Rum in the News
PIN DROP RUM
Pin Drop Rum announced the launch of its ultra-premium rum, setting the stage for a new sipping experience in the United States. Hailing from Harbour Island in the Bahamas (known as a “pin drop’’ of a place by locals and visitors given its small size and position in the Lucayan archipelago), Pin Drop Rum is a sophisticated, character-rich spirit with a captivating tropical palate. The small batch rum, which is blended and bottled by hand, will instantly transport one to the island’s easy-going atmosphere, picturesque pink sandy beaches and sun-drenched shores. Founded in 2018, Pin Drop Rum was created by a collective of creators and friends: Ithalia Johnson, Toby Tyler and Joe Elison, who infused the heart of their idyllic home and the rich history of the Bahamas into a unique spirit. The idea for Pin Drop Rum was born around Ithalia’s kitchen table. Her vision was a spirit that reflected her roots and paid homage to her tight-knit community. Ithalia enlisted Toby’s experience as a master blender and Joe’s island connections to produce a new style of rum. The result was an instant hit, and amassed a passionate following amongst locals. Pin Drop Rum is a blend of 10 and 12-year-old Caribbean rums, pot-and-column stilled and aged in bourbon white oak barrels. Pin Drop’s exceptional beauty and quality captured the attention of the Bronfman family, leading to their decision to partner with the team to introduce it to the U.S. With Aaron Bronfman at the helm, and with his father Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s (the former CEO of The Seagram Company Ltd.) guidance from the wings, the family’s unparalleled industry tenure and legacy will surely position Pin Drop Rum as a rum that stands the test of time. “The spirits industry is entering a new era of exploration, which is leading to heightened interest in the rum category and its versatility. With the arrival of the Rum Renaissance and fans embracing the spirit like never before, Pin Drop Rum offers a unique style to experience ultra-premium rum from an unlikely place,” said Aaron Bronfman, CEO of Pin Drop Rum. “Pin Drop Rum was created as an ode to Harbour Island and its culture, which continue to inspire us on this journey,” Co-Founder, Ithalia Johnson, added. www.pindroprum.com.
TEN TO ONE
Last Month, Ten To One introduced its new Five Origin Select, the latest addition to its portfolio of award- winning pan-Caribbean rums. The Five Origin Select is an exceptional blend of rums aged up to 15 Years, highlighted by the inclusion of a truly remarkable, 11- to 15-year-old Guyanese rum distilled on the famed 250-year-old Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still, the only one of its kind still in operation. Brought together masterfully alongside signature rums from Trinidad, Barbados, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, and bottled at 92 proof, this expression produces a bold and memorable sipping. https://www.tentoonerum.com/
ROLLING STONES CROSSFIRE HURRICANE RUM
Crossfire Hurricane Rum, the signature rum by The Rolling Stones, announced today that it has signed a national distribution agreement with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Born from a pioneering partnership with Universal Music Group and Socio Ventures, Crossfire Hurricane Rum will first enter the Florida and California markets with Southern Glazer’s later this month, followed by a nationwide rollout. Crossfire Hurricane’s proprietary blend of Caribbean rums from Jamaica, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic is a fusion of three distinct rum-making traditions, creating a harmonious blend that seamlessly integrates time-honored distillation methods with contemporary flair. This blend, a convergence of history, culture, and innovation, represents a distilled essence of the Caribbean’s finest rum-making legacies. Following Crossfire Hurricane’s debut in November 2023, which coincided with the legendary band’s “Hackney Diamonds” album launch and 2024 tour announcement, the rum has delivered record-setting sales online. Overseeing the company, John Fincher, Partner at Socio Ventures and Co-Founder of Crossfire Hurricane, has assembled a powerhouse leadership team built of top professionals from the spirits and beverage industry, including Kyle Rivera and Ryan Stender are leading sales and marketing, respectively. “Our mission is to deliver a premium rum brand that is world-class. Through our relationship with Southern Glazer’s, we will now make Crossfire Hurricane available across the country, ensuring that aficionados and rock & roll fans everywhere can savor the experience and enjoy the band’s legacy for future lifetimes” said John Fincher, Socio Ventures Partner and Co-founder of Crossfire Hurricane. Mark Chaplin, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, added “Growing demand for premium rums makes it an exciting time to enter the category. We’re thrilled to bring Crossfire Hurricane by the Rolling Stones into our portfolio and to introduce the brand to our national network of trade and retail partners.” https://www.crossfirehurricane.com/, www.southernglazers.com
