Bahama Bob's Election Day Rumtini

     Well today is election day here in the United States, most of us feel like we will need some sort of a pain killing cocktail before the day is over and the results announced.  Here is a good idea for a grass roots, earthy, grounded cocktail for your afternoon or evening.

     Apples are in season right now and you can't find a better time for apple based cocktails.  Here is an idea for a appletini made with unsweetened organic apple sauce.  The applesauce, the rum, the vermouth and the syrup unite to give you a wonderful apple cinnamon base to a great sipping martini that has a little bit of substance to it.

  Apple Sauce Rumtini

• 2 oz. Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum
• 2 tsp. Bahama Bob’s Cinnamon Honey Syrup
• ½ oz. Dolin’s White Vermouth
• 2 tsp. Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake until thoroughly chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon zest.

Bahama Bob's Cinnamon Honey Syrup

• ½ Cup of Dark Brown Sugar
• ½ Cup Sugar in the Raw
• ½ Cup Pure Clover Honey
• 1 Cups of Water
• 1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp. Lemon Juice

Place all ingredients except the water and cinnamon in a pan and heat at 375 degrees stirring until all melts into a liquid.  Slowly add the water and bring to a boil.  Add Cinnamon and reduce heat to 230 degrees and bring to a slow boil and continue stirring for 5 minutes.  Pour into a dish that will not melt or crack and place in refrigerator for about an hour.  Pour into a dispensing bottle and put into refrigerator until ready to use.

A Limited Edition Bottling of Mount Gay XO Cask Strength Rum to Celebrate Barbados’s 50th Anniversary of Their Independence.

     Bottled at 63% abv, XO Cask Strength has been created to “symbolize the rich culture and strong personality of both Mount Gay and its nation”.  Featuring a blend of spirits matured for eight to fifteen years, the new offering is described as having “notes of ripe banana and toasted almond, followed by vanilla and spice, to create a smooth, unforgettable finish”.

     “This is our tribute to the spirit of Barbados, the original birthplace of rum, and the people that make this island so unique,” said Allen Smith, master blender.   “To taste XO Cask Strength is to experience everything that fans love about XO, but it gives connoisseurs the special opportunity to enjoy the truest intensity of XO aromas straight from the casks.”

     With just 3,000 bottles available, each will come packaged in a wooden box with a booklet on the history of rum’s origin in Barbados.   A portion of the sales of every bottle sold will be donated to the Barbados Museum and Historical Society to support its efforts in conserving the history and culture of Barbados.  

     Mount Gay XO Cask Strength is available at a suggested retail price of $185.00 from specialist liquor and spirits stores in the US and several other countries this month.

     This looks like it will be one of those must have for you collection.  Keep an eye out in your local specialized rum store for your bottle of this very special Mount Gay XO Cask Strength expression.  I know I will be watching for it as I travel around.

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/11/mount-gay-rum-marks-barbadian-independence/  

Yellow Crowned Night Heron that Dropped By for Karaoke

      Wednesday evening we were graced by this Yellow Crowned Night Heron at the Hurricane Hole for Karaoke.  This is the first one that I have ever seen, even though they are a permanent resident of the Florida Keys.  They are a very unique looking bird, but I found it to be a very pretty as well.

      The Yellow-crowned is quite common in parts of the southeast, specifically in coastal regions, often feeds by day as well as by night. Its stout bill seems to be an adaptation for feeding on hard-shelled crustaceans.  It is often called "crab-eater" in some locales.   It feeds at dusk or by night by walking slowly on land or in shallow water, or standing still waiting for prey to approach. Its feeding schedule near coast probably influenced by tides.

     Breeding behavior not well known. Often nests in isolated pairs or in very small groups, especially in northern part of range. Mating displays include stretching the neck upward with bill pointing skyward, crouching with all plumes erected, and giving a loud call.   Pairs greet each other by raising crest, calling, touching bills, nibbling at each other's feathers.

