Grand Tasting Opens For Members of the Industry

     Friday is the beginning of the Grand Tastings.  The doors open at 1:00 pm and close at 6:00 pm.  Friday is a day for the people in the spirits industry to make contact with the producers of the fine rums that have become available for distribution to all of the liquor stores and bars.

     One part of the show this year is the International Exposition for Rum.   The hosts of the 2016 Miami Rum Festival are inviting members of the spirits and beverage trade to their International Trade Exposition for Rum, running concurrently with the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.   

     The Miami Rum Renaissance Festival features  three-days of the Grand Tasting Exhibition where participants can sample hundreds of fine rums from the Caribbean and beyond. Discover the finest rums from more than 30 countries, from each category and from each notable brand.  The addition of  the VIP Tasting Bar provides a select number of luxury, vintage and limited edition rums offering a new level of excitement for serious rum enthusiasts during the Grand Tasting hours.  There is more that enough for any enthusiast to keep very busy for the seven hours of the event. 


     It is fun arriving early and watching the event come together.  Watching the booths being assembled and everybody carrying all of their bottles and decorations in from outside.  It is like watching a small city being built right before your eyes.

     The awards from the RumXP Tasting Competition were announced after the door close to the public and the judges and the rum producers get to share the awards ceremony.  This is just as exciting for the judges as it is for the producers, because the judges don't know how the results have tallied up until they are announced.  I will have the complete run down on Sunday of all the winners.

 




      The fine people at Bayou Rum closed the evening with a trip for all of the judges to the Broken Shaker on Miami Beach.  This was a great meeting place with the usual fine atmosphere and the great cocktails created from Bayou Rums.