DROP WORKS DISTILLERY
Drop Works is one of the largest rum distilleries in the United Kingdom and one of the most innovative. Master Distiller Shaun Smith has developed his own Wild Trinity Yeast, a blend of three yeast strains living together symbiotically. This is used in all of their rums to create the unique, funky flavors that is becoming the Drop Works signature. His latest offering is Spice Drop, a spiced rum created without any added spices. Shaun wanted to prove that you can get all of the flavor you need naturally, without adding ‘spices’ or flavorings. It is a molasses-based rum, fermented for 5 to 7 days, distilled on a column still and flash aged with charred heavily French and American oak chips. Other products include Clear Drop, Dark Drop and Funk Drop. Funk Drop is made from sugar cane honey with the addition of molasses-based “dunder”, fermented for seven days and distilled on their Double Retort still. If you want more funk, you can visit their distillery in Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, in the heart of Britain, and buy a bottle of their limited release, Super Funk, which is fermented for an entire month. A longer maturation period pushes the ester count to the highest seen in any of their Drops, coming it at 930 esters. Drop Works offers two standard tours, a 60-minute Basic Distillery Tour and a more technical, 90-minute Meet the Distiller Tour.
https://dropworks.co.uk/
BUSHWACKER RUM CREAM
Bushwacker Spirits’ Bushwacker Rum Cream is honored to be recognized by the WSWA Tasting Competition two years in a row, following up last year’s Gold Medal with a 2024 Silver Medal in the Cream/Dairy Liqueur Category. Co-founders of Bushwacker Spirits, Carter Echols and Michael Smith explain, “As an emerging brand to be consistently recognized by organizations like WSWA, speaks volumes about the quality of our product, and each award is a real testament to our team at Bushwacker Spirits.” Echols and Smith started bottling Bushwackers back in 2020, but the history of the famous cocktail dates back to 1975. In the Spring of that year, Tom Brokamp was working as the manager of the Ship’s Store in Sapphire Village on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and Angie Conigliaro was the bartender. Tom Brokamp recalls:
“The concoction was originally thrown together by Angie at my suggestion as a tropical variation on the White Russian. Had it not been for Angie’s single-handed efforts, the drink would have soon been forgotten in a blurry hangover. Not yet earning a name, Angie pushed it on anyone and everyone for weeks as a creamy, kick-butt sort of Pina Colada drink. After she finalized the recipe a few weeks later and during a particularly slow evening, two gentlemen wandered into the bar with their large dog. They were very proud of their pet which I believe was an Afghan Hound. These two fellows immediately fell in love with Angie’s concoction, and the few people in Sapphire Village at the time fell in love with the dog. The dog’s name was Bushwack, and Angie suggested that the new drink share his name.” By the end of 1975, the Bushwack had spread throughout the islands and had also made its way to Florida via visiting bartenders who fell in love with it. Over the next 45 years, the drink exploded in popularity throughout the Southeastern United States (and particularly in the panhandle of Florida) with many bars coming up with new recipes of their own. When asked what he thought of the different recipes, Tom replied “I know the drink has been tweaked continually over the years and that is just fine. How you enjoy it is what is most important.” https://www.bushwackerspirits.com/
DON THE BEACHCOMBER
The long-awaited opening of the first new Don the Beachcomber restaurant has happened. Polynesian/Tiki aficionados can now visit the new location at 15015 Madeira Way, Suite 100, Madeira Beach, Florida, a small city on the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, between St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Tiki website, The Atomic Grog, reported that architect Jack Bodziak, a longtime Southwest Florida residential and commercial expert over saw the project. Southern California artist Daniel “Tiki Diablo” Gallardo was the stylistic visionary for this restaurant and all of the upcoming Don the Beachcomber locations. The menu includes a collection of Polynesian starters, handheld items (tacos, sandwiches and burgers), salads, entrees and, some twenty-plus famous Don the Beachcomber drinks. Beer, wine and mocktails are also available. https://donbeachcomber.com/
Nestled on the north eastern coast of the island of Grenada, enveloped by cane fields on all sides, is the modern Renegade Rum Distillery. Now you can experience everything they do from farm to bottle: from harvest to milling, to fermentation, distillation and finally maturation. This is a proper, all-access tour, nothing hidden, nothing off-limits, and all tricky questions not only welcomed but actively encouraged. All topped off by a proper tasting of natural cane rum.
