December 2017- Rum in the News

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December 2017- Rum in the News

MIAMI CLUB RUM

Grand Havana and Miami Club Rum officially announced a three-year collaboration to launch “Cuban Coffee Infused Rum,” a collective, creative partnership that’s more than traditional branding. Elements will include events and experiences, unique offerings and the development of a batch of limited edition Miami Club Rum and Grand Havana infused coffee cocktail. As part of the brand’s strategy, Miami Club Rum worked with Grand Havana to ignite “Cuban Coffee Infused Rum,” a concept with a conversational movement of taste between rum and Cuban coffee, a supreme blend by Luis Bustelo to bring fans of different genres together. With its roots delving in Cuba, Grand Havana is championing this global homage to a distinct island vibe with a modern kick – perfectly in line with the spirit and Caribbean origins of Grand Havana, Inc. “We are proud of our final product; the blending process and working with Matt Malone was one of the highlights of my long coffee career,” said Luis Bustelo, Master Blender and COO . “This is a true testament of two great brands coming together to do something magnificent.” “I’ve been in the restaurant business for a very long time and headed taste- testings all over the country,” said Steven Haas, Vice-President. “I can tell you this is delicious. Bustelo and Malone blended the perfect cocktail for any event.” Grand Havana Coffee is a Miami - based specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler that specializes in the small-batch roasting of Cuban style espresso coffee beans, masterfully blended by legendary roaster, Luis Bustelo, the original master blender of the Cuban espresso.

RON de JEREMY

One Eyed Spirits is pleased to announce the latest entry in the award-winning super-premium Ron de Jeremy Rum portfolio. The 2017 Limited Edition Ron de Jeremy XXXO is single batch one-time only rum, taking the smooth Ron de Jeremy ride to new heights.  It showcases the finest rums the Caribbean has to offer. The heart and soul of the XXXO is a blend from Monymusk Distillery in Jamaica and Demerara Distillers in Guyana that was put in American Oak barrels back in 1995. More funky Jamaican backbone comes from the Worthy Park and Hampden Distilleries in Jamaica. “Only 3000 bottles of this fine lubrication for conversation was produced”, tells Olli Hietalahti, CEO and Founder of Ron de Jeremy Rum. “The demand from our importers in Europe was so intense that we had to allocate the product and I’m happy to say the whole production was pre-sold.”

BACARDI

Bacardi announces industry veteran Maurice Doyle, 51, rejoins the largest privately held spirits company in the world as President – Incubation Brands and Global Commercial Development. Under the leadership team in Bermuda, Doyle is charged with driving brand equity and accelerating performance in some of the smaller, high potential premium brands in the Bacardi portfolio including ANGEL’S ENVY, ST-GERMAIN, BANKS, SANTA TERESA, FACUNDO Rum Collection, and LEBLON, as well as driving sales performance and travel retail globally. Doyle spent 17 years with Bacardi in travel retail, commercial and marketing roles before he left the company in 2009. Since leaving Bacardi, Doyle has served as Chief Marketing Officer at William Grant & Sons where he had accountability for travel retail and other global commercial functions, and most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Suntory’s non-alcoholic division for Africa, Middle East & Caribbean. “Maurice brings a passion for our brands, strong customer and sales development skills, an appreciation for our unique culture as well as an internal and external perspective which is invaluable as we continue to position Bacardi for long-term success,” says Mahesh Madhavan, chief executive officer of family-owned Bacardi Limited. “It’s great to welcome back a seasoned leader who has shown a particular talent for nurturing smaller, premium niche brands that become sustainable, long-term success stories.” “I’m thrilled to be a part of Bacardi again as it’s truly a unique family, company and iconic portfolio of brands,” adds Doyle. “Both the incubation and travel retail business have tremendous commercial opportunities, each serving as a platform to access premium consumers and introduce them to new experiences. I look forward to their continued development and consistent growth.” Doyle is based in London and serves as a member of the Bacardi Global Leadership Team, reporting to Madhavan.