    Nest: Site is usually in trees around 30-40' above ground, but sometimes very close to ground or water in thickets of mangroves. Nest is a platform of sticks, lined with finer twigs and sometimes leaves.

Captain Morgan Rum Tax Incentives Gone Wrong

     The accusations highlight just how far corporations will go in an effort to absorb tax incentives from local governments.  Even if the investigation absolves Captain Morgan of the labyrinthine scheme to ship Captain Morgan rum to a Captain Morgan rum distillery, the investigation has brought the astounding details of Captain Morgan and Diageo’s tax breaks to light.  What possible reason could there be for Diageo to run a smokescreen Captain Morgan distillery, shipping rum to the rum factory?   How about a $165 million distillery, paid for entirely by government subsidy, for starters, the Diageo deal moved Captain Morgan from Puerto Rico to the Island of St. Croix; also offered subsidized molasses prices; a 90 percent income tax break; property tax exemptions and even government funding for 35% of Captain Morgan advertising.

Diageo Distillery on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

     When you buy Captain Morgan rum, you're buying a bottle that your tax money produced.   The subsidies afforded Diageo to steal rum distillery jobs from one U.S. territory and bring it to another.  The subsidies are so comprehensive that the net cost Diageo pays to produce Captain Morgan rum is zero.

"They can give it away and still make money," Roberto Serrallés, vice president of the Serrallés Distillery, told the Orlando Sentinel in 2010.

Read More at http://www.idigitaltimes.com/captain-morgan-rum-owner-diageo-under-investigation-tax-incentive-scheme-puts-tech-493055

     This is something that I felt was wrong from the start.  First of all Diageo is a British Corporation and has taken advantage of not only the United States Federal program that returns a large portion of the excise tax that is collected on rum sold to the United States, but they have taken advantage of the people of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands on the money that was given to them to build the distillery.  Then you throw in the tax exemptions and it is a real steal of a deal.  I can almost live with that, but when they bring rum in to the distillery from another plant outside of the U.S. Virgin Islands in tankers that were said to be carrying molasses that is really taking advantage of a situation.  This is flat out fraud and needs to be addressed.

What Bar do I go to Get the Largest Selection of Rum in the World?

     Cottons in Notting Hill Gate has an official total of 372 different rums stocked, far exceeding any other bar.   The 1960s British Navy Rum Flagon is the most expensive rum stocked, priced at $311.87 a shot and $7643.75 per bottle, while the Nepalese Khukri rum is one of the most rare, priced at $15.29 per shot and $428.05 per bottle.

     The official certificate was presented to manager Samantha Edwards 27 October,2016 at the Notting Hill restaurant, which opened in April this year.   Edwards said: “Our varied collection of rums has been meticulously sourced from around the world, including everything from the popular brands to the small batch rums. It’s fantastic that the Guinness World Records has been able to make it official that we serve more different rums than anyone else.”  See the entire list at http://cottons-restaurant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/cottons-notting-hill-rum-list.pdf 

Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco

     I know that Martin Cate's Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, California has numbers that are just over 600 rums.  Guinness might want to rethink this world record.  Cotton's may have the largest selection in Great Britain, but not the world.

     In Key West there is the Rum Bar 275 plus rums and the Rum Barrel with a little over 200 in their rum menu.  The Tommy Bahama Bar in Las Vegas has 217 rums.  Miami has several rum bars in the 180 plus range.  New York also has some rum bars in the same range.

Oloroso Black Tea Cooler

     Black Tea , Oloroso Finished Rum, Agave Nectar and Apricot Brandy join together for an afternoon cooler.   It is an unusual combination that is not too sweet or tart and transitions through the palate to the back of the mouth highlighting many different sensory pleasures.

     I know it is getting cold for those of you in the northern sectors, but if you like iced tea, you still get the warming of the rum to get you through.  For those of us in the tropical latitudes, it is still in the low 80's and it is really refreshing, and yummy to boot.

