December 2016 - Rum In The News

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December 2016 - Rum In The News

CAPTAIN MORGAN

The Virgin Island Consortium reported last month that Diageo USVI will move all maturation and warehousing for its Captain Morgan rum brand from the US Virgin Islands to Maryland in the US by the end of next year. According to a statement issued to the Consortium, Diageo said the move enables more efficiency in its supply chain and also saves the firm money due to improved logistics costs. The transition will occur over the coming months, and is expected to be completed before the end of 2017, according to the statement. The group’s large facility in Relay, Maryland, will take over maturation and warehousing operations. Diageo receives subsidies from the Government of the US Virgin Islands, including a substantial income tax break, to produce Captain Morgan on the island of St Croix as part of a 30-year deal.

The group said the relocation of its maturation facilities will not impact the deal, since Captain Morgan will continue to be distilled on St Croix and shipped to the US for sale. “We will continue to comply with our agreement with the USVI government to distill rum on St Croix, which helps deliver much needed cover over revenue to the USVI economy,” the spokesperson added. The Virgin Island Consortium explains that Diageo’s presence in the territory has come to play a crucial role in the U.S.V.I.’s financial well-being. Along with spirits produced by Cruzan Rum, the territory collects just over $200 million in federal excise taxes annually, which the USVI uses to pay for its bonds. The federal government collects $13.25 in taxes on every proof gallon of rum made in the territory and sold in the U.S., and returns most of the funds to the local government.

HUSK RUM – AUSTRALIAN AGRICOLE

Inspired by the diverse and vibrant rum culture of the Caribbean islands and a yearning for fine Australian spirits, distiller Paul Messenger, his family and friends embarked on a journey to create a plantation distillery on their cattle & cane farm, nestled in the green caldera surrounding Mt Warning in Northern New South Wales. Husk Rum is an agricole rum made from freshly crushed cane juice, rather than molasses. The body and character of Husk Rum, however, are unlike agricole rums you may have tasted before.

Unshackled from the strict rules and conventions that govern AOC rhum agricole production, Messenger started with a blank canvas and the freedom to make a rum the way we thought it should be made. In his opinion only agricole rum made from unprocessed, freshly crushed cane juice can truly reflect local provenance. So, he established a plantation distillery using sugar cane grown on his farm. Messenger selected local cane varieties for their drinking quality rather than commercial sugar yields. To best control fermentation he opted for a closed, jacketed fermenter, which allows him to set the temperature range and duration of the ferment. He uses a special strain of yeast, which he propagates over 48 hours prior to pitching and runs the ferment for 5-6 days, slower and longer than Caribbean rums, allowing him to better control congener development, which Paul thinks produces a better tasting wash. He loves single malt whiskeys so, when it came to distillation he opted for the malt whiskey double distillation method with a copper pot still, but added an expansion chamber above the pot and a 10 plate rectification column. Then he designed and built his own dephlegamator to control the column head temperature. When distilling. Messenger runs the column head about 5 degrees C below the pot temperature and the combined effect of the expansion chamber and rectification column produces just the right amount of reflux for the evolving spirit. On the second distillation, the heart flows at about 87% ABV, producing a full - bodied rum spirit with caramel, vanilla and aniseed notes coming off the still. It’s a smoother, more refined spirit than other heavy pot distilled rums. Fresh off the still the heart is reduced to barrel strength to fill new American oak barrels with a heavy #4 char level. The rum will stay in these barrels for between 6 and 12 months before being transfer red to export, ex bourbon or old reserve barrels for further maturation flavor development and mellowing.

KRAKEN RUM

The Kraken Black Spiced Rum has launched a limited edition ceramic bottle designed by Proximo Spirits. Though the liquid and branding remain the same, the latest ceramic bottling is glossy black to show off the Kraken design and includes intricate raised and embossed details. The design is based upon Victorian rum bottles which of ten featured two handles, like so many archival rum vessels that allow for easy portability. The brand said that “only a very limited number” of the ceramic bottles have been produced. The Kraken is imported rum from the Caribbean that is blended with 13 spices and is named after the mythical sea beast.

