September 2016 - Rum In The News

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September 2016 - Rum In The News

STRICTLY BAJAN RUM SHOP TOURS

Few will dispute that the story of rum began in Barbados, and the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) is keen to develop a compelling tourism experience to tell it’s intoxicating tale. “We have decided to partner with the Bajan Association of Rum Shops (BARS), to tell the story of how rum began right here on our shores,” revealed Dr. Kerry Hall, CEO of BTPA. “There is a vibrant culture that underpins our rum shops that our visitors are very curious to learn and, through this experience, we are educating them while entertaining them with a core element of our culture and heritage.” Franklin Parris, founder of BARS, described the tour as a fun, history lesson where little known facts about Barbados’ rum culture are blended with unique cocktails. “Each tour will make stops at three traditional rum shops around the island, including some attached to the homes of enterprising Bajans. The menu will include at the first stop a cutter, at the second stop a pickle, and at the third and final stop a traditional Bajan meal which could include macaroni pie, rice and stew, baked pork, or cou-cou.

The air conditioned bus will ensure that you move comfortably between locations in a nice party vibe,” he said. Dr. Hall said the creation of opportunities for visitors to interact with locals was a priority for the BTPA. “Visitors want us to spend less time creating artificial circumstances for them to experience the country and more on welcoming them to our traditional events. They want to live like a Bajan and that includes going into the rum shops and eating local food and drinking rum punch,” she said. “This also bodes well for the rum shop owners as the days of the tours are traditionally slower business days for them.”

BACARDI

For the second year in a row, Bacardi, Million Trees Miami and American Forests joined forces to plant trees in Miami -Dade County as part of American Forests’ Community ReLeaf program to help beautify and restore urban neighborhoods. As part of its annual Corporate Responsibility Month initiative to engage employees in community activities, the Bacardi team of volunteers came out with their sleeves rolled up, ready to plant 20 mahogany and oak trees at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, Florida. “Giving back to the community is a part of Bacardi’s DNA. This is something we’ve always done going back to our founding in Cuba in 1862 and we continue this legacy with what we do out in the communities where we live and work,” says Ed Knutel, commercial planning and activation manager, for Bacardi in the United States.

Since beginning this environmental sustainability initiative with American Forests, Bacardi has planted more than 75,000 trees throughout the United States, and will continue to have an impact as part of its “Good Spirited” environmental sustainability efforts. “What we are doing here with Bacardi is not just about pretty a esthetics, it’s about community well - being, environmental justice and human and ecological health,” said Ian Leahy, director of Urban Forest Programs, with American Forests. “There is a lot of science that shows the positive health impacts from planting trees in local communities.

What Bacardi employees are doing in South Florida is an example of how a few people can make a huge difference in a community,” adds Patrice Gillespie Smith, manager, Million Trees Miami. “Miami -Dade’s trees remove nearly 5,500 tons of carbon from the air each year, improving air quality. Trees can also add up to 15% to the value of your home by making neighborhoods more attractive, quieter and cooler.”

BEACH CRAFT SPIRITS

David and Lara Beach hope to raise £65,000 via crowdfunding by the end October to begin their dream of owning and operating what will be only the second craft rum distiller y in Scotland. Beach Craft Spirits – named after themselves but also their passion for the Moray coast where they live – will be based on the coastline near to their Hopeman home. As part of the crowdfunding campaign, Beach Craft Spirits is offering five different exclusive benefits packages for investors, ranging from £50 to £1000.

There are only 30 of the top-tier options available, but as an investor at this level, you get a launch party ticket, will be able to turn distiller for the day and will personally bottle a 700ml of the spiced and intense rums. They will also be given a three-year old aged rum in a specially crafted driftwood presentation box, a t-shirt, samples bottles of new flavors, branded glasses, a hoodie, six rum stones and an exclusive 36 Knots beanie in the Beach Craft colors. David who has a degree in brewing and distilling with 16 years’ experience in the drinks industry, most recently working for Diageo, added: “There is an abundance of local gin distilleries popping up all over Scotland and the United Kingdom offering people a wide range of choice of gins with exciting flavors. The rum market is completely different and is dominated by the mainstream players.