Oloroso Black Tea Cooler

• 1 1/2 oz, White Rum
• 1 1/2 oz. Abuelo Oloroso Cask Finished Rum
• 1/2 oz. Apricot Brandy
• 1 Bar Spoon of Agave Nectar
• 3 oz. Pure Leaf Black Iced Tea

Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice.  Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Mixing Energy Drinks and Alcohol Reacts "Like Cocaine" in the Bra

Consuming energy drinks mixed with alcohol could have the same effect on adolescents as taking cocaine, according to a new study from a Purdue University.

     Researchers at Purdue University, Indiana, looked into the effects of highly caffeinated energy drinks and highly caffeinated alcohol in adolescent mice.   The energy drinks can contain about 10 times the caffeine as regular soda and are often marketed to young people – but little is known about their health effects, especially when mixed with alcohol.

     The team, led by Richard van Rijn, an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, found that the mice given high-caffeine energy drinks were not any more likely than the control group to drink more alcohol as adults.   However when the mice drank caffeine mixed with alcohol, they behaved in a similar way and showed and neurochemical signs similar to mice given cocaine.   Mice were used in lieu of human adolescents as changes in mouse brains due to drugs have shown to correlate closely to humans in many drug studies.

 “It seems the two substances together push them over a limit that causes changes in their behavior and changes the neurochemistry in their brains,” van Rijn said.   “We’re clearly seeing effects of the combined drinks that we would not see if drinking one or the other.”   It was also found that the mice who had drank more caffeinated alcohol in adolescence were less sensitive to the “pleasurable” effects of cocaine.   “Their brains have been changed in such a way that they are more likely to abuse natural or pleasurable substances as adults,” van Rijn concluded.

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/10/mixing-energy-drinks-and-alcohol-like-cocaine/

Here are some figures with the amount of caffeine per fluid ounce in many of the energy drinks that are available today. 

Eneregy Drink Brand	Caffeine /fl. oz.	Eneregy Drink Brand	Caffeine /fl. oz.
5-Hour Energy	104.0	Semtex	9.5
Street King (drink)	35.7	Shark Stimulation	9.5
Cocaine (drink)	33.1	Pussy	9.5
Beaver Buzz	15.7	Glacéau VitaminEnergy	9.4
Lipovitan	14.8	SoBe Adrenaline Rush	9.2
Rip It	12.8	AMP Energy	9.2
Crunk Energy Drink	12.5	Bacchus-F	9.1
Kore	11.8	Full Throttle	9.0
RELOAD	11.8	Tab Energy	9.0
Hell Energy	10.8	AMP Energy	8.9
Hype Energy	10.8	Red Rooster	8.9
Duff	10.0	Blue Charge	8.9
Monster Regular (Green)	10.0	Emerge Stimulation Drink	8.9
NOS	10.0	V	8.6
Rockstar	10.0	Enviga	8.3
XS Energy Drink	9.9	Bawls	6.7
Relentless	9.6	Jolt Cola	6.0
Red Bull	9.6	Club-Mate	6.0
Bomb Energy Drink	9.6	Mountain Dew MDX	5.9
Burn	9.6	Coca-Cola Blāk	5.8
Euro Shopper Energy Drink	9.6	Sparks (contains 6% ABV)	5.4
Kruidvat Power Booster	9.6	Mountain Dew Energy	5.3
Mother	9.5	Lucozade Sport	4.7
Irn-Bru 32	9.5	Mountain Dew	4.5

Will "Rapid Aging" Really Work?

Sitting Rum Barrels

     The rum and other spirit producers are put into an expensive hard spot with the cost of aging their spirits for at least one and up to 50 years in order to give them their smoothness and finished flavor.  Can this process of putting rum into a barrel and letting it sit be sped up a bit and still yield the fine quality expressions?   This is one of those questions like the alchemist turning lead into gold, can it really be done?

