Rum is starting to make some inroads into the sales of Scotch worldwide. It seems that the premiunization of the rum category is starting to pay some dividends. Scotch
drinkers could be turning specifically to dark rum especially the expressions that have undergone a premiumization the recent years. “One category that appears set to capture a share from Scotch is dark rum.” “High-quality aged sipping rums are winning over consumers in the UK, Benelux, France, the Nordics and Eastern Europe as they look to change up Scotch or gin consumption on the back of the current premiumization trend.
This is good news for the rum category as a whole, especially with the money and effort that is being spent to bring the quality level of the category up to its competitors. For to many years, the category was known for its white unaged and sugared and flavored expressions, but today the public is starting to appreciate the quality of the dark aged rums offer and beginning to switch to these expressions.
I have found it fairly easy to get bourbon and scotch drinkers to try many of the higher end rums that share notes of bourbon or scotch from their aging processes. Bourbon drinkers find rums like Zafra, a 21 year old expression of rum master Don Pancho Fernandez in Panama, will get their attention and usually turn their heads and find themselves asking for it again. Diplomatico from Venezuela, Doorly's XO from Barbados, Plantation from France and El Dorado from Guyana also have the same effect on many of my customers.While there is a serious growth from the ultra-premium expressions, the basic rums like Bacardi and aptain Morgan and showing growth at the same time. The Category is doing very well as a whole. Its growth is a slow and steady on and not just a "flash in the pan" growth that like most fads doesn't last.
