Crafted at 8,888 feet in Crested Butte, Colo., using pristine Rocky Mountain snowmelt and Louisiana-grown sugarcane, Montanya Rum is being positioned as "American Mountain Rum," a move Owner and Master Distiller Megan Campbell says "reflects both its terroir and philosophy: rum that celebrates effort, achievement, and elevation — not escape."

Campbell's business strategy is built around the concept that consumers are increasingly prioritizing quality over price, with 47% of spirits drinkers reporting they are trading up, Montanya is aiming to reframe rum as a serious, craft-driven alternative to whiskey and tequila.

It's high-elevation process slows down fermentation and enhances barrel aging at 8,888ft creating complex barrel flavors. The result is a portfolio of aged and unaged expressions designed for both refined cocktails and neat pours.

Steve Remsberg. a retired maritime attorney in New Orleans, who is said to have one of the largest Rum collections, calls this "the biggest era ever for rum. The only period that could surpass it would be the decade between the end of Prohibition and the beginning of World War II, but we're living in the biggest rum renaissance since the 1930s. People care about spirits, and cocktails, again."