 Bryan Davis says, “We haven’t made something approximating the flavor of aged rum, we actually made aged rum.   Our technology is the only one that can stand up to forensic chemistry as there’s a big difference between just replacing parts of the process with creating a molecule-by-molecule map.”   During mid-2010 Davis discovered how to catalyze the first part of the aging process, esterification and in 2015 they produced rum that had a near-identical chemical signature to rum aged in a barrel for 20 years. The liquid was only six days old.   There has been only limited acceptance of Davis's process by the industry in general, but the results are very impressive.
   The folks at Lost Spirits of Charleston, South Carolina believe they have come up with a way to molecularly alter the spirits in six days giving it the same flavor as 20 years in the barrel.

10 Year Old Cruzan Rum Ready to bottle

     There are several other ideas that are being used to speed up the maturation process that have had some success and are in use by many in the industry.   One of these is to add additional oak pieces to the inside of the barrel exposing more of the rum to the wood as it sits in the barrels.   Cruzan uses this process to enhance the aging of their premium rums.  Another method is to place the barrels into the ocean where they are in motion constantly placing all of the rum into contact with the wood.  Cayman Spirits uses this method to make their Seven Fathoms Rum.  They feel that they are getting results by this method that gives them the a product that shows characteristic of a rum that has spent more than the 2 years that Seven Fathoms spends in the barrel.

Small Barrel on the boat

     For the past six months I have been experimenting with several ideas that I have come across over the past years around the business.   I was given a small 1 1/2 gallon cask by Plantation a couple of years ago and I've been using it to test some of my ideas.  After filling it with sea water to swell the slats back up and then flushing it with fresh water, I placed a couple of rum samples that I was given to see how they would age.  I also added about 3 cups full of cubed retired rum barrel pieces that I had soaked in Rhine Wine and agave nectar until the became saturated and sank to the bottom of the bottle.

Old Rum Barrel Cubes

     What I found about this small virgin barrel and the charred oak barrel cubes is they started working on the rum very quickly.  Because some of the rum had been in barrels before, it became very oaky very quickly.  I began to question what I had done, but before giving up on this I got 3 liters of high proof pure white rum to put into the barrel.  After flushing the barrel to get rid of any of the residue of the previous experiment I put the new rum into the barrel.   After a week, I was starting to get some pale color and an indication of the wood in the flavor.   Today the rum has been in the cask for seven weeks and it really has a nice medium mahogany color and very flavorful taste.  It has a smoothness that really surprised me and leaves a subtle taste of the wine at the finish.  The other thing about this experiment is that the barrel sits on my boat.  The waves from the wind and the other boats that pass by means that the barrel contents are being sloshed around inside the barrel.

Barrel sitting on the boat

     I realize that this is a small scale experiment, but for a start-up craft distillery, the use of small casks with cubes of oak in the barrel can help to get some finished rum to their customers more quickly.  When you put a lot of oak together with higher proof rum and keep it in motion the reactions will happen quite a bit faster than in a large barrel that sits untouched.  

     All of the methods of speeding the aging process have merit, but only the future will tell if they become the norm for aging rum.

Halloween: A Spooky Day

     Here we are at the spookiest day of the year.  It is a day for all of the little demons to run through the neighborhoods collecting treats so that the adults don't have a mess to clean up.  It is also a day for the adults to get dressed up and  share their own creativity as they party into the night long after the little demons and princesses have gone to bed.


     Dressing up in everything from zombies to fairy tale characters the adults head out into the night for their fun evening evil doings.   This is a long love tradition that so many cant resist reverting back to their childhood and dressing up and living out their fantasies just this one time each year.

     The parties are filled with unusual foods and cocktails that look like gory body parts to ghostly foods and "finger" food.  All in all it is a night of scary faces and even scarier food and drink.  The adult Halloween party can be a very interesting spectacle and they happen each year all over the world.  Watch out, there might me one happening at the house next door to you.

Fall Sunsets in the Key West Harbor

     A beautiful fall evening in the Key West harbor sitting at the Galleon Tiki Bar enjoying a unique sunset.   The silhouettes , sky and land come together here in such a astonishing way.  Enjoying the moment with good friends and a nice sip of rum.

