New female-owned and operated Australian rum brand Birds of Isle has announced the launch of its Bunya Nut Rum.

“We’re on a mission to change the narrative surrounding rum,” said Birds of Isle co-founder Chanel Melani.

“Rum could be our national spirit. The northeastern coastline of Australia is full of sugarcane, so we’ve decided to
embrace it in a complex and thoughtful way that we think could change people’s minds about rum.”

To release rum in Australia, it must be aged in wood for a minimum of two years. For Birds of Isle’s first release, the team selected a blend of five Venezuelan rums aged between two and eight years in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. These rums were carefully chosen for their light and dry Spanish-style flavour profile, which could not be locally sourced.

Unlike other rums in this style, no sugar has been added. The rum was then finished in Australia for another seven months in French oak ex-muscat barrels from the Barossa Valley, a rare finishing cask for rum.

Finally, the rum was soaked with native roasted bunya nuts and fire-charred bunya nut shells.

The nuts were hand-foraged from prehistoric Bunya Pine trees found in Bundjalung Country-Northern Rivers in NSW. Bunya Pines are endemic to Australia and have grown here since the Jurassic period (145 million to 200 million years ago). Birds of Isle worked closely with an Indigenous chef and cultural advisor to learn about this ingredient from the community first-hand and to ensure a respectful representation of this native botanical.

The bunya nuts impart a sense of terroir to the rum, adding subtle notes of chestnut and pinewood. Inspired by peated whiskies and smoky mezcals, the fire-charred shells impart a uniquely Australian flavour.

Birds of Isle Bunya Nut Rum opens with burnt sugar notes, transitions to a peppery middle and finishes delicately smoky and dry. It has aromas of crème brûlée and oak while the palate reveals hints of anise, pepper and char.

Melani said Bunya Nut Rum is best served over ice with tonic and an orange peel twist.

Birds of Isle utilises sugarcane waste pulp for its label, uses upcycled packing materials in its cases and sources custom curbside recyclable boxes for online orders.

Birds of Isle is currently ageing its first distillation made with local molasses sourced from the Northern Rivers. Plans for
additional rum releases are also underway in its South Murwillumbah distillery.

Bunya Nut Rum is now available direct-to-consumer online. It is also available in select locations in the Northern Rivers, including Bistro Livi, M-Arts and Murwillumbah Cellars in Murwillumbah and Elements of Byron, The Sunseeker and No Bones in Byron Bay. It has an ABV of 40% per 700ml bottle, priced at $130.

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