Arriving at the site, you’ll be welcomed by a sea of sugarcane, and at its heart, you will find one of the rum industry’s most innovative and technologically advanced distillery. You will commence your exploration of the extraordinary set up that facilitates the creation of our terroir-driven, pure cane juice rum by walking through the entirety of the production process from cane to cask. Upon completion of the tour, you’ll have no doubt worked up a thirst, so to finish your visit you will get to taste the fruits of their labor and experience Renegade Rum for yourself! https://renegaderum.com/
EL DORADO
In a recent, very brief Facebook post, El Dorado posted: “Introducing the new El Dorado High Ester Blend - a combination of our exclusive, never-before-released High Ester Rum distilled on our John Dore Double Retort Copper Pot Still and the La Bonne Intention (LBI) marque from the French Savalle Still. Available in select US States and Guyana.” Unfortunately, the El Dorado website did not offer any additional information, as the latest ‘news’ was from 2019. Luckily, I found 88 Bamboo, a website that calls itself “Asia’s Freshest Drinks Companion”. From that website I learned that this is the first of nine planned expressions that will showcase the vast range of rum styles that the distillery can produce on the its fourteen heirloom stills. As the Facebook teaser indicated, this offering is a blend of two marques distilled in 2012 on two different stills. The high-ester marque was distilled on the John Dore Double Retort Pot Still that has been in use since the 1950s. For this new marque, DHE (Diamond High Ester), El Dorado says that fermentation took place over months and distillation was done at a slow rate with high reflux, thereby producing ester levels in excess of 1,500 g/hL. The second marque, LBI (La Bonne Intention), was produced using the French Savalle Multi-Column Still, which was first created in the 18th Century and named after the La Bonne Intention Estate at the East Coast of Demerara. Thanks to the folks at 88 Bamboo for filling in the details. https://theeldoradorum.com/, https://88bamboo.co/
HAMILTON RUMS
The latest Ed Hamilton blend was crafted and bottled specifically for Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour, a highly regarded YouTube show with a passionate audience of tiki and home bartender enthusiasts. Building on his successful career as a commercial photographer, designer and musician with an interest in tiki culture, Spike began his Breezeway Cocktail Hour on YouTube during the pandemic to put his video production talents to work exploring the world of tiki culture while offering some entertainment relief at a time when many people were trying to perfect their own home bartending skills. With more than a hundred and fifty shows online, Spike has built a loyal following for the Breezeway Cocktail Hour, highlighting better rum cocktails and establishing himself as a trusted voice in the industry. After several appearances on the show, Ed agreed to work with Spike and his audience to blend a rum that would add another dimension to daiquiris, long drinks and the home bar. Blending his Jamaican Pot Still Blonde and White Stache, at 42.5% ABV, the Breezeway Blend has a slight straw color and notes of ripe banana and tropical fruit on the palate leading to a clean smooth finish, the signature of Hamilton rums.
