Rum: A Melting Pot of Cultures
Luis Ayala, Editor of "Got Rum?" magazine, Rum Consultant and Founder of The Rum University
I have always said that rum owes much of its style diversity (and lack of cohesion among distillers) to the fact that so many different countries produce it. This thought crossed my mind two weeks ago, as I was standing in Louisville, Kentucky, in front of the most recent class to graduate from The Rum University. In front of me were students from 7 different countries, all congregated around a common theme. And rather than seeing weakness in the diversity, what I saw was a shared passion to produce and commercialize the best possible rum!
I have often criticized rum producers for not having a common legal definition. I have also spoken loudly about the lack of unity to negotiate collective purchases of ex-Bourbon casks, for example. These are important issues, but also important is the fact that new faces and new ideals are what keeps innovation alive, in an otherwise orthodox industry.
The craft distillery movement is gaining momentum. The multi-national companies are struggling to cope with it, their sales volumes yielding more and more volume to these smaller brands, with seemingly nothing the giants can do about it.
Will the large companies go extinct? Hardly likely. Will the small companies’ growth continue for many more years? Yes, very likely, but probably not linearly. Many of these entrepreneurs still lack the business acumen to survive even the slightest setbacks, which is something we are trying to fix through better planning, one graduating class at a time.
And just like sugarcane keeps growing after each harvest, The Rum University keeps seeing distillers and brand owners emerge from within its walls, year after year. Most of our graduates have already started their brands, adding their own interpretation to rum’s diversity.
While we at The Rum University would like to take at least some credit for the success of our graduates, the desire to succeed and the will to work hard are engrained in the DNA of those passionate about producing rum. To suggest otherwise would be akin to saying that the farmer can convince the sugarcane to convert dirt and water into sugar!
For me it is a joy and an honor to witness the process.
Cheers,
Luis Ayala, Editor and Publisher