Red Stripe to bottle Smirnoff, Gold Label rum in Kingston

By McPherse Thompson, Business Reporter, The Gleaner, Jamaica. Red Stripe Jamaica has invested US$1.8 million (J$153 million) in a new spirits bottling line as the vodka market opens up domestically, allowing it to produce onsite under two labels owned by parent Diageo, and in the process shed some of its carrying costs.

The line, to be unveiled during a tour of the Spanish Town Road, Kingston plant today, has a production capacity of 3,600 bottles per hour or 60 bottles per minute of Smirnoff Vodka 21, Smirnoff Apple and Cranberry, as well as Gold Label rum which had hitherto been imported or manufactured under arrangements with other companies.

Installation of the new line will allow expansion of Red Stripe's spirits-production capacity, as well as improve quality control and reduce energy costs, the company said Wednesday.

Red Stripe, the operating name for Desnoes and Geddes Limited as well as the brewery's flagship beer, said the spirits plant would realise a minimum of US$1.2 million per annum for the company.

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Bundaberg sees the white with new rum

By Claire Ward. If Bundaberg Rum require any further evidence there is a market for a white version of their famous rum, they only need look out the window.

Nine days out from the launch of the new Bundaberg Five white rum, and campers have already begun assembling at the distillery gate.

Three men arrived yesterday, with another three joining the line today with a view to securing the first of 10,000 numbered bottles.

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Cuban grandfathers roll up with rum and cigars

(By Jacqueline Williams). They smoke cigars, drink rum and sing and dance to their hearts content. That's the secret to the men who are the the heart of the long run of the show, The Grandfathers of Cuban Music.

The grandfathers themselves singer Reynaldo Creagh, 94, guitarist Maracaibo, 86, and pianist Maestro Rubalcaba, 85 are in Australia paying homage to the original spirit of the music of Cuba. On tour with a group of 12 in The Bar at Buena Vista The Grandfathers of Cuban Music, the three have been working together for years and are now considered the Cuban masters of music.

The production's youngest member, Leonel Gamboa, said the show was a passport to another time Havana in the 1940s and 1950s to a bar where original Cuban music and dance was rife.

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"Bacardi Together" Campaign Launched Today

Bacardi today announced the launch of a new marketing campaign called “Bacardi Together”. The effort includes a 30-second television commercial entitled “Inventions,” which shows how many things have been invented to help bring people together, including Bacardi.

Created by Young and Rubicam and director Johnny Green, “Inventions” was filmed in locations across Argentina and features the music track “NYC moves to the sound of LA” by the band Funeral Party. The TV commercial will run in prime time on national cable networks throughout the summer, including sports and entertainment outlets such as ESPN, SPIKE, Comedy Central, FX, TBS and TNT.

It’s part of an integrated effort that also includes out-of-home, public relations, experiential marketing, digital advertising and a “Like It Live, Like It Together” program on Facebook.

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St. Louis bartender's rum drink wins competition

BY EVAN S. BENN. T.J. Vytlacil, a bartender at Clayton's DeMun Oyster Bar, won part of a national cocktail competition last weekend in New York. His "Love Burns" rum drink earned him first place in the fruit-forward category, good for $1,000 and a trip to Puerto Rico.

Vytlacil's cocktail -- a citrusy mix of lemon juice, lemon bitters and anejo rum, topped with Champagne and garnished with a gelatinized grapefruit wedge -- also was named the top drink at a St. Louis qualifying event in April.

For the complete story click HERE. 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.

NBA and Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. Announce Gold Standard Scholarship Program Regional Winners

NEW YORK, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. today announced the regional winners of the inaugural Gold Standard Scholarship Program. The twenty-four adult students (aged 21+) from culturally diverse communities will now vie for their chance to receive an additional $30,000 scholarship as four national winners will be selected by public voting beginning today at www.nba.com/goldstandard.

