From the Editor: Approaching the Finish Line

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Approaching the Finish Line

It is hard to believe that we are in November, about to wrap up the year. Our Private Label clients are busy placing and receiving their last orders for the year, we are reviewing the numbers, updating the aging warehouses logs and forecasting aged rum volumes and costs for 2015. All things said, this has been one of the busiest years for us, which we hope means it has been one of the best ones for our clients in particular and for the entire rum industry in general.

All around us we see new craft distilleries, new aging warehouses, new rum festivals and renewed interest in the category. Sugarcane harvest is in full swing in some areas, while it is about to start in others: you could say the smell of sugar is in the air!

This month’s column is not an early wrap up of 2014, we’ll have that in due time. Instead, it is a reminder to consumers regarding the amount of work and effort required for rum to find its way into neighborhood retail stores and bars. In some cases, empty glass bottles from Europe have to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, to facilities in the Caribbean, Central or South America, only to be shipped back, properly dressed and fed (labeled and filled). The journey not only delays the speed with which products can make it into the market, but also increases the costs involved.

I am also sending a pre-emptive “thank you” to all those involved in transporting supplies and finished goods, to all those who work on the fields cutting cane and to their families for agreeing to endure the rigors of the season. I’ve often said that rum “has many faces”,  speaking about its styles and characteristics, but it is during this time of the year that the point is brought home as I see a reflection of the rum supply chain in the actual faces of the workers behind the products.

So let’s take a collective deep breath and do our best so that we close the year with the highest level of industrial safety, commercial success and customer satisfaction level possible.

Cheers,

Luis Ayala, Editor and Publisher