December 2019 - Rum in the News

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           INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION

Now over 50 years old, the International Wine & Spirit Competition remains as relevant today as it did when wine chemist Anton Massel founded Club Oenologique in 1969. Massel created a wine and spirit competition which was based on organoleptic judgement as well as chemical analysis. In 1978, the name was changed to the International Wine & Spirit Competition, and the disciplines were refined into what we know the competition to be today. Technical controls were tightened to ensure the highest quality standards were achieved and maintained to a consistent standard year after year. This year’s 50th Anniversary event took place in the magnificent gothic Great Hall of the 12th-century mercantile palace Guildhall in the heart of the City of London. The banquet was hosted as ever by IWSC chairman Viscount Thurso, assisted by the 2019 president Sir George Fistonich of New Zealand’s Villa Maria. “1969 was a pretty big year,” Lord Thurso announced to cheers and foot-stamping. “We landed two men on the moon, The Who released Tommy, but most importantly of all the IWSC was launched. We are here to celebrate your work, your endeavors, your successes. Please raise your glasses.” Among the many awards were the following Gold winners for rum: Caroni Rum won Gold for their 20 YO Rum in the Molasses-Column Still - 19-20 YO - 54%+ category. Bows Distillerie’s Heoc Rhum won Gold in the Rum-Molasses-Pot Still - No Age Stated category. Arizona Craft Beverage’s Regalo de Vida Ron Imperial won Gold in the Rum-Agricole-Pot Still - No Age Stated - 50% category. Worthy Park Estate’s Rum-Bar White Overproof Rum won Gold in the Rum-Molasses-Pot Still - Unaged - 57-63% category. Trois Rivières won gold in two Rhum Agricole categories. Cask Strength Millésime 2006  Trois Rivières Rum won in the Agricole-Column Still - 13 YO - Cask Strength - 55% category and Trois Rivières Triple Millésime 99/00/10 won Gold in the Rum-Agricole - Column Still - 11-15 YO category. ATOM Supplier’s Ableforth’s Rumbullion! brands won two Gold awards in the Flavored categories.  Ableforth’s Rumbullion Navy-Strength Ltd Rum won in the Spiced-Navy Strength sub-category and Ableforth’s Rumbullion! XO 15 Years Old won in the Spiced-15 YO sub-category. That Boutique-y Rum Company won Gold for both its Bellevue 19 Year-Old in the Molasses-Column Still - 19-20 YO - 54%+ category and its Secret Distillery #1 9 Year Old in the Rum-Molasses Pot Still - 6-10YO category. Depaz won three Gold awards, one for its Plantation Rum in the Agricole-Column Still - No Age Stated category and two Gold awards for its VSOP Reserve Speciale and its XO Grande Reserve in the Rhum-Agricole-Column Still - 7-10 YO category. Maison Ferrand won a Gold award and Rum Trophy for its Plantation Peru 2004 in the Rum-Molasses-Column Still - 15 YO category and a Gold award for its Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry Maison in the Rum-Molasses-Pot Still - No Age Stated - 38-45% category. Between its own Foursquare brand and the Real McCoy label, R.L. Seale & Company won no less than ten awards at IWSC. They won two Silver and two Gold in the Rum-Molasses-Blend of Column & Pot Still - 12-15 YO - 42-56% category, two silver and  three Gold awards in the Rum-Molasses-Blend of Column & Pot Still - 12-15 YO - 42-56% Cask Finish category and one Bronze in the Rum - Molasses - Blend of Column & Pot Still - No Age Stated - 42-46% category. As a result, R.L. Seale & Company also won the Rum Producer of the Year. https://www.iwsc.net/

                                       RON VIGIA SA

State-owned Cuban sugar and alcohol producer Azcuba and Island Brands, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cuban rum specialist The Island Rum Company, have signed a joint venture agreement to create Ron Vigia SA.  Azcuba is Cuba’s main producer and supplier of sugar and alcohol. The Island Rum Company, headquartered in Oslo, was founded in 2012 by Tore Villard and Hans Christian Holst, Chairman and CEO respectively of Norwegian wine importers Arctic Beverage Co, and Enrique Arías, a Spanish entrepreneur based in Havana who has now become President of Ron Vigia SA.  Arías said: “A small independent business with a passion for great rum, The Island Rum Company aims to make wonderful, crafted rums from the stocks it now part-owns available around the world. We look forward to investing in real assets in Cuba and expanding our long-term relationship with Azcuba’s experienced team.” The new 50/50 joint venture, which is valid for 30 years, will own “very significant” maturing stocks of local rum, and gives license to The Island Rum Company to distribute its brands, including Black Tears by Vigia and La Progresiva by Vigia, internationally.