We will be proud to become only the second rum distillery in Scotland.” Once operational, Beach Craft Spirits intend to launch a trio of rums: a spiced rum, a sloe rum and an intense rum which will be a unique blend of fruit, coffee and licorice. “Our goal is to create a range of drinks that encompass the beach lifestyle. Beach may be our name, but it’s also where we feel most at home. Our spirits are aimed at people who have a similar vision to us, who like to work hard, but play hard too.”

RUM AROMA KIT

The Aroma Academy is now offering a Rum Aroma Kit. The kit and accompanying guide booklet promises to make rum nosing and tasting an even more pleasurable experience. It contains 24 aromatic essences that cover the spectrum of aromas typically found in rums from all over the world; a manual that guides you in building aroma profiles for your favorite rum brands; aroma strips, which allow each aroma to evolve over time just as a fine spirit evolves in the glass and a score sheet that reinforces what you’ve learned from session to session.

CARIBBEAN RUM & BEER FESTIVAL

The 6th Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival will take place on November 4th and 5th this year and will be heading back to one of the Caribbean’s most exciting islands, amazing St Maarten. Tickets include sampling of the over 100 rum, beer & cocktail products, rum & beer cooking demonstrations, the Rum Cocktail Bartender Competition, entry to the onsite seminars and workshops, music & entertainment and door prizes & onsite raffles. The annual Caribbean Alcohol Beverage (CAB) Taste Contest is an established part of the Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival. The competition is fierce and the winners deserve to be recognized as ‘best in class’. This 2016 blind tasting session will be held on November 3rd.

Each category of product will be judged by a rum or beer panel made up of industry experts. Products shall be appraised on four characteristics; Appearance, Aroma, Taste & Overall Impression. All products are sampled blind and judges award Gold, Silver and Bronze medallions to the adjudicated top three products in each section.

STOLEN SMOKED RUM

Crafted from Caribbean rum that’s been aged in whiskey barrels and infused with arabica coffee beans, vanilla from madagascar, and fenugreek, Stolen Smoked Rum is bold with its flavors. And it just happens to be the world’s first smoked rum. All that adds up to a rum with punchy notes of maple syrup and vanilla, a nice spiciness, and a unique smoky finish. The most prominent flavor in Stolen Smoked Rum had always been the smoke, imparted by a process known as pyrolysis. This means that the hardwood is first burnt at a very high temperature, then, in the absence of oxygen, the initial smoke condensate separates, rises, is captured in a chamber, condensed and cooled into a liquid.

This method creates a smoke flavor, which is added to the base rum along with other natural flavors. The result is heady and masculine – with toffee and vanilla aromas on the nose, coffee, smoke and butterscotch finish on the mouth. Stolen Smoked Rum is not sweet and sticky like most spiced rums. While the flavor profile of Stolen is layered and complex, what really stands out is its smoky finish, so it is only f it ting to give the smoke the headline it deserves – hence the rebranding of Stolen Spiced Rum to Stolen Smoked Rum. Samm Creasey, marketing manager for Stolen says “We decided it ’s time to embrace our point of difference and hero a unique development in a century old spirit. So we’re dropping the ‘Spiced’ moniker and calling it what it is.”

Now they are releasing an over proof rum, available in key markets across the USA. STOLEN discovered this rum at a historic, family-run distillery in Jamaica that’s over 250 years old, renowned for making some of the best heavy pot still rums in the world. It is the last of a 6-year aged, pot still rum made using hand harvested sugar cane grown by local farmers. The sugar cane mash is fermented using a proprietary yeast strand that is cultured in outdoor wood vats. The mash ferments for seven days in a selection of the distillery’s 50 different traditional cedar tanks.

Utilizing mountain rain water collected by the estate’s own rain water retention system, the rum is distilled using very old, traditional pot stills, the same as those found in Scotland to make high flavor single malt whiskies. The distilled rum is then carefully matured in ex-whiskey barrels. The result is a distinctively smooth 123 proof dark bronze rum with a flavor and profile that is nothing short of amazing. The nose is not the wet grass one might expect but rather offers a dose of white and black pepper spice married with charred oak and ripe banana.

