The Growth of Rum Becoming Polarized

Orijenes 30 Year

     “There’s a move away from a low-cost image,” Frank Quinones, now managing director of Botran Aged Rums, told The Spirits Business earlier this year. “Three or four years ago, rum was rum. Now people are more knowledgeable about rum. They read about it, they want to improve their rum experience.”
    
     Despite spotting an opportunity at the aspirational end of the category, producers are still grasping tightly onto the volumes proffered by rum’s spiced cousin. This year Pernod Ricard made a significant move for the space still very much available in the burgeoning spiced rum arena with "Malibu Island Spiced", while Diageo has extended its Captain Morgan range with the punchier Black Spiced and limited edition Sherry Oak Finish Spiced, in an attempt to diversify the category.

     Here is the thing, yes there is a move not only by rum producers to move into the "premium spirit" category, but the roots remain firmly planted in the flavored and spiced bulk rums.   So many of the brands that are working on premium rums are also pounding out volumes of cheap spiced and flavored rums as well. 

     I think that this contradiction is going to lead to the slowing of the premiumization of the category and do more to emphasize the cheap image that rum already has.   There is a market and a large group of people being lost to whiskey, because they are not being made aware of the fine quality and fine taste that rums have to offer because too many brands are "quick and easy fakes" of what real aged premium rums should be.

Soggy 2014 Fantasy Fest Doesn't Dampen the Festivities

 

    The big story so far for the 2014 Fantasy Fest here in Key West is having "tropical depression #9" putting a real damper on the events here in Key West.   The prognosticators are calling for 80% to 90% chances for rain, thunderstorms and street flooding through Saturday morning.  This is not a really good thing for the events of Fantasy Fest.  The really good news is that it is not looking good for any development beyond a tropical depression.  The real problem with "Tropical Depression #9", is it is a huge rain producer.   With local amounts of rain up to 9 or 10 inches, local street flooding is a real possibility.




     The other good news is that the rain is suppose to stop by noon time on Saturday and giving us a
good chance for a fun and relatively dry night for the parade.  This is not the first time that we have had a wet Fantasy Fest, we still come to party, and partying is what we do rain or shine.   I remember walking in 8 to 10" deep water one Thursday night of Fantasy Fest in 2007, and the party still went on.  I think that is what makes this event go on and on and on.  It is one of the really solidly supported events in Key West every year.

7000 Zombies Invade Key West

     This years event has grown by another 2000 riders over last years event, but I don't see any end to the growth in the near future. Chris and his people at "We Cycle" have done it again .  This has in a very short time become one of the premier events of the Fantasy Fest week here in Key West.  






     It is a mile or more of zombies on bicycles having a
really fun evening riding, eating and partying.  It is a chance for the young and the old to be involved in a Fantasy Fest event that can be joined  by the entire family.






     The zombies wound from the East Martello starting point next to the Key West Airport and wound
along the beach to Duval Street where they finished at a street party on the North end of Duval Street.  When it was all said and don, 7000 zombies invaded Key West and the undead took over the town for a "zombie ride" that brought a lot of smiles to the people of Key West.  ;o)

   

Turning a Classic to a Rum Ricky

    

     The Rickey is a highball drink made from gin or bourbon, half of a lime squeezed and dropped in the glass, and carbonated water. Little or no sugar is added to the Rickey. Originally created with bourbon in Washington, D.C.  at Shoomaker's bar by bartender George A. Williamson in the 1880s, purportedly in collaboration with Democratic lobbyist Colonel Joe Rickey, it became a worldwide sensation when mixed with gin a decade later.

     Working from the original bourbon version of the Rickey, here is a very nice version that I was able to create that is very tasty.

The Rum Rickey

• 2 oz. Zafra Rum
• 1 oz. Fresh Lime juice
• 1/2 oz. Agave Nectar
• Top up with Club Soda

Place all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled.  Strain into a 12 oz. tumbler filled with fresh ice.

 

2014 Fantasy Fest Gets Underway

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I wonder what exotic island this could be.  Oh yes, it is Stock Island in the Florida Keys.   This is the entrance to the Key West Harbour Yacht Club.   I find this place a great location to relax and enjoy my days off by the pool.   It is also the home for our new boat "Lil Sanity", so we see the opening regularly, from both the pool and the boat.  This is a really nice place, one I'm glad to be a part of these days.  ;o)

Festival Rum Bahamas

    There has been and announcement that the 2015 edition of "Rum Festival Bahamas" well happen from February 27th through March 1, 2015.   This is the second annual festival after a very successful event last February.  I am looking forward to the event this year and all of the cultural, food and rum events that surround this event.

