Rum in the News
January 2018- Rum in the News
RUM FESTIVALS
Looks like 2018 will bring us rum festivals galore. To help you make your travel plans, here are some festivals to consider :
THE BARBICAN RUM FESTIVAL
The first traveling Rum Festival tour is coming to The Barbican in York, England on Saturday, April 28th, with rum, cocktails, food and music from around the globe. Lucy Douglas, the founder of the festival said: “The growth in the rum market and evolution in the variety of flavors and styles has been phenomenal over the last couple of years. Having been to some amazing beer and gin festivals we decided to set up something for rum drinkers, somewhere fun where they could try new and exciting rums whilst listening to live music, eating great food and be surrounded by like-minded people. Throughout the event there will be live entertainment and dancing – including steel drums and salsa; sampling over 100 rums, the opportunity to talk to rum industry experts, tasty food to buy and above all lots of fun.”
BRISTOL RUM & REGGAE FESTIVAL
If there’s two things that go together hand in hand, it’s rum and reggae. The Bristol Rum and Reggae Festival will be taking place on April 7th at Motion and is a must-attend for fans of both delicious rum-based concoctions and sun-drenched reggae sounds. Ticket holders will be given a rum atlas and complimentary rum punch on arrival before being able to explore a massive world of rum, with the club being transformed into a tropical paradise for the day. Rare and special craft rums from the West Indies, Cuba, South America and The United States will be on offer, giving people a chance to discover new varieties of the drink. And to accompany the rum consumption there will be a selection of reggae bands and DJs playing across multiple stages, transporting people from Bristol to Kingston.
NORWICH RUM FESTIVAL
The first Norwich Rum Festival took place at Open last May and following its success organizers have confirmed it will be coming back to the city. The traveling event will return in May 2018 to showcase over 100 different types of rum and offer a range of live entertainment, food and giveaways. Lucy Douglas, the organizer of many of these British festivals, said: “We knew rum was going to be big in 2017 and we’d heard Norwich knows how to party and the people of this fine city did not disappoint! “We loved it so much we’re coming back and you’re all invited to join the party!” Taking place at OPEN over May 18-19, the festival will be split into three sessions. Each guest will be gifted a Rum Festival glass and brochure. Drinks vouchers to taste the rums will be available.
CHESTER RUM FESTIVAL
Chester will sample the tastes, sounds and atmosphere of the Caribbean when the UK’s first travelling Rum Festival visits the racecourse in spring 2018.The event will be held in The Pavilion Suite on Saturday, March 24. Organizers promise more than 100 different rums from around the globe combined with live entertainment, food and giveaways. Street food with a Caribbean theme will be available throughout the day. On arrival, guests will be greeted by a team member, known as a ‘Rum’un’ then handed their Rum Festival glass – a gift to take home – and a brochure full of information about the rums on offer, fun facts and suggested garnishes to complement the drinks. For more information on these British festivals, visit www.therumfestival.co.uk or email info@therumfestival.co.uk.
SAINT LUCIA RUM FESTIVAL
Saint Lucia’s 2018 Food & Rum Festival, being held from January 12th to 14th, is set to not only showcase the island’s unique culinary and rum heritage, but will be the backdrop for the first annual Caribbean Rum Awards. The Rum Awards is being under taken in collaboration with Caribbean Journal, which has, throughout 2017, been sampling rums from Caribbean and international suppliers and distillers. They have selected a shortlist to participate in the awards. The Rum Awards consist of several components including rum displays and samplings throughout all of the festival events, a bartender’s workshop where local bartenders will be educated about the serving and pairing of fine sipping rums, judging of the rums by a panel of experts including a few VIP judges, and a People’s Choice Competition based on all the nominated rums.
“The first annual Caribbean Rum Awards is a celebration of the Caribbean’s most famous spirit,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal. “At its core, this is a way to show the public the sheer diversity and quality of rum, something that is essential to the Caribbean experience.” Complementing the Caribbean Rum Awards, will be the Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Cocktail Competition. The competition will feature the best Saint Lucian bartenders preparing their finest spiced rum cocktail over a first round of competition with the best of the best taking the stage at the Pigeon Island National Landmark on Sunday January 14 for the finale competition. Challenged with the task of making a drink from their mystery bar in only 20 minutes, the Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Cocktail Competition will produce a winning drink which will become Saint Lucia’s national cocktail. Details of the Saint Lucia Food and Rum Festival including schedule and pricing can be found at http://www.stlucia.org/food-rum-festival/
RUM LAB RUM FESTIVALS
The Rum Lab has announced the 2018 dates for the US Rum Festival Tour, with the intention to continue promoting the education and premiumisation of rum. The events will take place at the metropolitan cities of Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and New York City. The goal is to feature more than 40 premium rum brand expressions from around the world, accommodate members of the beverage trade with intimate access to brand representatives, tastings, seminars and educational breakout sessions. World renown industry guest speakers already on tap for most of the cities, include:
(1) Richard Seale – Fourth Generation Master Distiller, Foursquare Distillery, Barbados
(2) Ian Burrell – Global Rum Ambassador, Celebrity Judge and producer of the UK Rum Fest.
(3) Bailey Pryor – 5 times Emmy Award winning documentary film producer and CEO of The Real McCoy Rum.
The 1st event for 2018 will be the Chicago Rum Festival which will take place on April 14th at Logan Square Auditorium – Chicago, Illinois. Followed by the California Rum Festival, which will be on Sept 8th at SOM Arts Cultural Center in San Francisco, CA, then the inaugural Seattle Rum Festival taking place in Seattle, Washington. Then to conclude the tour, the New York Rum Festival is scheduled to occur the weekend of Sept 29th, in New York City. For more information on each event visit www.therumlab.com.
BARBADOS SUGAR & RUM SEASON 2018
Immerse yourself in this mesmerizing story and experience life in the birthplace of rum, through the island’s newest season - The Barbados Sugar and Rum Season. This exciting, educational, and experiential season offers an insight into Barbados’ rich heritage, which resulted in the island becoming known as “the brightest jewel in the British crown” and the “richest spot of land of all the European colonies in the Caribbean”. From rum distillery tours, to sugar and rum cooking classes, chocolate making classes, walking and bus tours, mixology shows, historic lectures, spa treatments, street and beach parties, an Open House Season, a big BBQ, as well as slave route, cane factory, windmill and rum shop tours, the Barbados Sugar and Rum Season is steeped in creativity, history and authenticity, and the perfect way to complete your memorable Barbados experience. Here is a sampling of some of the events.
FOURSQUARE COPPER STILL RUM TASTING TOURS
Visit the most modern and computerized distillery in the western hemisphere, to learn about rum, while simultaneously introducing your taste buds to experiencing the fine flavor and quality of their internationally awarded rums. This enhanced guided tour will include a comprehensive commentary on the history of R.L. Seale & Company’s rum making process, and the sampling of a wide array of rums.
MIXOLOGY ROADSHOW
Hit the road with some of Barbados’ and the world’s best mixologists, as they pair mouth-watering cocktails with mouth-watering canapes at various locations around the island. This is an amazing opportunity to learn how to make unique cocktails with an innovative Bajan twist and high quality technical precision. These globally acclaimed Barbadian mixologists will take you on an unforgettable journey with flare and passion.
SUGAR AND RUM COOKING CLASSES
Are you looking for a real hands-on experience? Then, learn to cook indigenous Barbadian meals using sugar and rum with Executive Chef, Peter Edey. Sessions will be interactive, educational and lots of fun while learning the history of local foods, why Bajans cook the way they do and about the unique way in which they season their food. With sugar and rum infused into the recipe of the day, this is a fantastic experiential event where you will certainly have a memorable experience!
LOUISIANA SPIRITS
Louisiana Spirits has “broken ground” on a US $6 million distillery expansion for Bayou Rum, which will allow the distillery to “ramp up” its production. The expansion includes a barrel library, an event space and an outdoor entertainment venue to its visitor center. The barrel library will be able to house thousands of batches of new creations from master blender Reiniel Vicente Diaz and master distiller Jeff Murphy. It will also feature a tasting area, where visitors will be able to sample Bayou rums and learn more from the team behind the range. The event space can hold up to 300 people and comes complete with a stage and dance floor. “In 2016, the Bayou Rum distillery hosted more than 35,000 guests. This expansion will allow us to better cater to new and returning visitors and offers an indoor and outdoor area for events that locals can enjoy,” said Joe Reese, Bayou Rum’s managing director, who has been leading the under taking. “While the barrel library certainly enriches the visitor experience, the benefit for our production team is more room for current batches and for future innovations we’ve got in the pipeline.” Speaking to The Spirits Business last month, Murthy said: “Our growth has been faster than we’ve imagined so we’re kinda maxed out on our barrel space. We’re waiting on our new barrel warehouse, which is in the process of being built right now. “Hopefully before that’s finished we’re going to start with new warehousing, and then the final phase will be more production area for Reinel and myself. More distillation, more blending, so that we can ramp up production even higher.” In October 2015, Stoli Group US moved into the rum category with the signing of an exclusive multi-year distribution deal with Louisiana Spirits, producer of Bayou Rum. The Bayou rum range, which is craft distilled from locally grown sugarcane in Lacassine, Louisiana, currently consists of four expressions – Bayou Silver, Bayou Spiced, Bayou Select aged rum, and Bayou Satsuma Rum Liqueur. The expansion is scheduled to be finished in December 2018.
ANGOSTURA
Continuing its commitment to the development of young people in the Laventille community and environs through education, Angostura Limited has embarked on another project designed to improve vocabulary and literacy skills in several primary schools in the area. The first school to receive assistance under the Library Enhancement Project was St. Barb’s Primary school on Upper Laventille Road, Port of Spain. Collaborating with Educate Inspire Encourage (EIE), a local company that specializes in providing library services, work began in April at the school to refurbish the existing library space, making it more attractive to young readers. The walls and shelves were painted in bright colours, attractive posters and decals affixed and the space laid out in a more ‘user-friendly’ design. Outdated books and resource materials were archived, and current texts were digitally catalogued, using software specifically designed for library management. Training of teachers and students on how to use the software will commence in the new school term, with ongoing support to be provided by EIE. According to the school’s Principal, Ms. Ann Peters, “we recognize the dire need for a fully functioning library, that will serve the needs of the student population, thus enhancing their vocabulary and literacy skills, which will in no doubt auger a positive change in the pupils’ performance and thus allow them to reach their full potential.”
CAPTAIN MORGAN IN AFRICA
The Daily Nation, a leading newspaper in Nairobi, Kenya, reports that East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has started making Captain Morgan Gold at its Ruaraka brewery in Nairobi as it seeks to tap into the growing market of spirits drinkers. The regional brewer, which has until now been importing the rum produced by its parent firm Diageo, is now producing the premium spirit in a 250ml bottle. Fred Otieno, Kenya Breweries Limited head of innovation, says they will by June start producing the 750ml bottle. The regional brewer has in the past years seen sales of its beers such as Guinness, Pilsner and Tusker dip while its spirits continue growing by double digits. “The fact that it is locally produced, using local inputs, means that it will have a slightly different taste than the original,” Mr. Otieno told the Business Daily in an interview. “We are seeing a lot of our consumers shifting to mainstream and premium spirits brands. By locally producing a brand such as Captain Morgan, our customers get to enjoy a renowned drink at an accessible price.” The recipe used in production of the Captain Morgan variant will next year be adopted for local production in EABL’s regional markets as well as in Diageo’s subsidiaries in West Africa, Mr. Otieno added. The EABL has stepped up its innovation to help grow sales, occasioning the launch of brands such as Kenya Cane Coconut and Tusker Cider. Other like Kenya Cane Citrus and a Dublin-based beer called Hop House are in the pipeline. The NSE - listed brewer recorded a six percent net profit growth to Sh8.5 billion in the year ended June, helped by cost-cutting and marginal sales growth.
RUM JOURNAL RUM AWARDS
It began in 2012 with an idea: to lift up rum. The aim was to celebrate the glory of rum, to honor the greatest rums just as wines and spirits and so many other categories are honored. The Rum Journal’s Rum Awards is now in its sixth year, having grown into one of the world’s most important and influential measures in the rum category. And every year, the judging by the Rum Journal special panel of judges gets more difficult, as rum continues to grow both in diversity and quality. The most striking advancement of late has been the rum world’s renewed focus on the art of barrel aging, from special finishes to long-term aging. This year’s final judging, performed at the terrific Casa de Montecristo by Prime Cigar in Miami, was the product of a year’s worth of tasting and research that ultimately evaluated more than 200 rums from the Caribbean and around the world. This year’s Rum of the Year was Angostura No. 1. The latest expression of Angostura No. 1 is the result of aging Trinidadian rum for 10 years in American oak casks and then another six in French oak casks that formerly held cognac. Runners Up included Papa’s Pilar Sherry Finish (Gold Medal) (Florida), Facundo Exquisito, Puerto Rico (Silver Medal), and St Lucia Distillers 1931 (Bronze Medal). Rhum Agricole of the Year was La Favorite Privilege 1999 Cuvee Andre Dormoy. Best New Rum was Papa’s Pilar Sherry Finish. Best New Rhum Agricole was Rhum Neisson Collection Armada Millesime 1991. Best White Rum was John Watling’s Pale Rum, Bahamas. Best White Rhum Agricole was A1710 La Perle Rare B69-56. Best Gold Rum was Island Company. Best Spiced Rum was Siesta Key Rum Company of the Year was Habitation Saint Etienne, Martinique.