Sunday, June 26, 2011

Jamaica: Our friend, Demon Rum

Pirates Gold “Rums of the Caribbean” Festival returns to Jamaica in the second staging of the successful Rums and Spirit Expo. This year’s event, at Montego Bay’s Rose Hall Great House on July 22, will highlight the history of rum making in the region and the pirates who made the rums famous. Various rum brands and rum based products in the region as well as international markets will be showcased.

Details: For information about travel to Jamaica, go to http://www.visitjamaica.com/ or call 305-665-0557

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/26/2277607/jamaica-our-friend-demon-rum.html#ixzz1QNg2pi8Y

Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Angostura® unveils new super premium repack for 1919 and 1824

Angostura, the world’s most awarded rum, has unveiled their new super premium repack for Angostura 1919 and Angostura 1824 at this year’s Vinexpo. Both super premium rums have undergone a facelift to reveal elegant, new look bottles, labelling and packaging.

Speaking about the new repack Wayne Yip Choy, Angostura CEO commented:



"We are delighted with our new look Angostura 1919 and Angostura 1824 super premium rums. We’ve created a sophisticated bottle that discreetly plays on all that is wonderful about Trinidad and Tobago and our international range of rums. It was important to us to create a sense of range alignment with our international rum range and we believe that the changes will not only excite our consumers and customers, but gives them a little something extra."

Pusser's Rum Wins Trademark Battle, But Loses The War As Bartenders Boycott

Last year, we wrote about the absolutely ridiculous claim by a rum distillery in the British Virgin Islands, named Pusser's, that a bar in New York City, named Painkiller, cease using the name and cease serving a drink by that name. At issue? Pusser's apparently has the US trademark on "Painkiller," as a rum drink that's made with Pusser's Rum. That the drink itself was apparently created ten years before it included Pusser's rum is apparently unimportant. Either way, the legal fight was apparently too much, and Painkiller the bar has agreed to drop the name, and rebrand as PKNY. But here's where things got interesting. While the company may have won that battle, it may be losing the larger war, as tons of bartenders are pissed off about the whole fight, and are unlikely to use Pusser's rum for anything:


"What followed could only be considered a very bad week for Pusser's. While the lawsuit was settled in their favor, this small brand found itself a pariah among many bartenders and fans of PKNY. Within hours of the news, several Facebook groups were launched, calling for boycotts of Pusser's rum and an end to trademarked cocktail recipes (these pages had hundreds of supporters within a few days); and bartenders around the country began conducting their own forms of civil disobedience, serving and in some cases advertising Painkillers that are notably not made with Pussers, and posting photos of the menus online as a challenge to Pusser's to sue every bar that ignored the trademarked recipe. "
Click HERE for the complete story. Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Rum Cake Factory in North Miami Beach adds New Orleans specialties

(By Linda Bladholm) The Rum Cake Factory recently moved from Miami Lakes to North Miami Beach and added specialties of New Orleans and hickory-smoked meats made in house. The rum cakes have had a following for years, and are based on a family recipe of owner Larry Robinson.

Robinson grew up in Natchitoches in north-central Louisiana, the youngest of 10 siblings, and helped his mother bake cakes. He came to Miami in 1985 as a defensive back with the Dolphins, then played for the Jets. After an injury, he retired and started a catering company.

Robinson met his Cuban-American wife, Elena, on a flight to Miami, and they have been married 22 years. She is the face of the company, working the register and doing the books. Louisiana native Roosevelt Lewis handles the cooking.

Click HERE for the complete story. Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Spiced Rum on the Rebound

(By Kara Newman) Just a few years ago, to be offered a choice of spiced rums for your cocktail was unthinkable.

But now, floated by a rum renaissance and the explosion of tiki culture, a number of new spiced rums have been introduced—and fresh cocktails are being created to showcase the expanded range.

"Spiced rum is not a fad," declares rum expert, importer and advocate Ed Hamilton. "The tradition of adding fruit and spice to rum is almost as old as Caribbean rum itself."

However, the island tradition was typically for spiced rums made at home, or sold at local rum shops. Only a handful were brought to the U.S., most notably Captain Morgan, which was introduced to the U.S. in 1983 and is credited with creating the spiced rum category. Indeed, "Captain & Coke" remains one of the most popular mixed drink calls at bars across the country.

Click HERE for the complete story. Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Rising High-Proof Rum Category Spurs New Entrants

(Shanken News) Within the rum category, one of the hotter segments lately has been higher-proof dark and spiced rums. The high-proof segment’s recent dynamism is epitomized by Impact “Hot Brand” Sailor Jerry—a 92-proof spiced offering which rose by 59% to 635,000 cases in 2010. Sailor Jerry’s success has led to a rising tide of new entrants, in the form of line extensions or new brand propositions altogether.

New this spring are two higher-proof extensions of existing brands: Malibu Black from Pernod Ricard USA and Mount Gay Black Eclipse from Remy Cointreau USA. The Mount Gay extension is at 100-proof and retails at around $25, about a 30% premium to the core brand. “We wanted to come up with a different, bolder expression of Mount Gay whose strong taste profile would appeal to younger consumers while staying true to the Mount Gay brand to keep rum connoisseurs engaged,” says Mount Gay international brand director Daniel Cabaleiro.

Malibu Black is also targeted at the LDA-to-29-year-old demographic, with a particular focus on males, according to brand manager Sheila Senhouse. At 70-proof, Malibu Black, which sells for around $16 a bottle, isn’t among the highest-proof rums out there, but it’s a significant step up from Malibu’s core 42-proof brand.