In other news, Casa BACARDÍ visitor center, one of Puerto Rico’s top tourism attractions, is pleased to announce it has reopened as of November 1. While the Casa BACARDÍ campus suffered minor damage during Hurricane Maria, the largest premium rum distillery in the world is leading the charge in recovery and rebuilding. The landscaping is showing signs of recovery and the views of the El Morro Fort and San Juan Bay are as spectacular as ever. “Tourism is an essential industry for Puerto Rico. As the island rebuilds, we look forward to welcoming visitors with warm hospitality, cold cocktails, and stories of overcoming adversity, innovation, perseverance and celebration,” says Wesley Cullen, General Manager. “We are here to support the industry and are very happy to reopen Casa BACARDÍ for tourist and locals.”

Casa BACARDÍ Puerto Rico has been welcoming visitors since 1961. During the weeks following Hurricane Maria, the visitor center was temporarily closed as its staff remained focused on providing relief to the community as part of the “Bacardi Contigo” (Bacardi is With You) initiative. As part of the Bacardi ongoing commitment to Puerto Rico relief and rebuilding efforts, $5 of each tour admission will be donated to relief organizations, through the end of the year. Tickets are available at www.casabacardi.com.Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto Rico welcomes guests to enjoy the beautiful, waterfront property and select from three tours:

The “Historical” tour starts with a cocktail overlooking the bay to El Morro Fort, then a guided tour to discover how BACARDÍ rum is made and the family-owned company’s history of craft and innovation. The “Historical” tour is $15 (plus sales tax) and includes a welcome cocktail and commemorative cup.

The “Rum Tasting” tour is an experience for guests to discover how BACARDÍ premium rums are made, the craft of barrels and blending, and an expert-lead tasting of five BACARDÍ rums, including Legacy, exclusively available at Casa BACARDÍ in Puerto Rico. The “Rum Tasting” tour is $49.99 and includes a cocktail and commemorative cup.

The “Mixology” tour is the opportunity to master the mojito. This interactive tour puts visitors behind the bar as a BACARDÍ rum specialist leads guests through mixing three classic BACARDÍ rum cocktails, after a visit to the distillery and tour of the history of the most awarded rum in the world. The “Mixology” Tour is $59.99 and includes a welcome cocktail and commemorative cup.

In the retail shop, visitors enjoy the very popular “Self-Fill Experience,” where guests fill, seal and label their own bottle of special rum, exclusively available at Casa BACARDÍ, directly from the barrel.

CARIBBEAN RUM & BEER FESTIVAL

The 2017 Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival is throwing its support behind the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s efforts to help Caribbean families and countries recover and rebuild after the monstrous hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated some member destinations. The festival, an authentic Caribbean event, will be raising money for the CTO Hurricane Relief Fund, which was activated through GoFundMe. “We were horrified by the devastation inflicted on the region by the Category 5 hurricanes in September 2017 and, as an authentic Caribbean event, we felt obligated to assist those affected,” Cheryl Collymore, the festival director said. “As the region’s tourism development agency, the CTO is a reputable organization with a history of coming to the support of Caribbean countries hit by natural disasters and we are happy to support its efforts.” The festival will take place on December 9, 2017 at the Rockley Golf & Country Club in Barbados, and by that time the initial attention on hurricane-hit territories will have started to dwindle, but the struggles suffering of those affected will not have ended. To support the CTO Hurricane Relief Fund the 2017 Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival has committed to contributing five per cent of ticket and exhibitor space rental to the fund and to encourage regional producers who may not be attending the event to donate bottles of product to the festival to be sold, with 100 percent of the sale money going to the fund. In addition, on-site activities at the festival venue will be organized to raise funds for the CTO Hurricane Relief Fund, while a page has been established on the festival’s website encouraging the population to donate. “Hurricanes Irma and Maria have had a significant impact on families and countries in the affected countries and we welcome any contribution to the CTO Hurricane Fund,” the CTO’s secretary general Hugh Riley said. “We are grateful to the organizers of the Caribbean Rum & Beer festival for their generous contribution.” Those unable to attend the 2017 Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival can still donate to the CTO Hurricane Relief Fund thru their GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/hurricane-relief-fund-cto.