CEDAR RIDGE PORT CASK LIMITED EDITION

The new Cedar Ridge Port Cask five-year old aged rum is fermented and double distilled. The spirit is then placed in single use ex-Bourbon casks to mature. After the five-year mark, the rum is transferred to freshly emptied Cedar Ridge Port barrels for a unique finish. Four casks of the rum, after accounting for the angel’s share, filled three Port barrels. The first limited edition batch is expected to yield approximately 1,000 standard 750ml bottles at 43% ABV (86 proof).

 PRIVATEER RUM

One of the secret finds from the recent Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans was Privateer’s Navy Yard Barrel Proof Rum.

Navy Yard has been available in the Boston area for a while, but is now getting limited nationwide distribution. Privateer describes the rum as a nod to the storied history of Massachusetts rum distillation and culture. Made from 100% molasses in the New England tradition, it is double distilled and aged in 53 gallon new American oak barrels. It has been their commitment to revive this bygone style of rum and their personal under taking to do it with dedication to excellence and quality. They hope this bottle transports you to the north Atlantic seaside distillery and captures a taste of what has made the style so timeless. I have always been impressed with Maggie Campbell‘s passion for excellence and knowledge. Now in a leadership position, Campbell is also able to offer learning experiences to fellow and aspiring distillers. “We’ll do shadow days with other distillers where they’re allowed to work with us for a day and see everything we do. And when we do that, of course, they’re sharing what it is they do, and so we’re learning from each other.”

LEOMAR LIMITED

Leomar Limited is based in London, a key trade center of wine, spirits and distillates, with an aim to offer selective and exceptional products, in limited volumes, for consumers who know to appreciate refined and unique spirits. Their most recent offering is a line of rums called Artesano. Artisan is the skilled, the handi craftsman who, with his hands and soul, creates something unique. Artesano Rum pays tribute to both artisans and small batch rum producers all over the world who have elevated rum distillation to “art”! A creation of a really distinctive rum in two different versions. A dry white, revealing the multi-colors of the Barbados island and so superbly refined as to become the blank canvas for every bartender’s masterpiece. And an aged darker version, carefully distilled, patiently matured, bottled at its peak. Smooth yet complex. It captures all the flavors and the aromas of Jamaica, the carefree mood, the controversy and the intensity of the Caribbean. Crafted in order to celebrate life and love to appreciate refined and unique spirits. ARTESANO JAMAICA DARK AGED RUM: Carefully distilled, patiently matured, bottled at its peak. Smooth yet complex. It captures all the flavors and the aromas of Jamaica, the carefree mood, the controversy and the intensity of the Caribbean. Crafted in order to celebrate life and love. An aged Rum that invites you to savor every drop. ARTESANO BARBADOS WHITE DRY RUM : White and Dry. Quite hard to find in a colorful island surrounded by an ocean. Unless we are talking about Barbados Rum. Perfectly refined, is an exceptional “canvas” in order for every bartender to create his own masterpiece.

NEW DAWN 18 YEAR OLD RUM

Sometimes in life the journey can be as interesting as the destination. And if the journey is carbon neutral, it gets a little more interesting. Such is the story of New Dawn 18 Year Old Rum. Matured in American oak barrels, this 18 year old solera rum started its journey in the hills of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, where it was specially crafted by master blenders at Oliver and Oliver. Once selected, its journey continued across the Atlantic aboard the handsome engineless brigantine Tres Hombres, aged a further 45 days on the rolling sea. All this is done by an environmentally friendly journey over the Atlantic Ocean using no fossil fuels whatsoever. Met by horse and carton arrival in Falmouth, England, the barrels made their final journey to be blended with Cornish spring water and bottled at the Rebel Brewery at 42% ABV. A special bottling at cask strength (65% ABV) is available in a limited edition ceramic flagon that was thrown out of local clays and glazes on a slow turning kick-wheel by artist Tim Lake in his Penryn workshop. Hand painted labels add the finishing touch.