December 2020 - Rum In the News

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                                   LOST YEARS RUM

Lost Years, the debut brand from independent rum house Cane & Able, is a marine conservation rum which brings the taste of the Caribbean and Latin America directly to British drinkers. Available exclusively on-line, the hand-bottled range includes authentic aged and unaged rums from some of the world’s most revered distilleries. Not only do they taste great, but they do good too, as every bottle sold saves up to ten baby sea turtles. Lost Years aims to save more than 500,000 hatchlings over the next few years, helping protect one of the world’s oldest and most endangered inhabitants. Cash from every sale will be used to fund community-based conservation efforts at key turtle nesting sites across the Caribbean and Latin America. The Lost Years range comprises four unique rum blends sourced from some of the region’s leading rum distilleries. 

Four Island is a blend of three fine cask aged rums: an eight-year old rum from the legendary Foursquare distillery in Barbados, a five-year old from Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos in the Dominican Republic and a two-year old from the acclaimed Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica. The blend is then finished with the addition of an unaged Rhum Agricole from Guadeloupe’s Longueteau Distillery. 

Arribada is a luxurious blend of fine aged rums from Venezuela, Panama, El Salvador, Belize and the Dominican Republic. Column distilled and tropically aged in white oak barrels for between five and eight years, the result is a wonderfully mellow, warm and spicy Latin American golden rum. 

Silver Moon is a pure, unaged blend of traditional column still rum from Jamaica’s Clarendon distillery, married with a high-ester pot still rum from the revered Foursquare distillery in Barbados. Light bodied yet flavor packed, it is a white rum with the natural sweetness of molasses. 

Navy Strength is bottled at a formidable 54.5 per cent ABV. Made with the same blend as Silver Moon, this rum is instead bottled at true navy strength for a punchy unaged rum which is the perfect base for many cocktails. 

Cane & Able founder Lee Smith said that the brand was inspired by his son’s love of the sea turtles: “For as long as I can remember, my son Billy has adored sea turtles and the ocean. When he learned about the threat that these ancient creatures now face, all seven species are today either endangered or threatened, he wanted to do something to help.” The idea for a sea turtle-saving rum was hatched during a family holiday in Jamaica last year: “I was sitting there watching the sunset and enjoying a glass of rum and it struck me – what if we could bring incredible rum from the Caribbean and Latin America and also do our bit to support one of the region’s most celebrated creatures?” www.lostyearsrum.com

                    WEST INDIES RUM DISTILLERY

A new rum pot still is coming to the West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD). Assembled by legendary coppersmith John Dore & Co, one of the most famous distillation companies in the world, the new equipment has been dubbed the ‘Hot Pot Still’ in tribute to the popular Hot Pot beach in Brighton, St Michael where WIRD is located. “We have been working on this project for quite some time and we are very excited to see it come to fruition. This is an investment not only for WIRD but for all fans and stakeholders of Barbados rum,” said Don Benn, Master Distiller for more than 20 years at WIRD. “This will help us greatly in reconnecting with our past rum production methods as we will be distilling rum as it was done in the early days of rum production in Barbados 1750s. “Our new Hot Pot Still is a distillation system inspired by 18th century techniques, and all the old copper pieces and rivets were actually handcrafted in keeping with tradition. We are assembling the equipment at this moment and we are very excited about what the future holds.” This pot still is very special, as it’s based on old blueprints and documents that were found in the Distiller’s Vault at the distillery. The distillery’s objective is to bring back the heritage of more than 125 years of distillation. “The Hot Pot Still was designed and crafted to be a ‘dream still’ using the most interesting and fascinating parts of each blueprint found. It was also produced using reclaimed riveted copper, so there is an element of sustainability and this sits squarely in line with WIRD’s green philosophy,” Benn said. “It has been an exciting process, and we have incorporated some of the best elements of what we found in the Distiller’s Vault to create a one-off dream still of which we can all be proud,” he said.

“It also provides us with more distilling capacity and we will be using the highest quality molasses available. We are optimistic of distilling additional rums with a unique organoleptic profile that’s closer to the rums that were produced in the 18th century. This will be our primary focus for the Hot Pot Still, and we are excited to share the results with the world while creating meaningful jobs and increasing foreign exchange earnings for Barbados.” 

                           STRIPED LION DISTILLING

Striped Lion Distilling, a small-batch rum distillery located in Woodbury, Gloucester County, New Jersey, has finally opened. They are a family of rum enthusiasts and science buffs, using their knowledge to create rums, flavored rum liqueurs, and rum-based cocktail bitters. Erin and Kevin Wright want to educate the public on the versatility of rum as a spirit, in addition to educating them to be savvy consumers of alcoholic beverages. Because they feel transparency is important, each of their spirits clearly denotes whether sweeteners or colorings have been added. With the exception of their “Rum Collector’s Reserve”, which is a proprietary blend of aged rums, Stiped Lion rums are fermented, distilled, processed, and bottles on-site. Their cocktails are created to showcase their rums and bitters, and to hopefully inspire consumers to enjoy rum beverages at home. 