                                    FLOR de CAÑA

Flor de Caña has released V Generaciones, a 30-year-old rum aged in a single barrel since 1988.  Each V Generaciones bottle will be individually numbered and will feature the signatures of the five family generations behind the company, a bottle cap crafted from volcanic rock and a replica of the iconic 1902 volcano postal stamp of Nicaragua. The bottle, which will also feature a metallic label and a certificate of authenticity, will come in a black leather case.  Global ambassador of Flor de Caña Mauricio Solorzano, told Forbes “This release ahead of our 130th anniversary in 2020 tells the story Flor de Caña, championing our rich legacy while staying true to the method we have perfected over the last five-generations. Every detail of this ultra-luxury offering is a testament to the talent working within our brand, the history we have created and the future we are looking to now.” The rum has been matured in a single ex-Bourbon barrel, which was filled in 1988. Bottled at 45% ABV, only 400 bottles will be available for purchase. https://www.flordecana.com/index.html

                                    RON de JEREMY

Ron de Jeremy has released the third annual Limited-Edition Ron de Jeremy XXXO. The blend started with a fine rum from Trinidad Distilleries that was put in American oak barrels in 1991. This was then blended with an 18 year-old rum from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. These old rums form over twelve percent of the final product. The blend was then completed with another batch from the Foursquare Distillery, providing backbone and balance, and fine rums from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Panama, bringing woodiness and texture to the equation. Only 4772 bottles of this one-time only rum were made. https://www.rondejeremy.com/ 

                  SANTA TERESA and THE BITTER TRUTH

Venezuela rum producer, Santa Teresa, has partnered with The Bitter Truth to create its own  Cocoa Bitters, specially designed to be used in the cocktails with Santa Teresa 1796, its super premium rum. Hacienda Santa Teresa is located in the Aragua Valley, in Venezuela, a place also known as first-class cocoa bean farmland. The Cocoa Bitters created by The Bitter Truth exclusively for Santa Teresa presents notes of nuts, coffee and, of course, cocoa, bringing the essence of the aforementioned valley to the brand’s cocktails. Geoff Robinson, Global Advocacy Manager and UK Brand Ambassador comments: “At Santa Teresa, we believe in simple things. From using the best possible ingredients to patiently crafting our rum with the highest degree of care and expertise, without any shortcuts. That’s why we partnered with The Bitter Truth to produce our very own cacao bitters, designed specifically to be used in Santa Teresa 1796 cocktails, because they make bitters the old-fashioned way, with a long maceration to ensure they get maximum flavor.” https://www.santateresarum.com/  https://the-bitter-truth.com/

                             ALLEGHENY DISTILLING

Allegheny Distilling, the producer of Maggie’s Farm Rum is set to release an aged rum finished in sherry casks, the first such rum among its core lineup. After blending rums that were slowly proofed down in ex-rum casks during an aging period of three years, this blend is finished in Oloroso sherry butts creating an herbaceous sipping rum with no added sugar or coloring. Maggie’s Farm rum is fermented from Louisiana turbinado sugar over 3-week periods and then pot-distilled in house. This first batch has been bottled at 86 proof, straight from the cask. It will also be included in the distillery’s pet rescue charity program which has donated over $22,000 to animal rescue organizations within in its distribution markets since 2018. Maggie’s Farm Sherry Cask Rum was released in the Pennsylvania market on Black Friday of 2019. Allegheny Distilling LLC, located in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District, began distilling of Maggie’s Farm Rum in October 2013, before opening its cocktail bar in the distillery in January of 2014. Maggie’s Farm Rum is the first commercially-available Pennsylvania-made craft rum since Prohibition. All spirits are made from scratch, from the long fermentations of raw sugar cane from Louisiana, rather than molasses, and finished dry no post-distillate sugar additions. Then, twice pot-distilled for full body and flavor on the Spanish-made copper stills located directly behind the distillery’s cocktail bar. The distillery is open for tastings, bottle sales, and cocktail service Wednesdays through Sunday. https://www.maggiesfarmrum.com/

