Features & Culture Writer
Speciality: Spirits History, Travel, Distillery Profiles, Culture & Heritage
Walter writes long-form features that explore the stories behind spirits — the people, places, and ingredients that give each bottle its character. A former travel journalist, he has visited over two hundred distilleries across thirty countries spanning gin, rum, whiskey, vodka, and beyond. He contributes features and culture pieces across Gin.Directory, Rum.Directory, Whiskeyful.com, and TheVodka.Shop. His writing has appeared in Condé Nast Traveller, Monocle, and The World of Fine Wine.
Article
From the banks of the Demerara River comes a rum tradition like no other — preserved in wooden stills that exist nowhere...
Walter Graves
May 7, 2026
Article
Three ingredients, infinite variations — the Daiquiri is the cocktail that proved rum could be elegant, and its story is...
Walter Graves
April 30, 2026
Article
Love it or loathe it, the intense "funk" of Jamaican rum is one of the most distinctive flavour profiles in the spirits ...
Walter Graves
April 23, 2026
Article
For over three hundred years, the Royal Navy issued a daily rum ration to every sailor — a tradition that shaped the rum...
Walter Graves
April 16, 2026
Article
In the Caribbean heat, rum barrels lose spirit at two to three times the rate of Scotch whisky — and this dramatic evapo...
Walter Graves
April 9, 2026
Article
The still is the beating heart of every distillery — and the choice between pot and column fundamentally shapes the char...
Walter Graves
April 2, 2026
Article
Long before Jamaica, Cuba, or Guyana entered the conversation, Barbados was distilling rum — and its claim to be the spi...
Walter Graves
March 26, 2026
Article
From Barbados to Jamaica, distillery tours are becoming a cornerstone of Caribbean travel — and the rum industry is inve...
Walter Graves
March 19, 2026
Article
For decades, rum was the spirit you mixed. Now, aged expressions from Barbados, Jamaica, and Guatemala are competing wit...
Walter Graves
February 20, 2026
Article
Barbados makes elegant, refined rum. Jamaica makes funky, fruity rum. Guyana makes heavy, complex rum. The reason is not...
Walter Graves
February 10, 2026
Article
Every rum begins in a still, and the type of still used shapes everything about the spirit — its weight, its texture, it...
Walter Graves
January 25, 2026
Article
Three ingredients, no garnish, and two hundred years of argument about the right way to make it. The Daiquiri is the coc...
Walter Graves
January 5, 2026
Article
The raw material defines the rum. Molasses produces the rich, sweet rums of the English and Spanish traditions; fresh su...
Walter Graves
December 15, 2025
Article
Created in Oakland in 1944, contested in origin, and butchered by a million beach bars — the Mai Tai is the most misunde...
Walter Graves
November 28, 2025
Review
Arcane Extraroma Amber Rum is a genuinely impressive agricole rum from Mauritius that demonstrates precisely what Arcane...
Read more Walter Graves
November 7, 2025
Review
Rebellion Spiced Rum from Rebellion is a straightforward spiced rum that does its job without fuss. Hailing from Cuba, i...
Read more Walter Graves
November 2, 2025
Review
Planteray 3 Stars Silver Rum represents solid, reliable quality from Planteray. This white rum from Jamaica offers good ...
Read more Walter Graves
October 29, 2025
Review
Captain Morgan White Rum from Captain Morgan is a straightforward white rum that does its job without fuss. Hailing from...
Read more Walter Graves
October 28, 2025
Review
Chairman's Reserve White Rum (40%) represents solid, reliable quality from Chairman's Reserve. This white rum from Saint...
Read more Walter Graves
October 24, 2025
Review
Huana Guanabana Rum Liqueur represents solid, reliable quality from Huana. This flavoured rum from Mexico offers good co...
Read more Walter Graves
October 24, 2025
Review
St Aubin Spiced Rhum is a genuinely impressive agricole rum from Mauritius that demonstrates precisely what St Aubin doe...
Read more Walter Graves
October 20, 2025
Review
Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Rum / Half Bottle is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Barbados that demonstrates prec...
Read more Walter Graves
October 19, 2025
Review
Smith & Cross Rum is a genuinely impressive navy strength rum from Jamaica that demonstrates precisely what Smith & Cros...
Read more Walter Graves
October 15, 2025
Review
Bacardi Superior Rum / Bot.1980s / Litre is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Puerto Rico that demonstrates precisely...
Read more Walter Graves
October 15, 2025
Review
Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Cuba that demonstrates precisely what Havana C...
Read more Walter Graves
October 11, 2025
Review
Ryoma Japanese Rum is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Japan that demonstrates precisely what Ryoma does best. Compl...
Read more Walter Graves
October 11, 2025
Review
Trois Rivieres Ambre Rum is a genuinely impressive agricole rum from Martinique that demonstrates precisely what Trois R...
Read more Walter Graves
October 6, 2025
Review
Kraken Black Spiced Rum represents solid, reliable quality from Kraken. This spiced rum from Trinidad offers good comple...
Read more Walter Graves
October 2, 2025
Review
Rhum St Barth Agricole Blanc is a genuinely impressive agricole rum from Saint Barthelemy that demonstrates precisely wh...
Read more Walter Graves
October 2, 2025
Review
Planteray XO 20th Anniversary Rum is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Barbados that demonstrates precisely what Plan...
Read more Walter Graves
September 27, 2025
Review
Clement Rhum Vieux Select Barrel is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Martinique that demonstrates precisely what Cle...
Read more Walter Graves
September 27, 2025
Review
Planteray Barbados 5 Year Old Signature Blend Rum is a genuinely impressive aged rum from Barbados that demonstrates pre...
Read more Walter Graves
September 23, 2025
Review
Rhum Rhum PMG Marie Galante (41%) is a genuinely impressive white rum from Guadeloupe that demonstrates precisely what R...
Read more Walter Graves
September 23, 2025