https://www.caribbean-spirits.com/, https://www.youtube.com/@BreezewayCocktailHour
CAPTAIN MORGAN
Just in time for the warmer months ahead, Captain Morgan is officially introducing its newest ready-to-drink lineup, Captain Morgan Sliced. Captain Morgan Sliced is a line of cocktail-inspired malt beverages with an exciting range that goes all-in on flavor and adventure. Yes, you read that right: cocktail-inspired malt beverages! “We didn’t just want to introduce another new canned drink. We wanted to slice through the ordinary with an offering that compliments the adventurous spirit of our consumers,” said Laura Merritt, CMO, Diageo Beer Company. “Captain Morgan has always been known and loved for its bold flavor, and we’re excited to shake up the category and introduce Captain Morgan Sliced to the world.” Captain Morgan Sliced offers four delicious malt-based flavors inspired by classic cocktails that will take your taste buds on an adventure: Pineapple Daiquiri Style Beverage, Strawberry Margarita Style Beverage, Passionfruit Hurricane Style Beverage and Mango Mai Tai Style Beverage.
www.CaptainMorgan.com
KLYR RUM
KLYR Rum, a super-premium 100% American-made crystal rum, is poised to become a breakout brand as it builds its presence throughout the mid-Atlantic region and amps up its investment in sales and marketing. Launched in 2021, KLYR Rum has experienced strong growth and increased demand in its home state of Pennsylvania and select states up and down the eastern seaboard and now sets its sights on further expansion. “This is an exciting time for KLYR as we continue to roll out to additional markets and cultivate a passionate following for the brand,” said Keith Krem, COO of KLYR Rum. “What began as an idea of producing a highly versatile, crystal rum 100% handcrafted in the U.S. that possesses the purity of a vodka, yet retains its character as a rum has led to the creation of an exceptional smooth spirit that uniquely meets the needs of today’s consumers. When canvassing the marketplace along with studying consumer trends, we saw a void where we believed we could introduce a cleaner, more refined, sugar-free rum that would offer a refreshing alternative from all of the other more-sugary rums out there,” Krem said. “The taste of KLYR is clean and crisp, featuring a blend of the purest brown sugar mixed with clean sugar cane to keep the sophisticated, traditional rum character flavors in and the harsh flavors out. KLYR Rum can be enjoyed neat, with a simple mixer like tonic and lime slice or as a classic American cocktail. Our portfolio also features ready-to-serve KLYR canned cocktails featuring a variety of flavors with a single serve calorie count ranging from 99 to 190 calories,” he added. KLYR Rum is distilled 12 times and filtered 18 times and sources crystal clear water from some of the best quality, natural aquifers in central Pennsylvania, achieving higher levels of clarity and purity through reverse osmosis. After what seemed like an infinite number of test batches from Lexi Close, the Gen Z head distiller for KLYR Rum, she and her team fine-tuned the perfect ratio of refined sugar, pristine water along with a bespoke yeast with purity as their guide and smoothness as the desired outcome. https://klyrrum.com/
RHUM BARBANCOURT
Caribbean National Weekly reported that the tranquility surrounding the iconic Rhum Barbancourt distillery has been shattered by the tumultuous grip of gang warfare. In a recent escalation of violence, at least 19 acres of sugarcane fields were engulfed in flames, casualties of a fierce territorial dispute among rival gangs. The blaze, a stark reminder of the perils haunting Haiti’s economic landscape, threatens to cast a shadow over one of the nation’s most cherished exports, its renowned rum. The scorched fields, a sprawling expanse equivalent to more than four soccer fields, bore the brunt of the conflict. However, officials from Barbancourt assured the public that the conflagration, while devastating, would not impede the company’s production capabilities. The company’s foundation, however, said it would temporarily stop distributing free potable water, providing medical care, and offering the use of football fields and basketball courts to protect the safety of its employees. As Haiti grapples with the specter of gang violence, the nation is further destabilized by political upheaval. Recent demonstrations, characterized by fervent calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, have erupted into violent confrontations. https://barbancourt.com/