SAVANNAH SPIRITS GROUP

Savannah Spirits Group has announced that it will open a new distillery in the heart of Savannah’s National Historic District in March 2018.  The 12,000 square foot building, built in the late 1800s, will also house an upscale chophouse with multiple dining rooms, a full bar and private event space with a terrace on the upper floors all surrounded by the original brick that has been uncovered during the renovations. In the meantime, Savannah Spirits is currently producing its first two products off-site, Silver and Amber Rums.  The rums are the first in a line that will include vodka, gin and whiskey. “This has been a long time in the making and to introduce Savannah Spirits to the Lowcountry starting with our rum, we feel, is the most apropos way to honor the bustling spirit of the region and its people, and to celebrate Savannah’s fanciful history,” says co-founder Dean Bell. Heavily inspired by Savannah’s colorful history and often pit stop location for history's most notorious rum-runners, both Savannah Spirits rums reflect the distinctive character and provenance of the city and express this through their harmonious flavor infusions. The Amber Rum, made with the guidance of expert distillers from Imperial Sugar, fuses the caramel notes of Savannah Spirits Silver Rum with Imperial Sugar-made dark cane syrup to create a welcome addition to the dark rum world with a simultaneously abundant and mellow flavor.  Savannah has a storied history with rum.  The town was founded in 1734 where the only laws were ‘No Slaves, No Lawyers, No Liquor,’ particularly rum.  Soon ttunnels had been dug beneath the town for smuggling rum.  When Georgia went dry in 1908, Savannahians pushed to secede to form their own state, and during Prohibition, Savannah was known as the “Bootleg Spigot of the South.” “It’s all about the history. Our concept is, taste the history. A lot of people don’t really know how associated Savannah is with rum running and the craziness that went on, so we’re taking advantage of that,” says Bell.

PAPA’S PILAR

The folks at Papa’s Pilar have introduced a limited release of 1,400 special-edition Sherry Cask Finished Rum cases that will hit certain states this month. Their team of Master Blenders created this special edition expression to further bring out the Spanish Sherry flavor profile in their flagship Dark Rum. After the hand-selected rum goes through their unique solera blending process, it is further aged in wet Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks, resulting in an entirely new flavor experience. In a quest to get rum back to its roots, the Papa’s Pilar Production team chose to embrace a similar methodology used in Scotch Whiskey, with the goal to allow the rum blend to continue to meld together, while also interacting with the Sherry and French Oak. It’s also a method used by Cuban rum makers in their best rums, as they cannot easily source used American Bourbon barrels. The team chose to use French Limousin Oak Sherry casks from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and only for a short period of time, because the grain structure of French Limousin Oak is wider and more open than American Oak Bourbon barrels (300L vs 200L).

WHISTLER AFRICAN STYLE RUM

What, you ask, is African Style Rum? Whistler is the creation of three engineers from Free State, South Africa. Leon is the Master Distiller and a graduate from Rum University, Trev is the big talker and Stef is a tall-walking, super-selling short guy. They built there distillery in a thirsty region of South Africa where the days are hot, the nights are cold and the landscape is continuously shaped by the Dusty Free State Whistler. They are using Swaziland brown sugar and KZN molasses to make an African Style Spiced Rum and an African Style Dark Rum.

Their rules for an African Style Rum:

The rum must be distilled, aged and matured in Africa,

Only use equipment designed and manufactured by Africans,

Distilled by a born and bred African master distiller,

Distilled using only African sourced sugarcane and sugarcane byproducts,

Distilled to no more than 170 proof,

Matured in barrels that previously contained other African spirits.