Through the program, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) selected 24 minority students who are pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees to receive a $10,000 scholarship. Starting today, fans may go online to vote for the four students -- one male and one female from each organization -- to be selected as national scholarship recipients and receive an additional $30,000 in financial support. Voting will close on Monday, May 30 and the winners will be announced during a special event in Miami, Fla. in late June.

For the complete story, click HERE. 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.

Hospice group benefits from rum tasting event

(The Bulletin) Mystic, Conn. — Hospice Southeastern Connecticut was the beneficiary of the Mystic River Mudheads Sailing Association’s third annual Rum Tasting on May 6.

The event at the Mystic Arts Center, where Hospice supporters tasted and compared several kinds of rum, raised more than $4,000.

Proceeds from ticket sales and a silent auction will provide funds to help patients and families during bereavement care.

Click HERE or HERE for the complete story.

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Cocktail Gala Kicks Off Five-Day Booze Party With Padma Lakshmi, Rum Bus

(Patrick Cole, Bloomberg). Lesley Townsend found out in a New York minute just how popular her first Manhattan Cocktail Classic was when 2,000 tickets for the second one went on sale on April 1 at midnight.

They were all gone before 12:01 a.m.

Townsend added tickets for Friday’s gala, the main event of a cocktail festival that runs through May 17. It includes more than 75 events and has become a hot ticket worldwide. Last year it lured hundreds of bartenders, leading spirit makers and thirsty types from Europe and Asia. The additional tickets are also sold out.

For the complete story click HERE.

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 Wars: The Spat between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Heats Up

Ruth Samuelson (Fox News Latino). When guests showed up at Miami restaurant Sra. Martínez on April 27, they drank and feasted on rum, rum, and more rum, all of it Puerto Rican: Aside from sipping cocktails, they noshed on treats like Bacardi-infused cupcakes and ceviche spiked with DonQ Limón.


At some point, Nicole Rodríguez, who directs a government office supporting the island’s rum industry, addressed the crowd.


All rum isn’t created equal, Rodriguez says she told them: "The best champagne is made in France, the best cigars in Cuba and the best rums in Puerto Rico."


For the complete story, click HERE. To read the exclusive "Got Rum?" interview with USVI's Paul J. Arnold, download the May 2011 issue HERE.

Claim free tickets to The Telegraph's St. Kitts Rum-Tasting event in London

The Telegraph. The Rum-Tasting Event will take place on the evening of Friday May 20, 2011 at The Telegraph's offices in central London.

A lush verdant island, St Kitts remains a naturally unspoilt and uncrowded destination that is a true gem in the Caribbean. While its spectacular landscape includes such ecological wonders as Mount Liamuiga and a flourishing rainforest, it’s historical and cultural heritage has left a wealth of island experiences centred on a legacy of sugar-cane and rum production.


For the complete story, click HERE.

Captain Morgan Birthday Celebration

BY KEVIN C. JOHNSON. Captain Morgan Rum, in conjunction with Maxim magazine, are coming together at 10 p.m. Saturday at Paddy O's in Soulard to celebrate Morgan's birthday.

Captain Morgan is over three centuries old, and the parties are taking place coast-to-coast, with Maxim Models, Morganettes and Captain Morgan himself.

For the complete story click HERE.


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Steaks and rum stolen

A man has been charged after city police say he stole steaks and rum in separate incidents over the weekend. Officers responded to Metro grocery store on Friday after a man stolen several steaks.[...]

For the complete story, click HERE.

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Yo, ho, ho ... and a bottle of Caldwell's rum!

(John Lagoulis, Newburyport News) For many years, Newburyport and the rum trade were synonymous, and the rum trade here was known throughout the world. As we know, rum is manufactured and distilled from molasses. Years ago, molasses was imported to Newburyport from the West Indies. The Caldwell Co. was known for distilling and producing one of the finest, if not the finest, rums in the world. It lasted well into the 20th century ...

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$7,099 bottle of rum for charity

HE WILL never taste a drop of it, but Mt Crosby mechanic Jason Pearson says his $7099 bottle of Bundaberg Rum is worth every cent.

For the complete story, click HERE.

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