a Triple Cream Sherry barrel. Seven Caves Spirits Mead Barrel-Finished Rum is rested in barrels from neighbours Lost Cause Meadery. Seven Caves Spirits make Overproof Rum and the Orange Rum is flavoured with citrus oranges, produced and bottled in small batches at the Miramar San Diego distillery.
Find out more on Seven Caves Spirits
Cutwater Spirits
Across the street, Cutwater Spirits opened a Tasting Room and Kitchen in 2017 and has been touted as one of San Diego’s top distilleries to visit. Cutwater Spirits Tasting Room is open 7 days and hosts parties, live music, cocktail tastings, food, and rum cocktails.
Cutwater Bali Hai White Rum is made from pure cane sugar and is distilled on a hybrid pot-and-column still to create a crisp spirit with hints of fruit and grassy sugarcane. Cutwater Barrel Aged Rum ages for at least two years in virgin American oak barrels. Bali Hai Tiki Gold Pineapple Flavored Rum is distilled from pure cane sugar and combined with pineapple and coconut flavours to create the perfect tropical spirit. Bali Hai Tiki Dark Rum is a blend of barrel-aged rum, aged four years, along with white rum. Cutwater Bali Hai Holiday Spirit is made from Bali Hai Rum as a limited release. Taste the range on your visit.
Find out more on Cutwater Tasting Room
Liberty Call Distilling
It is owned by Bill Rogers and Marc Lord who established their distillery in 2013, in Spring Valley. Liberty Call produces a wide range of spirits including Navy Strength White Rum. Evaporated cane juice combined with wine yeast and a proprietary dunder. Liberty Call Spiced Rum is redistilling the rum and loading it with a botanical basket of eight spices such as cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, and nutmeg has become the recipe. Refilling the botanical basket every couple of gallons guarantees a smooth but bold experience in every sip.
Ageing with charred oak darkens the spiced rum and a splash of hand-made caramel is added. Liberty Call is a naval phrase when all ship companies not part of the duty section could take liberty and leave the ship. Liberty Call Distilling opened a second location at Mercado del Barrio in 2019, this adds a California cuisine restaurant featuring a farm-to-table menu. You can reserve your visit online
Find out more on Liberty Call Distilling
Malahat Spirits
Opened in 2014 in Miramar by three friends Tom Bleakley, Tony Grillo, and Ken Lee making rum and whiskey. Inspired by the craft beer scene they wanted to bring the same creativity in local spirits here. The Malahat was a ship, the Queen of Rum Row – a five-masted schooner that supplied the finest spirits to Southern California during Prohibition.
They experimented for months with many combinations to make rum. After that, they settled on a proprietary combination of multiple types of molasses and an unexpected strain of yeast that resulted in one of the finest rums they had tasted. In the range is Malahat White Rum, Spiced Rum, Black Tea Rum, Ginger Rum, and the Cabernet Barrel Aged Rum, which has been aged for over 2 years in cabernet barrels.
Find out more on Malahat Spirits
Not all producers have tasting rooms but you’ll find their rum in local bars and restaurants.
Where to Enjoy Rum in Southern California
Whether you’re looking for rum cocktails in the City of Angels or sip rum in the capital of craft, here are a few options:
Paso Robles: Cane Tiki Room
Ventura: VenTiki Tiki Lounge and Lanai
Los Angeles: Caña Rum Bar, Tonga Hut, The Rendition Room, The Mermaid, Purple Orchid, Wolf & Crane Bar, Tiki Ti, Broken Compass Tiki, Isla Cuban-Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar, Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, The Bamboo Club
Palm Springs: Bootlegger Tiki, Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar
La Palma: Isla Cuban-Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar
San Diego: Polite Provisions, Bali Hai Restaurant, Aero Club Bar, Miss B’s Coconut Club, Mothership Bar
Southern California has a vibrant rum scene, and many places to enjoy the cane spirit. Your next road trip awaits, to discover rum in SoCal. The world’s movie capital and the capital of craft are compelling locations for rum lovers.
For more general travel advice on South California Tourism
For travel planning use our California Rum Map
Thanks to the brands for contributing to this article, and permission to use their images. Other image credits to Canva Pro, and user contributions.
