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Margaret Ayala, Publisher of "Got Rum?" magazine, interviews Mr. Emiliano Fernández-Peña, owner of La RonRonEra in Madrid, Spain.
Exclusive Interview with Emiliano Fernández-Peña, owner of La RonRonEra, a bar in Madrid, Spain
Currently in Spain the most popular drink of choice for consumers is the Gin & Tonic. Some places are trying to change that and trying to introduce consumers to the world of rum, its array of flavor profiles. Here is one such place that is doing just that , La RonRonEra, located in Madrid, Spain.
I hope that their efforts, passion and love for rum will become contagious with other bars throughout Spain and that rum companies all over the world will be inspired to go out there and help support small bars like La RonRonEra, not just to help boost their sales, but help the rum industry rise to a whole new level and image.
Consumers are showing signs of thirst to learn more, to expand their knowledge about distilled spirits, the history behind the companies producing them and it is our duty to teach them one glass at a time!
Margaret Ayala, Publisher
Q: Tell us a little bit about your life and the source of inspiration that led you to start a rum bar in Spain.
A: The idea to open up a rum bar was born four years ago when I met my partner, Marianna Kobashigawa. Both of us share a passion for gastronomy: she is Peruvian and I am Mexican. So we each started showing the other the traditional dishes from our respective countries. After a few trips to Peru and Mexico tasting and re-tasting food everywhere and at all times, and after gaining a few extra pounds, we arrived at the conclusion that both cultures share an endless array of culinary techniques, ingredients and much more than people could imagine. The differences, however, became evident when we talked about beverages: while us Mexicans are willing to die for Tequila and Mezcal, Peruvians are equally passionate about Pisco. It was then after a meal while we argued about the qualities of both distillates, that our host treated us to a glass of rum. It was there and then that we realized the important role that this sugarcane distillate plays as a unifying bond not only between Peru and Mexico, but throughout all of Latin America and the Caribbean. Rum is produced and consumed throughout the region and it is, without a doubt, the beverage that all the inhabitants are passionate about. As tribute to the lands where we grew up and as a way to interpret Latin American unity, that we desperately seek these days, we decided to start this project.
But, once we decided to start the rum bar in Madrid we needed to decide its location. The answer was clear: it had to be in Lavapies. For us, rum is the most multi-cultural spirit ever, since before being a distilled alcohol it existed as sugarcane over twenty thousand years ago. Its journey to Latin America to go through Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa and Southern Europe. Before it arrived in America (some argue that it was through Christopher Columbus they argue it took place much earlier). Sugarcane was an integral part of Chinese, Hindu, Persian, Roman and Arab cultures. It then found a new home on the fertile grounds of the new world, inhabited by Tainos, Incas, Mayans, etc…
Once in the Americas it did not take long for the sugarcane to be transformed into rum, and became the adopted beverage of choice for pirates, corsairs and buccaneers. On their ships and those of legitimate British, Spanish, French and Dutch merchants that rum found its way to Europe where some Cognac and Whiskey masters further transformed it through their knowledge and expertise in the world of aging. As you can see, rum is a living testament to cultural diversity as is Lavapies, which is the most multicultural neighborhood in Madrid, possibly in all of Spain.
Q: Do you feel that the challenges you have faced have been greater than those faced by a traditional Gin & Tonic bar?
A: The neighborhood where we are is very particular, it is a place where people consume more beer, wine, Vermouth and tapas, than a place where people go out for cocktails. For this reason our challenge has been to make sure that people perceive us not only as a rum bar, but also as a bar where they can have a good wine, a couple of beers and “Patxaran” (a regional digestif), as they share one or more dishes from the menu. People in Spain are used to drinking at least a couple of beers every day of the week, but a cocktail, either made with rum or with gin, is not something that they will have every day, so no, I don’t think our challenge has been different than the one faced by Gin & Tonic bars, at least in this area.
Q: Brandy and rum are two distillates that I believe should be consumed in large volumes in Spain. So why is it that they are not as popular as beer and Gin?
A: For me there are two key reasons: variety and quality. A lot of people that come through the bar tell me that rum’s problem is the lack of education from consumers regarding the distillate. However, I believe that the real problem is the exact opposite: it is the knowledge they have about rum. Gin attracted a lot of attention when no one was drinking it and very few people knew anything about it, but it entered the market as a quality product and with a wide range of variety in flavors, this attracted the attention of the consumer. Rum, on the other hand, is already well-known. The problem is that the knowledge is limited to the low-priced range of rums destined primarily for night clubs. The three or four largest rum brands opted to become the party drink for people who just wanted to get drunk and they succeeded in selling large quantities, but they ignored the premium segment and that’s why Gin had an opening. Now rum is in a fight, not only against Gin & Tonic, but also against itself, trying to shake off the stigma of being a cheap way of getting drunk. And that is why places like La RonRonEra play an important role, educating consumers about the new face of this distillate.