COTTON & REED

There hasn’t been local rum in Washington DC since the temperance league marched on Pennsylvania Avenue and pronounced their opponents “rummies.” Rum’s image has only been further tarnished by the hot and bland rail spirits buried in the fruit smoothie-like strawberry daiquiris of the 1980’s. Now with the classic cocktails revival always looking for the next big liquor, it’s rum’s turn in the limelight. As the first legal rum distillery in the District in 96 years, Cotton & Reed has put an enormous effort in getting everything about the distillery just right. “This is a huge art project from start to finish,” says Reed Walker, spreading his arms wide in the industrial bar space. With a garage door for a storefront and odds and ends of 1930’s vintage hardware on the shelves, the bar looks like it took over an old chop shop.

Much of the décor is a collage of salvaged materials. The blue bar shelves, for example, came from the Buchannan Middle School library, and the old elevator ’s operating equipment remains exposed on the wall beside the shaft that the rum still now occupies. “There’s nothing here that suggests the ocean or pirates,” Walker says, referring to the stereotypical images of ten associated with rum. “Jordan and I worked as consultants for NASA and we wanted to do something that combined art and science,” he says. Cotton & Reed will have their first batch of rums ready for sale when the distillery opens this month, but their production is pretty small by industry standards. “We can produce to meet the demand of D.C. but we will have to expand for Maryland and Virginia,” Jordan Cotton says. The good news is that Cotton & Reed rum will be available outside the distillery in December, so we won’t have long to wait to pick up a bottle at a liquor store or try it at a local bar.

Their initial offerings will include a White Rum and a Dry Spiced Rum. The amber-colored Spiced Dry rum contains 17 botanicals, including gentian and licorice, which are evident in the dry, pepper y finish. Making it involves chunks of Brazilian amburana wood that are cut by hand, toasted at 400 degrees and then soaked in the rum. Instead of having a familiar molasses or vanilla character, the result is closer to an amaro. “Someone who picks this up expecting something sweet to put in their coffee,” says cocktail wiz Lukas B. Smith, who developed the tasting room’s cocktails, “is going to be surprised.” Walker adds: “That’s why we chose rum in the first place. We wanted to help change people’s perception of what rum can be.”

PARLAY RUM

An Ultra Black rum called Parlay has been launched in the UK. The top shelf British dark spiced rum is produced in England from the finest Venezuelan molasses. The dark and flavorful molasses is fermented and triple distilled using handcrafted 200 liter swan neck copper stills in Cambridge, England. To create the unique flavor of the ultra black rum, it is infused with tangerine, cherry, vanilla and raisin and then allowed to rest in English oak barrels. The delicious result is a unique black colored rum that presents a fruity flavor with subtle spiced after tones that leave a long lasting, pleasant note on the palate. The brand Parlay is created around the enchanting and intriguing Golden Age of Piracy and tales of the Code of the Pirate Brethren. A rather loosely held code of conduct as set down by Morgan and Bartholomew, the Pirata Codex, declared that anyone captured by pirates could invoke the right of parlay, entitling them to meet with the captain and negotiate terms over a bottle of rum.

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS COMPETITION

The New York International Spirits Competition announced the winners of the 7th Annual NYISC, held in October 2016 in the heart of New York City. Close to 600 spirits from around the world competed in a blind tasting where top spirits buyers from around NYC judged the spirits by their category and price. Double Gold Winners in the Rum Category were Allegheny Distilling Maggie’s Farm Queen’s Share Rye Oak Aged, Allegheny Distilling Maggie’s Farm Queen’s Share Double Oak and Liberty Tree Boston Rum. Gold Awards went to BACARDI Superior, BACARDI Gold, Marauda Rum Steelpan and Mezan Rum Guyana 2005.

Individual awards went to John Emerald Distilling Company for Alabama Rum Distillery of the Year; Key West Distilling for Florida Rum Distillery of the Year; Artisan Grain Distiller for Iowa Rum Distillery of the Year; South Hollow Spirits for Massachusetts Spiced Rum Distillery of the Year; Jersey Spirits Distilling Company for New Jersey Rum Distillery of the Year; Outer Banks Distilling for North Carolina Rum Distillery of the Year; Hilton Head Distillery for South Carolina Rum Distillery of the Year and Old House Vineyards for Virginia Rum Distillery of the Year.

