Jacine Rutasikwa of Matugga Rum

Miked Up With Alison Walker

Jacine Rutasikwa and her husband Paul launched their Matugga brand at the London Rum Festival in 2015. At that time, there were very few UK-produced rum brands.

However, Matugga quickly silenced the doubters with a taste that rivalled the best on the market. A trade deal followed shortly after and the Rutasikwas gave up their jobs to follow their 'side-hustle' full time.

They moved to Edinburgh so that Paul could study distillation at Herriot Watt (having subcontracted the process previously), and they opened their production facility in Livingston in 2018.

Matugga promotes itself as the product of a ‘flavour triad’, drawing on the rum-making traditions of Jamaica, ingredients from Africa and the distilling history of Scotland. It is the only Black-owned distillery in Scotland and one of only two Black-owned distilleries in the U.K.

Jacine and Paul also semi-recently closed a successful £300k crowdfund to launch their own sugar cane plantation, located on a landholding owned by Paul’s family in Uganda, which will ultimately allow Matugga to offer a ‘cane to cask’ product that with an exclusive family link.

Testament to her grit and determination, Jacince states that "when there aren't many people who look like you at the table, you build your own table".

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