How India Built a Global Award-Winning Rum from Sugarcane--Camikara's Newest Awards

For Immediate Release

How India Built a Global Award-Winning Rum from Sugarcane

Camikara 8YO Wins Best In Class — Platinum at California’s SIP Awards;

Camikara 3YO Earns Gold, with Both Receiving Innovation Awards

Camikara 3 YO, 8 YO & 12 YO win Silver at International Spirits Challenge

(Sept. 13, 2026) — In a powerful endorsement of India’s growing expertise in premium rum production, Camikara Rum has scored major wins on both sides of the Atlantic with honors from California’s SIP Awards and the International Spirits Challenge in London

In Camikara’s first appearance at the SIP Awards in California, Camikara 8 Year Old was awarded Best in Class – Platinum, the highest recognition in the Rum Aged/Rhum Agricole Aged category and Camikara 3 Year Old secured a Gold medal. Both expressions also received the Innovation Award, independently awarded by the judging panel following a rigorous blind-tasting process and determined solely on the quality, character and originality of the spirit.

The recognition follows the International Spirits Challenge 2026 (ISC) one of the UK’s leading global spirits competitions where Camikara 3 Year Old, 8 Year Old and 12 Year Old have each been awarded Silver medals. The ISC is the longest-running dedicated spirits competition in the world, with thousands of entries from 70-plus countries and a blind-tasting process.

At both competitions, Camikara competed against long-established rum brands from some of the world’s most renowned rum-producing nations, countries with generations of expertise and tradition in crafting premium rum.

Madhu Kannu, Head of International Business at Piccadily Agro Industries Ltd, said: “India is the second largest sugarcane growing country in the world, yet no distillery in India produced a 100% pure cane juice rum and then matured it entirely in oak barrels. Camikara is the first and only one to do so. Today, the brand is proving India can make a rum that stands proudly among the world’s finest and commands recognition on the global stage. Every bottle carries the character of our land, the strength of our sugarcane and the ambition of a nation that is ready to lead. Camikara is putting Indian rum on the map and defining it. This is the real Indian rum.”

About Camikara Rum

Camikara derives its name from Sanskrit, meaning ‘liquid gold’ and is India’s first premium rum crafted from 100% pure sugarcane juice, rather than molasses, following the traditional rhum agricole style of rum-making. With no additives, Camikara captures the authentic character of sugarcane and develops its depth and complexity through maturation in oak casks under North India’s subtropical climate, where wide temperature variations accelerate maturation and deepen the interaction between wood and spirit.

The result is a rum with a diverse flavour profile, shaped as much by geography as by technique, reflecting India’s terroir, climate and sugarcane heritage that offers distinction from traditional Caribbean styles.

The Camikara range comprises 3-year-old, 8-year-old and 12-year-old expressions, each reflecting a different stage of maturation and complexity. Camikara 3 Year Old is a versatile rum designed to be enjoyed on the rocks or as the foundation in a range of cocktails, while Camikara 8 Year Old and Camikara 12 Year Old are perfect for sipping on their own.

Camikara is produced in northern India by Piccadily Distilleries, the first distillery in India to make rum without the use of molasses.

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