ALLEGHENY DISTILLING  

As Allegheny Distilling celebrates the beginning of its fifth year of production, it has rebranded its core lineup of Maggie's Farm Rums, including the White, Spiced, and "50/50" Dark (formerly "La Revuelta") rums. Utilizing the original artwork created by Hannah Clark for the Maggie's Farm Queen's Share Reserve rums, Maggie's Farm has streamlined the skeletal design across this core lineup. New branding is currently available for purchase directly from the distillery, and is now beginning to roll into existing distribution markets, including Pennsylvania Fine Wine and Spirits stores and also the Nashville area via wholesaler Tennessee Wine and Spirits. As the new branding makes its way out, Allegheny Distilling has also expanded its distribution footprint to include Washington DC, Maryland and Delaware markets, each carried by Craft Wine and Spirits of Beltsville, MD. Allegheny Distilling has also come to a distribution agreement with Lauber Imports of New York, a craft portfolio of Southern Glazers in NY. Products going into distribution include the White, Spiced, and 50/50 Dark rums, as well as the silver Queen's Share Reserve rum, Airline Overproof rum and Maggie's Farm's new coffee liqueur and fresh ingredient falernum. Maggie's Farm rums may also be purchased for direct shipment across the USA by various DC retail outlets. Future distribution is expected to require another production expansion, what would be the fourth in the distillery's four-year history. This one will likely include up to a 100% increase in fermentation capacity, as well the possibility of a barrel house and secondary retail location in the city of Pittsburgh. Maggie's Farm Rum is the first commercially-available Pennsylvania-made craft rum since Prohibition. All spirits are made from scratch, from the fermentations of raw sugar cane from Louisiana, rather than molasses, and pot-distilled for full body and flavor on the Spanish-made copper stills located behind the distillery's cocktail bar. The distillery is open for tastings and bottle sales Wednesday through Sunday and serves craft cocktails Thursday through Sunday.

MANULELE DISTILLERS

Every varietal of heirloom cane has a story and flavor profile of its own. At Manulele Distillers, home of Kō Hana Agricole Rum, their sincerest hope is to honor and celebrate the Kō they have the privilege to plant and grow. Kō Hana Agricole Rum is meticulously crafted from farm to bottle. They grow single varietals that are hand harvested, pressed to juice and then distilled to perfection, resulting in what they feel is one of the world’s finest pure cane rums. Cherishing sugarcane akin to a winery loving the grape, their Agricole style celebrates the juice. Kō Hana embraces the natural earthiness and sweetness of the Kō. In stark contrast, the vast majority of the rum in the world is made from molasses, the industrial byproduct of processed sugar manufacturing. They pay special attention to the unique characteristics of each specific cane varietal. A select portion of their rum rests in oak barrels to further develop and reveal the essence of the cane. This sensory process is demanding and time consuming, yet necessary, to honor the Kō. They are a boutique distillery where only rums that they love are bottled without compromise. They currently offer KEA, a white Agricole style rum; KOHO, a barrel aged rum; KOA, a cask strength rum; KOKOLEKA, a Cacao and Honey Rum; and an artist series, their KOKOLEKA rum in an etched collector’s bottle.

SUGAR SKULL

Sugar Skull Rum is rapidly growing nationally and is extremely excited to be in a new partnership with NASCAR. “There are plenty of opportunities for both companies. This is a win-win and I am looking forward to a successful long-term partnership with NASCAR,” says Sugar Skull Rum owner, Percy Miller. NASCAR fans love the taste of Sugar Skull Rum and are thrilled about the brand. Sugar Skull Rum targets consumers in middle America, which fits right in pocket with the NASCAR audience. Sugar Skull Rum’s motto is “Celebrate Responsibly,” and is derived and manufactured in the Caribbean Islands. The brand’s exquisitely delicious taste puts it at the top of premium rum brands. For more information, go to www.SugarSkullRum.com

SEVEN CAVES SPIRITS

Last month I talked about the RUM: SAILORS, PIRATES AND PROHIBITION  exhibit at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. One of the pour sponsors at the exhibit is Seven Caves, a small (2,000 Square feet) distillery tucked into a nearby Miramar cul-de-sac. Seven Caves opened in 2016, but up to this point visits have been by appointment only. Geoff Longenecker, distiller and founder, recently set regular hours of 4:00 to 8:00 PM, Thursday through Saturday. Seven Caves initial offering is a barrel aged rum made from Louisiana sugar and molasses.  Longenecker hopes to have other single barrel-aged rum varieties, including rums finished in bourbon and rye barrels. A sign at the entrance touts that “A shot of rum is 97 Calories. A serving of Kale is 140. Choose Wisely”. Wise words indeed! You can find Seven Caves at 7950 Stromesa Court in San Diego. If you need more reason to visit the distillery, please note that there are at least three breweries with a three block radius of Seven Caves.