To Copenhagen For the 1° Nordic Rum Fest

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     TO COPENHAGEN FOR THE 1° NORDIC RUM FEST

The Fathers of History, over there in Ancient Athens, were all mostly historians of the present, their present of course. Therefore – “If little things with great we may compare” (Virgilio/ Dryden) - no surprise if your Rum Historian in this article deals not with the past of rum, but with its present and maybe with its future, too. More articles of this kind will follow.

Last month I went to Copenhagen (Denmark) to attend the First Nordic Rum Fest, NRF. The event took place on 30 May and 1 June at “The Plant Copenhagen”, a beautiful venue of 1000 sq. meters and at the nearby 500 sq. meters Copenhagen Distillery. Here are the sheer numbers: more than 40 stands with more than 70 different rum brands and more than 400 expressions of rum. And an original innovation: at the Copenhagen Distillery, the visitors could enjoy a rum making experience, from fermentation to distillation.

NRF 2019 is the first (and only, for now) Rum Fest in Scandinavia. It was willed, conceived and organized by Daniel Bascunan. Founder of Rum Club Copenhagen, Independent Bottler, Rum Geek and Rum Globe Trotter, Daniel is a good friend and a well-known member of the Rum Family.

There are now many Rum Festivals all over the world, and more are born all the time, in every country. The reason for their proliferation is, I think, simple: consumers like them, and they are desirable for the companies.

The format is more or less the same for most of them: in a suitable venue, stands are set up where companies exhibit their rums for one or two days. Consumers and enthusiasts have thus the opportunity to see and taste many products, some often difficult to find in their country,

Listen to first-hand explanations of the production techniques and the organoleptic characteristics of each product, ask questions and so on. 

For the companies, it is a way to achieve recognition, and also to look for distributors on the local markets. Then, besides the stands, there are always Master Classes given by producers and experts, and debates on the various matters of significant concern to the world of rum. These are also ideal opportunities for the Rum Family to get together: the net of distillers, professionals, experts, bloggers, journalists and aficionados that is alive every day on the internet and the social media and meets up every now and  then at the various events scattered all over the world. In fact, I rather believe that the Rum Family was born just with the Rum Fests. Of course, experts and enthusiasts existed even before, but these events have created a physical and media space where to get together, get to know one another, renew acquaintances, establish relations, and where to enjoy a keen and enthusiastic audience.

For years now the Rum Family had been discussing production techniques, quality, authenticity, sugar, additives, etc. In a recent past, it seemed “the voice of one crying in the wilderness”: things for staff only, rum geeks, or worse, incurable rum nerds, without no influence in the hard, real world of Rum Business.

Then, almost suddenly, things changed. Personally, I became aware of this change in Berlin in 2017 when a considerable number of visitors, not experts or professionals, but ordinary visitors and consumers, started to ask questions about several technical points; in particular, and sometimes with a certain belligerence, they wanted to know how much sugar there was in the various rums. Most of the staff at the stands was taken off guard, they were not able to answer precisely. Today, an ever increasing number of consumers wants to know what they drink and what exactly they pay the price of the bottle for. As a matter of fact, the real, concrete influence of the Rum Family on the market is growing.

That was quite clear in Copenhagen too, but first things first.

There were many, interesting Master Classes. I was especially impressed by those of Richard Seale ( Foursquare Distillery) and Alexandre Gabriel (Maison Ferrand). Seale and Gabriel have, as we all know, widely different points of view. We may even say opposite points of view regarding the issue tradition vs innovation in the rum industry. As rum historian, this is an issue I am very interested in, but one on which I haven’t clearly defined ideas yet. I still have a great deal of studying to do. In any case, they are two leaders in this field, and two brilliant lecturers too, from whom there is a lot to learn.

A very interesting and up-to-date debate on the new European Union legislation about spirit drinks, competently moderated over by Peter Holland, took place on Saturday 1 June on the main stage. A qualified group of professionals and experts discussed the new regulation, just approved by the EU. The debate focused mainly on sugar. The old regulation 110/2008 forbade producers to add sugar or other sweeteners to rum, even though this rule was not often actually enforced. The new regulation 2019/787, on the contrary, states: “Rum may be sweetened in order to round off the final taste. However, the final product may not contain more than 20 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed in invert sugar.” Much debate also about the use, and often the misuse, of the term “solera”.

And finally we get to rum. Of course it is not possible to mention all the rums that were there. I know that every choice runs the risk of disappointing those that have been excluded, but I can’t help it. I will therefore only mention a few products that, for various reasons, have particularly aroused my interest. Most of them are new rums, or little known by the general public. I would like to make it clear that I’m not saying they are the best, absolutely not. They are the rums that for some reason I found the most intriguing, or simply that I didn’t know before.

At the very beginning of the Fest, Knud Strand introduced me to the MHOBA rum, from South Africa. MHOBA rum is made from pure sugarcane juice. It is 100% pot distilled from fermented sugarcane juice and contains no additives, colorants or flavor modifiers. The producers say that the whole rum making process occurs on their sugar estate. New and interesting.

I love French agricultural rums, above all the many wonderful white, unaged rums that, in my humble opinion, do not need ageing. And it is always a delight to meet Jerry Gitany and Benoit Bail, relentlessly spreading the gospel of Rhum Agricole all over the world with their TOURS.

And now, since we were in Denmark, here are two Danish Brands which we must keep an eye on.

SKOTLANDER Rum: Fermented, distilled and aged in Denmark. Yes, you have read well, fermented, distilled and aged in Denmark. I talked to Anders Skotlander, the owner of the firm, asking him the how and why of his enterprise. About the how, he states that the cold Nordic climate affects both the fermentation process and the barrel aging. For the low temperature, the fermentation of molasses, fresh juice or syrup, is unusually long, up to four weeks. Moreover, during the maturation process, they work with different types of barrels: ex sherry, ex bourbon, ex red wine and new barrels. Both big and small casks. About the why, the answer has been just one: Passion. And i think it is a very good one.

Last, but not least, CRT SPIRITS is an important importer and distributor in the Danish market. Michala Milwertz explained to me (in fluent Italian!) that they decided to create a new label, Alta Gama Rum, focusing on how different levels of sugar change the very same rum. They bottled a Guyana rum with four ranges of different sugar levels; so the four editions contain all the same rum blend, where only the sugar content varies. They are one of the first rum brands ever to declare the sugar content on the label of the bottles. They say it’s not bad to add sugar to rum, although it is often being criticized by many, if you’re honest and declare the addition.

All these rums I have talked of are good examples of the new attention to craftsmanship, authenticity, consumer information etc.. To sum up: Quality. They deserve attention.

To sum up, a good Rum Fest. Beautiful location, excellent organization, interesting products and debates and, in general, a lively atmosphere, vibrant and friendly.

And now, please allow me a personal note. In the past year, for family and business reasons, I have not been unable to attend any Rum Fests. So, this event gave me the opportunity to rejoin the Rum Family and be at the heart of things again. My thanks to Daniel for this.

See you next year.

Marco Pierini, July 2019