Striped Lion Distilling is a 100% black owned distillery and 55% woman owned. Their rum offering will shortly include: Striped Lion Rum, an unaged pot-still rum; Striped Lion Rum Collector’s Reserve, a proprietary blend of aged rums from four different countries; Striped Lion Citrus Rum, their unaged rum, flavored with citrus peels; Striped Lion Cocoa Rum, their unaged rum, flavored with cocoa nibs; Striped Lion Spiced Rum, their unaged rum, flavored with a blend of spices. More rum varieties, including rum liqueurs and rum-based cocktail bitters, will be forthcoming soon. https://stripedlionrum.com/

                                      GOSLINGS RUM

Bermuda’s Royal Gazette reported that Goslings has become the Willie Wonka of the rum world. Customers who buy a liter of Goslings Black Seal Rum from a MarketPlace store in Bermuda, between now and December 13 have the chance to win one of five golden tickets. Just as in the Willy Wonka fantasy film, holders of a golden ticket will be in line for a dream prize. However, unlike the film the prize is not a trip to a chocolate factory, but instead is a behind-the-scenes tour of Goslings’ production facility in Hamilton, and a gift of a rare bottle of Papa Seal Single Barrel Bermuda Rum.  

The 2020 Papa Seal is blended from pot and column distilled rums ranging between 10 and 21 years, aged in hand-sealed, once-used bourbon barrels, and married in American White Oak for an additional two years in Bermuda’s humid, salty air. https://www.goslingslimited.com

    DOMINICAN ASSOCIATION OF RUM PRODUCERS

According to Dominican Today, The Dominican Association of Rum Producers (ADOPRON) ratified its support for the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) initiatives, together with other government entities, to confront fraud in the production and commercialization of alcohol and advocates drastic consequences for violators. It considers that the authorities’ continuous action against illicit drugs in the area of alcohol protects consumers’ health, creates confidence in the market for the present and future investments, and protects the country’s image and the industry’s emblematic brands in international markets. 

In this context, ADOPRON values the authorities’ decision to give continuity to the trafficking system, which, through the use of technologies, integrates consumers in the detection of illegal alcoholic beverages. They also advocate that the system be applied without discrimination between market agents and is very important. 

The agreed terms and conditions regarding its scope, operation, and costs are formalized and maintained. Research carried out by economist Nassim Jose Alemany for the rum industry has shown that high taxes on rum has resulted in a 27% decline in sales of the alcoholic beverage, as many former rum drinkers migrated to clandestine beverages with a 40% tax evasion. The study reveals that today the Dominican Republic is the Latin American country with the highest luxury tax on rum. The tax increased from 53% in 2013 to 67% in 2019. The Dominican rum industry generates more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes more than 10,000 million pesos in taxes per year. 

With exports amounting to 120 million dollars and more than 70 markets, Dominican rum exports represent 81% of the country’s total exports of alcoholic beverages. Dominican rum stands out for its contributions to constructing a country brand since it is one of the few productive sectors in the country that exports brands.

                                   BUNDABERG RUM

After winning the Gold Medal at the Australian Tourism Awards earlier in 2020, Bundaberg Rum recently won the Double Gold Medal and trophy for Best Distillery Visitor Center in the Spirits Tourism Awards component of the International Spirits Challenge 2020. The Blend Your Own Rum Experience was also highly commended with a Gold Medal in the Distillery Tour category, behind Irish Distillery, Roe & Co. 

Judges applauded the Bundaberg team on their dedication to promoting local tourism and boosting the economy, as well as providing a superb experience steeped in brand heritage. Duncan Littler, who is Bundaberg Rum D2C’s marketing and experience manager, told Food & Beverage Industry News “to take home an international award of this caliber is an incredible feeling, especially so soon after our last recognition.” https://www.bundabergrum.com.au/

                             MARAMA ORIGINS RUM

Beveland Distillers has launched Marama Origins Indonesian, a spiced rum made Indonesian sugar cane flavored with extracts from exotic plants and fruits characteristic native to the area, such as vanilla & galanga root. It is then aged in American oak barrels. Marama Origins is the latest rum to join Beveland Distillers’ portfolio, which includes Ron Jungla, Caracas Club and Ron Relicario. Beveland Distillers was founded by Ramón Masoliver in 1994. 

Originally focused on the manufacture and distribution of drinks within Spain, it has grown rapidly and today is an international company covering over 65 countries. https://www.beveland.com/

                                         KOLOA RUM

The Koloa Rum Co.’s store and tasting room at Kilohana Plantation in Puhi is finally open again, after being forced to shut down for eight months because of the pandemic. “We are very excited to get back and feel a little normal,” Valerie Smith told the Garden Island newspaper. “My team is excited, and a few of them have moved on to do different things because they needed to. I got a good crew and we are ready to tackle anything.” Bob Gunter, president and CEO, said “We planted sugarcane last year at our new Koloa distillery site across the ball park, and last week was the first harvest of our organic sugar cane, with our second harvest earlier this week,” Gunter is hopeful that the new distillery will be built in the heart of Koloa within the next six months, and hopes to keep his rum pure and only made with locally-grown ingredients while giving back to Kaua‘i’s community. https://koloarum.com/