Kill Devil Rum: Outer Banks in a Glass

Rum has always had a place on the Outer Banks—just not the legal kind. Smugglers ran it, shipwrecks spilled it, and sailors swore by it. For years, it came in from elsewhere. Then @outerbanksdistilling changed that. Kill Devil Rum is made here, in small batches, just miles from the Graveyard of the Atlantic, where lost cargo and old stories still rest beneath the waves.

The name runs deep. In the early days of the colonies, rum wasn’t just a drink—it was currency, medicine, survival. Clean water was unreliable, but rum was strong, steady. Too much of it, people said, and you’d need an exorcism. The cure was simply more rum—strong enough to kill the devil, or so they believed. Barrels that washed ashore didn’t go to waste, and the name Kill Devil became part of the landscape.

Now, it’s about more than just rum—it’s about what you make with it. The Mango Snapper, fresh, sharp, a little fiery, made with their Silver Rum. The Painkiller, smooth, coconut-heavy, a slow sip under the sun, built on their Gold Rum. Different styles, same craft.

Rum has been here for centuries. The difference is, now it’s made to stay.