Spirited Travel: The Rise of Rum at Tales of the Cocktail
Paul's Spirited Travels to Tales of the Cocktail in NOLA
Tales of the Cocktail, the annual spirit education event, has gone through a year of controversy. After a myriad of poor decisions and years of questionable actions by the original owners and founders, last September any remaining trust and good will was destroyed and the backlash of the hospitality and spirits industries was mighty and swift. This backlash forced them to resign from the organization leaving the future of Tales in question.
Logo for Tales of the Cocktail
Several months went by and in late December it was announced that Tales would be saved. The Solomon family of New Orleans, known for their extensive philanthropic work, sent a letter of intent to purchase the event. Once the purchase was complete they immediately created the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. With a new vision and established set of core values, the leadership team of Gary Solomon Jr, Neal Bodenheimer, and Caroline Nabors Rosen began the process of rebuilding the event and restoring the faith of the sponsors and attendees.
In the months leading up to Tales, a new focus came to light related to the health and well-being of those involved in the spirits community. This new element brought a new and much needed level of education and support opportunities for those who were interested. Along with a tighter list of seminars and spirit events, the attendees gathered in July with a positive vibe and, for the first time in quite a while, hope for a better event than they had experienced in previous years. The Tales of the Cocktail Foundation did not disappoint and, dare I say, exceeded expectation of most of the attendees.
Entry Ticket for Tales of the Cocktail in NOLA
My focus for Tales of the Cocktail was covering as many rum related events, seminars, and brand meetings as I could manage in the course of the week. Nineteen rum brands were present throughout the event participating in seminars, tastings, and other educational opportunities all over the French Quarter. Having this many attending brands present, brought out some of the biggest personalities in the rum industry; among them Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell, Maggie Campbell of Privateer, David Cid of Bacardi, Alexandre Gabriel of Plantation, Zan Kong of Worthy Park, Nestor Ortega of Santa Teresa, Richard Seale of Foursquare Distillery, and Joy Spence of Appleton Rum.
On Wednesday it was Joy Spence and Martin Cate of Smugglers Cove who kicked off the rum programming with a seminar entitled “The Jamaican Difference: Bring in the Rum, Bring in the Funk” moderated by Don Lee, with additional scientific information covering the source of funk in flavor profiles by Flavor Scientist Arielle Johnson. The seminar profiled the many brands operating officially and unofficially on the island and the spectrum that the funk flavors covers. Appleton Rum sees their rums as having a type of “Sophisticated Funk” while Wray and Nephew has the intense high ester funk flavors commonly associated with Jamaican rums.
Later that day Plantation Rums held an event showcasing their new rum from Jamaica, called Xaymaca, the name the Arawak tribes used to call Jamaica, which means “The land of wood and water ”. Xaymaca is a blend of rums sourced from Clarendon and Long Pond Distilleries
Plantation Rum at Tales of the Cocktail in NOLA
The day closed with the “Times of the Cocktail” exhibit at the Picayune house showcasing a collection of Prohibition-era newspapers. At the event Celebration Distillery makers of Old New Orleans Rum premiered its new 1718 Tricentennial Blend. The newspapers in the exhibit chronicled the rise and fall of the Prohibition era in New Orleans as well as the last short story written by William Faulkner. I found the exhibit a fun way of exploring this time period of American history.
Thursday was a day dedicated to a series of meeting with rum brands from across the category. It was during these meeting that I began to see the aggressive competition brewing among the rum companies. The rivalries that are escalating today echo ones that were going on over 400 hundred years ago during the colonization of the “New World”. English and French interests are colliding in Barbados and Jamaica. The French West Indies continue to dominate the Agricole rhum market, but have new challengers as companies based in the United States create rums in a similar style and flavor. The Spanish style rums of Bacardi, Ron Santa Teresa, and Diplomatico are focused on making gains in the premium rum markets. Bacardi is releasing its new four and ten year old rum. Diplomatico has a new vintage on the horizon, and Santa Teresa finally has the distribution network that will allow Ron Santa Teresa 1796 to claim its rightful place in the market. The Craft rum movement of the United States is fighting for their slice of the market with brands like Montanya, Privateer, and Cane Land - reveling in their independence to create quality rums in the styles unique to their region.
Rum Bottles on Display at tales of the Cocktail in NOLA
As tensions grow among the brands, a fight for the hearts and minds of consumers, bartenders, and influences in the rum world rages. With Maison Ferrand purchase of a controlling interest in the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados, that island has become the first major battle field of what many are seeing as the new Rum War in the Caribbean. Alexandre Gabriel, with his specific style and blends of Plantation rums from all over the globe, has his first major foothold in the Caribbean with the purchase of WIRD .Mr. Gabriel has made many allies across the industry involving them in the creation of special blends like OFTD that, may or may not, use levels of dosage (the addition of sugar) as part of his dual cask aging process. Richard Seale of Foursquare Rum Distillery, a champion of pure unadulterated “true rum,” is the opposite side of the spectrum with a loyal group of impassioned consumers and allies in the bar community who are inspired by his message of purity and transparency to the rum world. A tension between these companies was palpable during Tales and it will be interesting to see how their competition affects the landscape of the global rum market.
After my final meeting of the day, I had the pleasure of witnessing part two of the “Rum Rising” video series. This video chronicled the journey of a group of bartenders and bar owners exploring the Appleton Rum Estate and learning about everything that makes that brand unique. Following the video was a Q&A session with most of the major players in the video. This was immediately followed by an after party sponsored by Wray and Nephew, which lasted well into the night.
Seminar at Tales of the Cocktail in NOLA
Friday brought another day of brand meetings and tastings where I was able to sample some rare vintages from Diplomatico and meet craft and private blenders for the first time, as well as explore new expressions from established brands like Bacardi. One standout from a private blender was “Funk Rum” a blend from Jamaica that I anticipate will pleasantly surprise those who are fans of high ester Jamaican rums.
As the sun rose on the last day of Tales of the Cocktail I had two seminars to attend:Back to the Future of Rum Part One and Two moderated by Ian Burrell with panels of some of the biggest names in all categories of the rum world. Each panelist detailed the history, stills, and production methods of their country’s spirits while guiding the audience through a selection of rums that celebrated the diversity of the spirit. For me this was the perfect way to wrap up my Tales of the Cocktail rum experience.
Overall I am optimistic both about the state of the modern rum world as well as the work of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. The Foundation used money raised to the tune of 250,000 dollars to provide grants to eleven organizations that have goals of improving the hospitality industry. This year’s Tales of the Cocktail represented the rebirth and refocus of a beloved part of the industry that had been tainted by abuses of the past. Under the new guidance of the Foundation and their focus on the health and well being of those working in the Spirit and Hospitality industry it is my hope we see their good work spread to all levels of the spirits industry.
-Article written by Mr. Paul Senft-