                             MONTANYA DISTILLERS

Montanya Distillers, a craft rum distillery and Certified B Corporation®, has added a new addition to its rum family, Valentia (Val-en-tee-a). This American-made, premium, limited-release rum celebrates the progress women have made in becoming a vital part of craft distilling. Renee Newton, a distiller at Montanya, first distilled Valentia more than four years ago, and it has been aging in oak ever since. “This rum is a five-year dream of mine that’s coming alive,” said Karen Hoskin, CEO/co-founder of Montanya Distillers. “People often ask me about the challenges of being one of the first women in craft distilling and now I get to tell a different story, of women who are distilling and making beautiful spirits.” The Valentia is finished in rye barrels from Catoctin Creek Distillery, which was distilled by Becky Harris, also a female founder, owner, and head distiller. Valentia is a single barrel, double maturation rum that Montanya bottled with a female crew on November 19. It will first be released in Colorado, with wider distribution to follow. “The name Valentia is the Spanish word for courage, bravery, and grit because that’s what it’s taken for women to get to this point in a male-dominated industry,” continued Hoskin. “When we started, there were no women and that has changed greatly in the last decade. It’s rewarding to see.” Valentia is an aromatic rum with a natural sweetness, hints of vanilla, cardamom and ginger, and peppery notes from the rye barrel. It is the first Montanya rum that does not include a tiny touch of caramelized honey. It is pure rum distillate from non-GMO Louisiana sugar cane and Colorado aquifer water. It contains no added sugar and nothing else except the yeast that brought it to life. Valentia is the first Montanya rum to debut a new Cradle to Cradle certified glass bottle. Strategic partner Constellation Brands helped conduct a market study to confirm Karen’s sense that the shape of this new bottle more accurately conveys the premium quality of Montanya’s American rum. The bottle is produced by O-I out of Illinois and is a vital partner in helping Montanya reduce its environmental impact. Other Montanya rums will start to appear in these new premium bottles by January 2020. “It’s been great to be a part of Montanya for so long,” noted Newton on distilling the Valentia. “This one was fun to make and Valentia’s flavors and lightness delightfully surprised me. It’s gentle, slightly sweet palate is smooth and it’s going to be a good one to keep us warm and toasty this winter.” A portion of the sales from Valentia will go toward the scholarship fund at Women of the Vine and Spirits, which supports women as they work toward their level 1-3 certification through Wine and Spirits Education Trust. https://www.montanyarum.com/

                                       PAPA’S PILAR

The latest release from the Ernest Hemmingway inspired Papa’s Pilar brand is the Marquesas Blend. Like all Pilars, it’s a blend, this time of seven rums aged up to 24 years, all put together by the brand’s master blender, Ron Call, and further aged in #4 Char Kentucky Bourbon barrels to get a more “whiskey-forward experience.” Ron Call said “Much pride went into crafting this exceptional sipping rum. Hand-selected rums were masterfully blended in a solera process in bourbon, port and sherry barrels, then finished in Kentucky straight whiskey barrels. As a second-generation distiller, whiskey was my first love and I’m proud to share this release.” The company says the new blend honors Hemingway’s time in the Marquesas Keys, the tiny islets near Key West, where Hemingway was once stranded while on a fishing expedition. https://www.papaspilar.com/

                               ARUMDU RUM LIQUEURS

Arumdu rum liqueurs begin in the world-renowned distilleries of Guyana. Using only the pure spirit distilled from smooth molasses, this rum is aged in oak barrels until its true golden color and flavor profile is brought to life. This is the RUM in ARUMDU. After a relaxing journey across the Atlantic, the rum arrives on the less sunny shores of England where it is infused with the highest quality essences and fruit extracts to deliver it four initial offerings: Butter-Salted Popcorn, Caramelized Banana, Spit-Roasted Pineapple and Rum-Bongo Punch. All four are bottled at 28% ABV. http://arumdu.com/

       CARRIBBEAN JOURNAL CARIBBEAN RUM AWARDS

The most exclusive rums in the Caribbean went head-to-head in a blind tasting competition at Caribbean Journal’s Caribbean Rum Awards in St. Barth, and a team of seven international rum judges finally decided on a winner. The superstar rum field included Ron Del Barrilito Five-Star. Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles, Havana Club Maximo, Brugal Papa Andres and El Dorado 25. After a round of voting, Puerto Rico’s Ron del Barrilito and the Don Q were neck-and neck, with the Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles finally emerging victorious in the second round. Other Double Gold Awards went to Ron del Barrilito Four Star in the Premium Rum category; A1710 Renaissance in the Rhum Blanc Agricole (Martinique) category; Rhum Bologne La Coulisse in the Rhum Blanc Agricole (Guadeloupe) category; Rhum Karukera Black Alligator in the VSOP Rhum Agricole category; : Rhum HSE XO in the XO Rhum Agricole category; and Rhum St Barth “Authentique” in the Hors d’Age Rhum Agricole category. Caribbean Rum Maker of the Year 2019 was awarded to Gregory Vernant of Rhum Neisson. “We are so pleased with the reception of the Caribbean Rum Awards in St. Barth,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal. “St. Barth is one of the most remarkable markets for rum, and our partnership with Christopher Davis and the St. Barth Rum Festival is a natural fit. This year’s competition was filled with outstanding rums from across the Caribbean and a reminder of the wonderful diversity of Caribbean rum.” https://www.caribjournal.com/