Other new entries to the higher-proof rum segment include Proximo’s Kraken (94-proof, $20), Heaven Hill’s Blackheart (93-proof, $16), Serralles USA’s Blackbeard (86-proof, $15) and White Rock’s Spiced Jack 94 (94-proof, $16). Of those, Kraken, which sold 75,000 cases last year (its first year on the market), according to Impact Databank, has so far been the standout. Others, like Spiced Jack at 20,000 cases, are also off to good starts in what’s becoming a hotly contested category.

“It’s a bit of a following game,” says Brittany Blevins, rum brand manager at Heaven Hill. “Sailor Jerry’s high proof became hugely successful and others took note. That interest comes from consumers who want something edgy, and the taste profile of spiced rum lends itself to that.” Blevins adds that Blackheart, released early last year, came out 40% ahead of its volume projections in its first year on the market.

All this new activity has put pressure on spiced rum leader Captain Morgan, which at 6.2 million cases has dominated the category for years. The Captain’s 100-proof offering, rolled out in 2008 at around $19 a bottle, got off to a strong start and “continues to carve out a niche,” according to global brand director Russell Jones. “It’s been in the market for three years now, and for the first couple of years it was in the list of top innovations in the U.S.,” he says, noting that the midwest and whiskey belt are strong areas for the 100-proof variant in the U.S. market.

Other spirits categories are taking a page from rum’s book. Phillips Distilling recently re-released its Revel Stoke Canadian whisky brand, marketing it as a “spiced whisky,” which, at 90-proof and about $17 a bottle, will compete with all high-proof players. Given the success of Sailor Jerry and others, it appears the high-proof rum segment is fast becoming the hot spot for most top brands in the rum category and beyond.

Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Tennessee Retailers Able To Hold Tastings

(Source: The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States) Tennessee governor Bill Haslam has signed a bill which allows retailers in the state to offer complimentary spirits tastings. Tennessee is the 35th state to allow off-premise tastings and follows recently passed liquor sampling laws in Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and California.

Under an amendment to Senate Bill 1224, a retail licensee may offer complimentary samples of the products it sells for tasting events held on the premises of the retail licensee. Such tastings, the amendment stipulates, are for sales, education and promotional purposes. The bill passed the State Legislature on May 21 and was signed by Gov. Haslam on June 10.

Click HERE for the complete story. Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Sapporo to Ally With Bacardi Japan for Selling Wine, Rum

(By Naoko Fujimura) Sapporo Holdings Ltd. (2501), Japan’s fourth-largest brewer, will ally with Bacardi Japan Ltd. to sell spirits including Dewar’s scotch, targeting 10 billion yen ($124 million) in annual sales of western-style liquor by 2016.

Sapporo will be the exclusive Bacardi distributor in the country from Oct. 1, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement. The agreement covers 29 brands including Grey Goose vodka, Bombay Sapphire gin, cognac, tequila and sparkling wine.

"We want to make western liquor one of our profit pillars, as beer now is," Norifumi Sumiyoshi, Sapporo wine and spirits division head, told reporters in Tokyo today.

Click HERE for the complete story. Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Essex Rum Challenge Regatta Coming to Old Saybrook on July 30

(By Special to the Press) ESSEX -- The Essex Yacht Club’s annual Essex Rum Challenge Regatta returns to the waters of Long Island Sound off Old Saybrook on Saturday, July 30. Sponsored by Gosling’s Rum, it is an East Coast Sailing Association sanctioned event and one of the five qualifying races for the Long Sand Shoal Cup. In addition to PHRF classes, both Spinnaker and Non Spinnaker classes will be established. The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2009-2012 including US Sailing Prescriptions will govern the race.

Click HERE for the complete story. Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Diageo to take controlling stake in Zacapa rum

Global drinks giant Diageo has reached an agreement with Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala to take a 50% controlling stake in the Guatemalan Zacapa rum brand.

In 2008 Diageo entered into a three year distribution agreement for Zacapa rum with the option to take an equity stake in Zacapa at the end of the term.

A statement from Diageo said: "We have now reached an agreement and, subject to the usual closing conditions, Diageo will take a 50% controlling stake in Zacapa.

"No details of the transaction are being released but we can confirm that it meets Diageo's investment criterion and is economic profit positive in year three."

Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.

Monday, June 06, 2011

Luxco sells rum portfolio rights to Heaven Hill Distilleries

(DBR) US-based Luxco, a producer, bottler, importer and marketer of beverage alcohol products, has sold the rights of Admiral Nelson’s family of rums to Heaven Hill Distilleries.

The Admiral Nelson family of rums include the flagship Admiral Nelson Spiced Rum, Admiral Nelson's 101 Proof Spiced Rum, Coconut, Raspberry, Vanilla and Cherry flavor.

Luxco's portfolio of products feature Pearl Vodka, Juarez Tequila and Arrow Cordials and the company has reported $220m in sales, reports bizournals.com. .

Luxco said the Admiral Nelson brand is the beverages industry's growing spiced rum and the largest selling spiced rum in the US with $40m sales last year.

Heaven Hill Distilleries is a family-owned producer and marketer of distilled spirits products in the US.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed by the companies.

Please visit us at The Rum Shop for all your rum-related needs, including purchasing rum on-line, rum recipes, rum tasting notes, rum event information and rum consulting services. "Got Rum?" Magazine is back in circulation, get your free copy HERE.