MOUNT GAY XO CASK STRENGTH

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Barbadian Independence, Mount Gay Distilleries, the makers of the world’s oldest rum which has been distilled, blended and bottled in Barbados since 1703, released 3,000 bottles of XO Cask Strength, a limited edition of its award-winning spirit XO. The handcrafted XO Cask Strength edition embodies the essence of Barbados, with an aroma that personifies the island’s bold, but humble personality. From the inception of Mount Gay in 1703 to the historical day of independence in 1966 to now – Barbados and Mount Gay have continued to grow and strengthen together each year. Characterized by an elaborate and robust taste profile, XO Cask Strength symbolizes the rich culture and strong personality of both Mount Gay and its nation. “This is our tribute to the spirit of Barbados, the original birthplace of rum, and the people that make this island so unique,” said Allen Smith, Master Blender. “To taste XO Cask Strength is to experience everything that fans love about XO, but it gives connoisseurs the special opportunity to enjoy the truest intensity of XO aromas straight from the casks.”

Each bottle will come in a stunning keepsake wooden box with a beautifully designed booklet that will take readers through the history of rum’s inception in Barbados. A portion of the sales of ever y bottle sold will be donated to the Barbados Museum and Historical Society to support its efforts in conserving the significant and inspiring history and culture of Barbados. XO Cask Strength was bottled at 63% ABV.

BACARDI BAT CAVES

Bacardi gives new meaning to the phrase, “to the bat cave,” as a team of employees, in partnership with Lubee Bat Conservancy, erected several large bat habitats at the company’s BACARDÍ® rum bottling facility campus in Jacksonville, Florida. Within just a few months, the habitats – branded bat caves – will be full of tenants. Together, the organizations are working hard to fight the devastation of habitat depletion that has occurred for bats, the world’s only flying mammals. The wooden bat caves, which stand 20-feet off the ground, are engraved with both the BACARDÍ and Lubee Bat Conservancy logos. The mutual goal between the two organizations is to preserve and provide crucial habitats for the local bat population to help maintain the community’s natural wetlands, farming, and forest areas. In fact, the Bacardi wildlife team consists of 11 employees who volunteer to manage 21 acres of wildlife habitat as part of a Wildlife at Work program that has been certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council since 2013. Several of these Bacardi employees, as well as several Lubee Bat Conservancy employees, worked together on this project. Bacardi support for bats goes back to its founding in 1862 when Doña Amalia Bacardí, the founder’s wife, spotted a colony of fruit bats in the rafters of the first Bacardi distillery in Santiago de Cuba. In Spain, where the Bacardí family emigrated from, and with the native Taíno Indians in their new homeland of Cuba, bats symbolized good health, family unity and good fortune, so the Bacardi founder made sure the bats remained in the distillery and became identified with his rum.

APPLETON RUM TOUR

Rum company J. Wray and Nephew Limited (JWN ) is plunking down nearly $1 billion on a total makeover of its world-famous Appleton Rum Tour. A small hotel is also under consideration, but that is several years away. JWN chairman Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence says when the company breaks ground next Friday it will mean the temporary closure of the estate tour which will be developed into a brand new product. The rum tour is part of the operations of JWN’s sugar and rum producing subsidiary Appleton Estate. 

“The renovation is so extensive that it would not be practical to have the tour operating with the restrictions that would be required for the construction and so we’ve taken the difficult decision to do that but in terms of safety and the quality of a tour we’ve agreed that it should be the proper course of action,” Lawrence said in an interview with the Jamaican Gleaner. “ It is this confidence in the quality of our product and the power of Brand Jamaica that has motivated us and our parent company, Gruppo Campari, to make this kind of investment in the upgrade and renovation of this world- class and one of a kind tourism facility. Gruppo Campari truly embodies the meaning of a good corporate citizen and continues to invest in Jamaica.” The work, he said, will include the renovation of the existing property and surrounding landscape, the addition of modern rooms to facilitate the tasting of rum, an expansive retail store, and a restaurant and lounge, offering Appleton infused Jamaica cuisine.