Another problem that I see is that rum is very closely associated with Coca-Cola and nowadays more and more people are shying away from this soft drink, either because of its high sugar content, its overly sweet taste or even because of social reasons (the company has closed several bottling facilities in Spain and has fired over a thousand people) and also environmental issues. For these reasons, many people when they think about a cocktail they automatically discard rum because they automatically relate it to this soft drink. At La RonRonEra, for example, we had started to experiment with other mixers, for example, a Spanish cola drink sweetened with Stevia that reinvests locally where it is made, alongside with a lemon and an orange beverages with lower carbonation and more natural flavors. We are even using the cola version produced by one of the most famous tonic producers. And of course we have not forgotten about Ginger Beer. We can say that our consumers have no problem whatsoever paying a little more for their drinks using these mixers.
Q: What percentage of your distilled spirits at the bar are rum?
A: Between rum, rum liqueurs and honey rums we have 107 out of a total of 115 bottles. So we are talking about 93%.
But that is not the end, we decided to go a step farther and incorporated rum into our food menu to show people another face of this distillate. On the menu you can find entrées such as “Chorizos al Ron”, green salad with rum vinaigrette, chicken wings marinated in honey rum and soy sauce and apple tart with rum caramel sauce.
Q: How much of the rum is consumed neat or on the rocks versus mixed in a cocktail?
A: I think we are serving about 70% cocktails and 30% neat or on the rocks. Here you can see what I was talking about earlier. They think of the rums they had before and are unable to imagine them as something that can be consumed outside of a cocktail. Here is where our job begins, we talk to the client, make a few suggestions and encourage them to try it neat, and little by little people are listening. Hopefully soon we will see a 50/50 split.
Q: Which rum cocktail is your top seller and which one is the rum that you sell more neat or on the rocks?
A: To answer this question I have to first say that due to the lack of knowledge of the category, first time visitors are surprised to see such a wide variety of rum brands, most of which they had never seen or heard of before. On the other hand, at La RonRonEra, we love rum but we are not tied to any one brand in particular. So we try to encourage people to taste all of the rums we carry, always looking for one that appeals to them both from a flavor and cost perspective. For this reason, it is hard to tell you which brand we sell the most. As far as mixed drinks with rum, “Rum & Coke” continues to be the most requested but more and more we are getting people asking for rum with ginger, lemon or orange sodas.
As far as brands, people start by asking about the ones they know, the big ones: Havana, Matusalem, Santa Teresa or Brugal, but once they see the wide variety we carry, they allow us to advise them and decide to try something new. The same thing happens with rum neat or on the rocks: people are open to our advice and we try to carry everything available. Spanish consumers, however, do like light and sweet rums with a low alcohol feeling on the palate.
Q: What do you think about Tiki mixology?
A: I think it is a good and new opportunity for rum in Spain. I see, however, two big problems: the first one is its reliance on natural, fresh fruits, which results in more expensive drinks and also drinks that are not appealing during the winter in Spain. The other is that classic mixology (with drinks such as the Old Fashion and Rob Roy) is still rum’s main playground.
Q: Do you think rum will ever become the top selling distillate in Spain?
A: I think so. Rum has great potential. Just as it happens with Gin, within the rum category there is an endless array of brands, varieties, flavors, even colors and bottle presentations. This is what today’s client is looking for: variety. Ultimately, people will grow tired of Gin and will switch to a new drink. If rum is not ready to attract the customer then it will be Whiskey, Mezcal, Vodka, or something else. There is a lot for rum to do in the premium segment, it has to find new cocktails, new mixers beyond Coca-Cola. It has to take advantage of its ability to be consumed neat or on the rocks (How many people drink Gin on the rocks?) and find pleasant pairings beyond chocolate and cigars. Here in Spain the consumers still have a lot to learn about Agricole Rhums and British rums. Brands like El Dorando and English Harbour are still hard to get here. If rum manages to do all of this, it is possible for it to become the top selling distillate in Spain.
Q: How much support are you receiving from rum companies?
A: Right now we are getting very little support from rum companies. Many brands have yet to “change the chip”: they continue betting on volume, focusing on night clubs and low priced rums and not on quality. Their marketing departments only have one client in mind, massive consumption, places that buy cases and cases, not the small bars that focus on quality and client education. Many sales people approach us with promotions that we cannot afford due to the large volumes involved. Other times they approach us with brand activations that we are not interested in, things such as t-shirts, key chains, girls with miniskirts and other things that work for night clubs. We take the time to talk with our clients, searching for the rums they like, sharing their history, production methods and finally we pour their drinks with care. When our clients visit other bars they ask for the same rums we serve them. This way when the owners of those bars get multiple requests for a rum they don’t have, hopefully they will start carrying it. Fortunately for us there are brands like Botran and Mount Gay who see the importance of our work and we do tastings, workshops and seminars and I can tell you that these activities have helped us earn the loyalty of clients while also increasing sales volumes for the brands.
Emiliano, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me. We wish you much success with your bar and we certainly appreciate the time, effort and love you have put in, to help educate consumers one glass at a time.
Cheers!
Margaret Ayala, Publisher