One of the African continent’s hottest spirit brands has landed on the shores of the UK, promising to bring ‘True African Spirit’ to the nation.
Kakira Cane Spirits, named after the village in Uganda that is located at the source of the River Nile and gave its name to the sugar estate that produces its wide range of Rums, Vodkas and Gins, is quickly becoming a regular at industry excellence awards including the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC).
The brand was founded as an off-shoot of Kakira Sugar, Uganda’s largest private-sector employer, with each of its spirits made from the sugar cane grown on the estate. Kakira itself is a business that stretches back nearly a century, with an incredible history of love, loss and rebirth that spans formative Indo-African trading routes, military dictatorships and an explosion of growth to become one of the continent’s most successful businesses.
Founded by Muljibhai Madhvani MBE in 1930, Kakira enjoyed over four decades of growth, developing not just the sugar cane estate but an entire town with schools, places of worship and even a hospital for its massive workforce and the surrounding area.
The expansion and success ground to a halt in 1972 as military rule swept over the country, leading to the business spending over a decade under government control. During this time, the Madhvani’s businesses were nationalised and mismanaged to near-extinction, before the new government finally restored ownership of Kakira to the Madhvani’s in 1985.
With the business back in family hands, the Madhvanis focused on restoring the sugar mill at the heart of the operation, expanding over the next several decades to become the regional leader it is today, employing over 12,500 people, supporting over 10,000 local farmers and becoming Uganda’s largest private-sector employer with a global reach.
The estate itself is carbon-neutral, with sustainability becoming absolutely central for the organisation, and has even been carbon negative for the last three years. It is entirely powered by renewable and sustainable electricity from the up-cycling of waste sugar cane fibre. At peak crushing, the estate’s power generation is so large that it can even power the capital city of Kampala through the export of green electricity to the Ugandan national grid. In addition to sustainable power, the company also plants over 60,000 native trees a year and it is one of a handful of African companies to pioneer clean waste water management using anaerobic reactors.
Indeed, Kakira is more than just a business – it is also a community. Across the estate, the organisation also provides housing for over 4,500 of its employees, with free electricity, potable water and the construction and maintenance of local roads. It runs a 75-bed hospital with two ambulances that cares for estate workers and a wider local population of over 100,000 people.
Moreover, Kakira even owns and operates 15 primary schools and a secondary school for estate employees families, supports some 200 scholarships for under- and post-graduate degrees and a further 20 vocational training places through two dedicated foundations.
With Kakira Sugar known the world over, the estate decided to diversify into a unique range of cane spirits, which has since expanded into a show-stopping selection that regularly achieves the highest accolades at spirit awards across the globe.
Kakira Cane Spirits currently encompasses eight varieties across the rum, vodka and gin categories, and has already amassed an astounding 73 awards over just four years, establishing them as the most highly awarded spirit brand in Africa.
All Kakira spirits start life in the Kakira cane fields, with the whole range made using estate-grown sugarcane, botanicals, estate-generated renewable energy and cut with water from the shores of Lake Victoria, at the source of the River Nile.
Kakira Cane Spirits have partnered with renowned London-based distributor Enotria & Coe, as an exclusive UK agency and are available nationally with further plans to expand into European markets soon.
KAKIRA CANE SPIRITS PRODUCTS
KAKIRA AFRICAN GOLD RUM 7 YEARS – 70cl, 43% ABV
The flagship of the distillery’s rum range is Kakira’s African Gold Rum which is aged on the Equator for a minimum of 7 years in Sherry and Bourbon casks and has secured 12 awards with 3 golds including a win at the 2024 IWSC awards. With notes of honey, dried fruits, oak and cigar box, it has an exceptionally long, dry and complex finish.
KAKIRA AFRICAN SILVER RUM 5 YEARS – 70cl, 40% ABV
Kakira’s African Silver Rum follows close behind with 12 awards including a gold. Equatorially aged for at least five years in ex-Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hills Bourbon casks, it is triple filtered and offers aromas of banana, honey, coconut and almond. Sensational at the heart of any classic daiquiri.
KAKIRA AFRICAN DARK RUM 5 YEARS – 70cl, 40% ABV
Third in the aged rum range is the 5 year old African Dark Rum, also scoring well with 9 international medals. An indulgent unfiltered rum delivering rich flavours of toffee, dried fruits and oak, it is a perfect sipping rum or an ideal base for an Old Fashioned.
KAKIRA AFRICAN SPICED RUM – 70cl, 37.5% ABV
Brand new to the line-up is Kakira’s African Spiced Rum, which despite only being launched earlier this year has already won gold in its first ever award entry. A blend of solera and new-make rums infused with estate-grown and locally sourced botanicals, including vanilla, cassia bark, clove & cardamom it delivers on the bold flavours of East Africa with notes of toffee and Christmas spice.
KAKIRA AFRICAN DRY GINS – 70cl, 40% ABV
Kakira’s selection of African Dry Gins includes two stunning varieties, both of which use a wide range of estate-grown botanicals that include coriander, lemongrass, ginger, cardamom, angelica and black pepper, with its juniper hailing from Northern Italy. Botanicals are steeped for 16 hours in Kakira’s Sugar Cane Vodka before being copper pot distilled and cut with water from the source of the River Nile.
The classic African Dry Gin at 40% ABV, has secured four awards to date, while the 47% ABV Distiller’s Cut has impressed the judges to nail 12 medals, half of which were category golds.
KAKIRA SUGAR CANE VODKA – 70cl, 40% ABV
The star of the estate’s vodka lineup, the Sugar Cane Vodka, is an absolute judges favourite, with an amazing 14 award wins, including eight golds, one double gold and even one best in show at the 2024 London Spirit Competition.
Triple filtered at zero degrees, it’s made from 100% estate-produced cane spirit and the resulting spirit is exceptionally smooth with a subtle floral notes, a fresh sweetness on the palate and a flawless finish winning it legions of fans across the drinks award community.
KAKIRA COFFEE-INFUSED SUGAR CANE VODKA – 70cl, 37.5% ABV
Highlighting another of the East Africa’s largest exports, Kakira’s Coffee-Infused Sugar Cane Vodka brings together its award-winning vodka and an infusion of Ugandan Arabica coffee beans, creating a flavoursome and immersive blend that brings sweet notes of coffee and hints of cocoa, biscuit and vanilla to create a combination that has secured nine award wins and two gold medals.
Anthony Habert, Head of European Sales & Marketing for Kakira Cane Spirits, said: “It is such a genuine privilege to be able to launch a completely new brand into the UK market with such pedigree, history, integrity and quality. Moreover, as one of a handful of real African spirits brands in the world, we hope to represent True African Spirit in a market that is seeing a surge of consumer interest and appreciation in African products, music, arts and culture”
For more information on Kakira’s range of spirits, please visit:
