Rum in the News
CANEROCK JAMAICAN SPICED RUM
Canerock Jamaican Spiced Rum is a blend of 100% Jamaican aged rums from two legendary distilleries, Long Pond and Clarendon, enhanced with delicious natural spices and finished in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. The new brand offers a spiced rum of rare complexity and character that is meant to be enjoyed slowly and serenely. Jamaica, the third largest island in the Caribbean, is renowned for its powerful, high-ester rums, combining aromas of ripe tropical fruits with spicy and camphorated notes that are highly appreciated by connoisseurs. Maison Ferrand, creator of fine spirits, was inspired by the inimitable profile of Jamaica’s rums to produce its first spiced rum expression. In a complete departure from the neutral base spirits often used in rums of this category, Canerock is above all, the expression of its terroir, a product with Jamaican roots crafted according to traditional methods. Maison Ferrand makes the most of the expertise of two of the island’s legendary production facilities, Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries, both proud representatives of the diversity of Jamaican rums with centuries of expertise between them. A blend of rums distilled in pot and column stills, including high-ester rums aged between 5 and 10 years, Canerock Jamaican Spiced Rum achieves the perfect balance between elegance and power. Canerock is infused with carefully selected natural spices, as opposed to synthetic flavors. It took three years and more than 90 experiments to find the best combination of ingredients to highlight the rum’s unique character: vanilla beans from Madagascar, coconuts from the Caribbean and a touch of ginger from Jamaica. Each ingredient is infused individually to ensure the best extraction of aromas before being blended with the rum. Cultivation of vanilla, one of the world’s most precious spices, is extremely complex. Coconut flesh sweetens the mélange with texture and richness. Ginger, frequently used in the culinary specialties of the island, completes the recipe with a fresh and spicy touch of herbaceous notes. The final step in the production of Canerock is maturation of the blended rum for several months in ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. This Spanish sweet wine has intense notes of honey and raisins that add complexity and length to this delicious, spiced rum. https://www.canerock.com/
DISTILL VENTURES and KROMANTI RUM
Since launching its Pre-Accelerator Program in July, 2021, Distill Ventures (‘DV’), the world’s first independent drinks accelerator devoted to building and scaling the drinks brands of the future, has invested its initial goal of $5 million to entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities. Recently, DV announces its aim to invest an additional $5 million in global funding committed by Diageo, DV’s sole funding partner, over the next year. Through the Pre-Accelerator, DV has created a more accessible runway to unlock seed funding, a key barrier reported by entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented communities. Since its launch, it has attracted more than 300 applications from a broad range of applicant backgrounds, with nearly 50% of applicants identified as women, 50% as Black/African/Caribbean, 17% as Latin, 16% as having Asian heritage and 11% as LGBTQIA+. In year one, DV backed 10 drinks brands in the United Kingdom, United States and The Netherlands, and their 19 founders, alongside Diageo, including Kromanti, a spiced Caribbean rum founded in 2020 by a father/daughter duo, Cashain David and Danielle David, who are descended from a group of enslaved Africans known as Kromantis. The Kromanti people lived off the land and understood how to use the natural ingredients around them to treat disease and care for themselves and each other. Through stories, folklore, and family secrets, this knowledge has been handed down and the Davids hope to honor the Kromanti history with their range of rums infused with Caribbean herbs, spices, and fruits. Cashain and Danielle have created a signature rum infused with the sweet and sour notes of the Tamarind fruit, along with cinnamon and nutmeg. They won a Bronze Medal at last year’s IWSC Awards. Frank Lampen, CEO, Distill Ventures, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done over the past year, identifying and partnering with highly impressive entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, but we recognize that this is just the beginning. Our focus has been, and will continue to be, helping founders unlock seed funding, and we look forward to working together to achieve further growth.” The Pre-Accelerator offers an initial investment of up to $500,000 and six to twelve months of bespoke acceleration support to prospective founders. Afterwards, the company can seek further investment from Distill Ventures and Diageo, or from other capital sources or strategic partners without restriction. Applications to join the Pre-Accelerator are open from now to September 30 for prospective founders in the United States, and from now until December 1 for founders globally. The 2023 program is slated to begin in February and March, respectively.
www.distillventures.com/pre-accelerator/, https://www.kromantirum.com/
DIPLOMATICO
Diplomático is ranked among the finest premium rums all around the globe, but the question is where in the globe is ranked best to savor Diplomático? The perfect rum deserves the perfect place. To help answer that question, Diplomático has chosen six of the world’s best bars:
- Salmon Guru - Madrid, Spain. Spain’s most idiosyncratic bar is a space where anything is possible. Salmon Guru is a quirky concept bar with a heady fusion of bright color that’s nothing if not a weird and wonderful escapism (not that you need escaping from the beautiful streets of central Madrid). The venue holds three distinctly dazzling rooms: an exotic 1950s tropical speakeasy section, a glamorous Hollywood night market den and a neon lit comic book themed lounge area. It might sound like there’s a lot going on, but in fact the place is surprisingly intimate and cozy amidst the madness with relaxed, good vibes all round. And the interior is just the start of the creativity. Salmon Guru’s cocktail menu knows no boundaries. Expect your liquid creations to come bursting with quirky, exotic flavors and to arrive in custom glassware like you’ve never seen before, think treefrogs, bumblebees, piranhas, and dragons. And the menu is categorized not by spirit but by flavor (fruity, powerful, sour, refreshing). Don’t let the eccentricity fool you because the food and cocktails are some of the best in the world.
- The American Bar at The Savoy Hotel - London, United Kingdom. Holding the impressive crown of the longest surviving cocktail bar in London, the American Bar at the Savoy pays homage to the incredible lifetime of dedication of the bar’s infamously talented bartenders and guests. Take a look at the walls adorned with photographs and drawings of the many famous clientele from the last 129 years. A mixture of bespoke glamor and traditional style with sweeping curtains, mirrors and original cocktail tables. Known for its 1930s elegance, the bar serves vintage classics with a twist. Order from The Savoy Songbook – a cocktail menu featuring 20 cocktails inspired by those that have performed at the bar.
- Café La Trova - Miami, USA. The neighborhood’s most vibrant spot where locals and tourists hijack corners of the bar to chat about the world passing by whilst they sip on Cuban cocktails and nibble on world-class Cuban bar snacks. Designed like a scene straight from the streets of Havana, you’re surrounded by hanging plants, old wooden tables, ramshackle terracotta walls with little balconies and windows and even washing hanging up on clothes lines on the ceiling above you. Café La Trova specializes in the elite ‘cantinero’ style of bartending that iconized Cuba’s heyday in the early twentieth century, so expect to find handsome waist-coated bartenders theatrically showing off their mixology skills as you listen to the live Cuban band on the intimate stage in the middle of the bar.
- Huerta Coctelería Artesanal - Bogotá, Colombia. Located within the BioHotel Organic Suites (the first fully self-sustainable hotel in Colombia), Huerta’s interior is inspired by its ethical menu concept. Think weathered wooden crates, rustic doors and tree branches weaving in and around the rooms. This ultra cool cocktail bar offers a unique experience. It offers flavors that showcase regional spirit and culture and also uses artisanal processes to craft their own ingredients grown right on-site in the bar’s very own garden (which also provides a beautiful place to sit).
- 28 Hong Kong Street - Singapore, Southeast Asia. 28 Hong Kong Street lies concealed behind an inconspicuous and unfussy 1960s shopfront. With no signage on the door, it relies on word-of-mouth for its clued-up clientele, giving it an exclusively cool and exciting atmosphere. Inside takes a different angle, shiny, sleek black interiors, a neat display of lit-up liquors, secluded booths, and mellow lighting reminiscent of a bachelor pad. Drink along to the sounds of nineties hip-hop classics which also provide the names of some of the exceptional drinks on the list.
- Maybe Sammy - Sydney, Australia. Probably one of the chicest bars on this list, Maybe Sammy is an opulent Art Deco paradise full of pink velvet banquettes, grand gold lamps, palm tree wallpaper, marble tiles, pastel pinks and greens, indoor plants, and swing jazz music. It’s 1950s Hollywood glamor down to a T. The bar’s signature serves are named after the era’s favorite haunts from along the Las Vegas strip and the spirits list goes on endlessly. When you do finally reach the rum section, you’ll notice the menu is divided by the origins of the spirit (choose from Spanish style, British style or French style). From there you can decide what specialty rum cocktail you’d like and what brand of rum you’d like it to be made with. A super personalized rum cocktail to say the least.
APPLETON ESTATES
The Jamaica Gleaner recently reported that Appleton Estate recently launched its Appleton Estate Decades in the Cayman Islands. “We have always made efforts to secure the best for our consumers and we are here to tell all rum collectors that a new asset will be making its way to the shores of Cayman. We will be distributing Appleton Estate Decades. So far, the product has drawn much interest in the industry, and we anticipate that it will do well here,” said Beverage Division Manager for Jacques Scott Wines and Spirits Limited, John Alban. Rum collectors and enthusiasts from the Cayman Islands got a chance to obtain their own bottle of Appleton Estate Decades at the Kimpton Seafire Resort and Spa, where the rum was launched in fine style. “Appleton Estate’s premium expressions are celebrated as some of the finest rums in the world, comprising an award-winning core range. However, it is also a well-known fact among rum enthusiasts globally that the brand’s continued commitment to launching limited-edition, super prestigious offerings have also put them in the spotlight. It is with this that we announce the latest prestigious exclusive offering, Appleton Estate Decades,” said Master Blender and Tourism Ambassador for Jamaica, Dr. Joy Spence. “I am delighted to share my deep passion for rum-making with this new release. As one of the oldest rum distilleries in Jamaica, we continue to make history with the introduction of this never-before-done blend of rums from each of the last six decades. I am honored to have played a part in the creation of this unique, premium expression, a celebration of my country’s 60th anniversary of Independence. I am also deeply honored to represent Jamaica in the Cayman Islands, a territory with which we share a deep, storied history,” Spence added. Only 1,962 bottles were produced, in tribute to Jamaica’s year of independence. At the Appleton Estate Decades Jamaica Rum launch at the salubrious Sunken Garden at Hope Botanical Gardens in Kingston, bottle number 1,962, signed by Master Blender Dr. Joy Spence, was auctioned for USD$16,000, almost 10 times its original retail price of USD$1,700. All the iconic brand’s released limited time offers are crafted by Dr. Joy Spence, the world’s first female master blender, who this year celebrated her 40-plus years as chief creator of the brand. In 2022, Appleton Estate showed its power in the premium rum category when it released not one but two LTOs, the first being the Ruby Anniversary Edition created in celebration of the master blender herself and the second being the tribute rum for Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence, Decades. https://appletonestate.com/
KO HANA
The newest release of Kō Hana’s KOA Hawaiian Agricole Rum has been aging for just shy of 3 years in American Oak and Hawai’i’s endemic Koa wood barrels. KOA is the most elegant expression of barrel aged agricole rum Ko Hana offers. As the staff goes through their cask selecting process, certain barrels have a perfect balance of flavor and body. Some of those rums are so balanced they are chosen to finish aging them in Koa casks, Hawaii’s most famous endemic hardwood. Touched with a reddish hue, KOA is bottled at cask strength at 50% alcohol by volume with floral hints of orange blossom and crisp apple notes playing in the background behind sweet black tea and warm baking spices. KOA uses the Kea heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane to create the base for this rare and luxurious spirit. https://www.kohanarum.com/
HAVANA CLUB
Rum drinkers are invited to put their own spin on the Havana Club 7 label via a new digital platform, called Havana Club Create. The digital platform has been designed to offer three ‘distinct visual universes’ inspired by the streets of Havana. The three ‘universes’ have been divided into ‘Graphic Scenes’, ‘Neon Waves’, and ‘Blooming Walls’. Consumers can play with 81 design combinations in the graphic universes to design both front and back labels. There is to be an option to add a personal message to the front label. Users can then download their design for free and share it on social media networks directly from the platform. However, when I searched for the digital site I was able to locate a You Tube video, but could not find the site itself. Hopefully, by publication time, Havana Club will have this corrected.
https://havana-club.com/en/#hc-create-push
LA MAISON & VELIER
With its varied portfolio of expertly crafted rums, La Maison & Velier was highly awarded this year at the International Wine & Spirits Awards. IWSC announced them as winners of the IWSC 2022 Rum Producer Trophy, sponsored by Vetroelite. With 10 IWSC 2022 medals to its name, and products from across the rum-producing world, La Maison & Velier clearly demonstrated its expertise in this year’s competition. “We have this desire to reveal hidden gems of the rum world,” says Managing Director Francesco Signa. “We strive to reflect the great diversity that can be found around the world of rum production,” he says. “We are continuously inspired by the world of producers, offering the best rum expressions with a rigorous selection.” While La Maison & Velier rums from Haiti, Panama, Barbados, France and Australia garnered awards, it was their Jamaican rums that claimed the highest scores. The judges were especially impressed by Transcontinental Rum Line Jamaica 2016 5-year-old, commenting that it was: “Bursting with complexity on the nose, with a fascinating tropical fruit and chocolate character.” The Transcontinental Rum Line is a collection of spirits, all bottled in 2021, which offer pure expressions of rum with no colorings or sugar added. The philosophy behind the range is to pay homage to rum’s storied history, traveling between continents. The rums are matured both in their country of origin and in Europe prior to bottling. This line has hand-selected rums that feature the purest, most exciting spirts you’ll find,” says the team. https://www.lamaisonandvelier.com/
INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRITS COMPETITION
Other Gold Medal winners at this year’s IWSC include Bacardi 10 YO Gran Reserva Diez Rum; Cutwater Spirits Bali Hai Tiki Dark Rum; Oxenham Craft Distillery Bougainville Vieux Domaine Spice Rum; Taxi Spirit Company Cabby’s Overproof Rum; Distillerie Longueteau Classic Collection Le 62 Rhum Agricole; Trois Rivières Cuvée du Moulin VO Rhum Vieux Agricole and Triple Millésime 2001 2005 2011 Rhum Vieux Agricole; R L Seale & Company Limited Doorly’s 12 YO Rum and Doorly’s 14 YO Rum; Holyrood Distillery 98 Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery 10 YO Red Wine Octave Rum, Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery 10 YO Ungrogged American Oak Octave Rum, Elizabeth Yard Longpond 21 YO Rum, Elizabeth Yard Savanna Distillery 8 YO PX Sherry Octave Rum and Elizabeth Yard Savanna Distillery 8 YO Ungrogged American Oak Octave Rum; The Equiano Rum Co Equiano Rum; Maison La Mauny Extra old Rhum Vieux Agricole and VO Rum; Maison Peyrat Moko Rum; The Gower Gin Company Mor-Ladron Gower Honey Spiced Rum; Sugar House Rum Overproof Rum; Hampden Estate Pagos Ex Sherry Cask Rum; and Worthy Park Estate Rum-Bar White Overproof Rum; Pot Still Drinks Runaway Bay Rum; https://iwsc.net/results
ANGOSTURA
In the early 1900’s, Manuel Fernandes and his family made the destined journey to Trinidad from Madeira, Portugal. In the century that followed, the Fernandes family cemented their roots in this beautiful Caribbean Island and made their name as a connoisseur of spirts worldwide. Ferdi’s Premium Rum was launched in the 1930’s and distills the joys of that era’s successes into a drink best reserved for life’s most meaningful climaxes. Considered a premium Fernandes rum, Ferdi’s delicately woody aroma belies its contrasting fire and ice taste, providing a wholly enriching experience that honors its golden hue. Made for T&T’s mature rum lovers, this limited edition run of Ferdi’s Premium Rum was expertly crafted to commemorate Trinidad & Tobago’s 60th independence; a liquid love letter to the palette reminiscent of T&T from the 1930’s, impeccably maintained in the esteemed Fernandes style. His rum is Angostura’s gift to T&T, the shining reincarnation of a classic rum to commemorate T&T’s diamond anniversary. https://www.angostura.com/ferdis-premium-rum/
PLANTATION
Plantation Guyana 2007 is the fourth bottling in the Maison Ferrand-owned brand’s Under the Sea Vintage collection No 2. It features a blend of rums produced in column and pot stills that were aged in both Guyana and France. It was selected from the cellars of Demerara Distillers Limited, where it had been maturing for 13 years in ex-Bourbon casks, by the managing director and rum historian at West Indies Rum Distillery, Andrew Hassell. It was then transferred to French oak casks to finish in Javrezac, France, to age for an additional two years. The expression is the result of one-week fermentations that were distilled in three historic stills: the Port Mourant double wooden pot still, the French Savalle four-column metal still and the Enmore Wooden Coffey still. It was bottled at 51% ABV and contains no added sugars. https://www.plantationrum.com/