   Held in Nassau, the Bahamas, means a fun trip to paradise and a chance to rub shoulders with so many of the rum producers that will be in attendance.  

    Don't miss this one, it will be a fun festival..   Further information through the people in the picture at the left.  Get your reservations in early and further information from their website.    Get further information at   http://www.rumbahamas.com/     ;o)

Papa Pilar, Caribbean Journal and Bimini Big Game Club Announce A Really Cool Promotion

    There has been a announcement of a really fun contest to create a caption for a picture of Hemmingway and win a trip to the Bimini Big Game Club Resort.

"Ernest Hemingway was one of the greatest adventurers in history, and many of his travels focused on the Caribbean, including the islands of Bimini and Cuba. Now you can invoke the spirit of Hemingway's adventures with this new contest from Caribbean Journal and Papa's Pilar Rum, the rum named for 

Hemingway's famous fishing boat."

 

  

Enter to Win a Free 3 night 4 day stay at the Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina. All you have to do is write a great caption in the Facebook comments from the website   http://www.caribjournal.com/contest/papas-pilar-rum-bimini-adventure-vacation-contest/

 

     This should be a really fun promotion with a really enjoyable prize, so put on your most creative cap and see what you can come up with.  Who knows you might be off to Bimini and a fun 4 days following in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway in Bimini at the Big Game Club.  ;o)

 

Dress Codes in the Bars: Do We Reallly Need Them?

    I remember not being allowed to enter an unsophisticated bar down here in Key West, because I was wearing a "Tank Top" one summer evening.   It cost that bar eight customers coming in to have cocktails.   With the stiff competition for customers here on an island where most people live in shorts, flip flops and tank tops this seems like a foolish mistake.

     There is a place for dress codes, but you have

to make a decision as to what you really want in your establishment before you start to initiate these rules.   If you run a bar that is part of a high end restaurant, then there is a real reason for you to have a dress code, but if you run a beach side tiki bar that requires shoes, long pants and a dinner jacket, you will be out of business in very short order.

     For me I prefer the "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem" type of bar, but there are those that need the more sophisticated establishments to feel really comfortable.  The real important thing is to first establish who your clientele are then decide what your "dress code" needs to be to conform with the local laws and the atmosphere of the establishment.  The key is not to be arbitrary, but to us the dress code to enhance the attendance at your establishment.

Havana Club Announces Flavored Rums

Havana Club Essence of Cuba Line of Flavored Rums

Havana Club rum is looking to strengthen its position in the on-trade with the launch of a range of cocktail flavorings inspired by its Añejo 7 Años expression.

 

Havana Club has launched a range of cocktail flavorings, called Essence of Cuba

The Pernod Ricard-owned brand has launched four flavors in the Essence of Cuba range: Island Fruit, Aromatic Leaf, Coffee and Honey, which have been designed to “highlight the natural flavors and aromas of Havana Club Añejo 7 Años”.

The range has been developed in collaboration with The Bitter Truth, a cocktail supplying company set up bar bartenders Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauck in 2006.

“With The Essence of Cuba range, we want to go one step further and give bartenders a whole new opportunity to experiment with the flavors of Havana Club Añejo 7 Años, without losing the intrinsic Cuban character of this now legendary expression,” said Nick Blacknell, global marketing director for Havana Club International.

“The initial response to the range from the bartenders who competed at the Havana Club Grand Prix earlier this year was really encouraging, so we’re looking forward to seeing how it is received by Havana Club fans around the world as it appears in markets this autumn.”

Pernod Ricard said each flavor is crafted using natural ingredients through a slow maceration process with Havana Club Añejo 7 Años as the base using a combination of traditional and modern production techniques.

Stephan Berg, co-founder of the Bitter Truth, said: “Havana Club Añejo 7 Años is blessed with a wide variety of characteristic flavors ranging from honey to cocoa, sweet tobacco to lush tropical fruits, so we have crafted a range of natural intensifiers that would harmoniously bring out the dominant single aromas found in this legendary rum in simple signature serves.”

The range will be available in 24 markets, including Cuba, Germany, France, UK, Greece and Spain from October 2014 in 20 ml and 200ml formats.