Bacardi Joins with Lubee Bat Conservatory to Build Bat Caves at Jacksonville Bottling Plant

"As part of its ongoing environmental efforts, Bacardi has erected three large bat habitats at its rum bottling facility in Jacksonville, Florida – capable of housing up to 500 bats."

     The bat caves are expected to be “full of tenants” very soon.   Crafted in partnership with Lubee Bat Conservancy, the habitats, branded bat caves are expected to be “full of tenants” within just a few months.   Standing 20 feet off the ground, the two single-chambered bat caves can house between 50-100 bats, while the triple-chambered cave can hold between 200-300 bats.

     Located on a 92-acre site, Bacardi Bottling Corporation bottles all Bacardi spirits for US consumption, and has received international recognition for its contributions to wildlife habitat conservation and education by the Wildlife Habitat Council.   Through the partnership, both Bacardi and Lubee Bat Conservancy aim to “preserve and provide crucial habitats” for the local bat population to help maintain the community’s natural wetlands, farming, and forest areas.   “Monitoring of the bat houses will be conducted in a responsible manner, so we do not disturb the bats as they take residence in the new shelters,” says Brian Pope, director of Lubee Bat Conservancy.

     “For this reason, we don’t have cameras inside the shelters. Acoustic surveys conducted in late spring recorded 716 identifiable calls revealing four bat species on the Bacardi property.”   Bacardi says the bat has “always been more than just a logo”, it’s also an “ecological partner” as well as a metaphor that embodies the brand’s ‘We Are The Night’ statement.  The brand’s link to bats hails back to 1862 when Doña Amalia Bacardí, the founder’s wife, spotted a colony of fruit bats in the rafters of the first Bacardi distillery in Santiago de Cuba.        In Spain, where the Bacardí family emigrated from, bats symbolized good health, family unity and good fortune, so it was ensured that the bats remained in the distillery and became identified with the brand.

     “Conservation and sustainability have been a part of who Bacardi has been since the very beginning nearly 155 years ago. We’ve now come full-circle with these bat caves as we live out this legacy,” said Julio Torruella, global environment director for Bacardi.

“Bats are vital to the health of natural ecosystems and human economies, so preservation of their habitats makes great sense with regard to sustainability.   “We work just as hard to find ways to preserve habitats and protect species as we do to reduce energy consumption and conduct business sustainability.”

Read more at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/10/bacardi-builds-bat-caves-at-bottling-plant/

Don Q is Celebrating 150 Years with Ultra Premium and Premium Expressions.

     Don Q is releasing an ultra premium and a premium expression as a part of their 150th Year Celebration to the United Kingdom.  Their 2005 Signature Release Single Barrel is the first single-barrel expression is to be released by Don Q and is part of this limited edition series, with only 6,000 bottles produced.   Aged in American white oak barrels for 10 years, the 2005 Signature Release Single Barrel is a departure from Don Q’s portfolio of blended rums, the company says. The 80-proof light rum has a deep woodiness with sweeter notes and an aroma of heavy oak, leather and dried fruit.  
The first being the Single-Barrel 2005 expression, with 3,000 4.5-liter cases allocated to the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and the remaining 1,000 cases destined for Europe.   A 2007 Single-Barrel variant will follow in 2017.   Don Q Signature Release Single-Barrel Rum is 80 proof, available at select liquor stores throughout the US, and is priced at $39.99 for a 750-ml bottle.

     The second release is an ultra premium expression.       Only 1,865 bottles of the Gran Reserva de la Familia Serralés  were made.   Puerto Rico’s Don Q has one of the richest histories in the rum making industry.  Now they are capitalizing on it with one of the finest rums ever made.   Company founder Don Juan Serrallés founded and named his Puerto Rican Hacienda Mercedita sugar cane plantation named for his wife, Mercedes.  In 1865 he produced his first rum using fresh sugarcane in a copper pot still imported from France.  He would later name the company for Don Quixote.  Don Q rum received global attention when bartender Ramon Marrero used it to create a popular new cocktail he called the Piña Colada.

     Now the company is making headlines again as it celebrates 150 years of rum making with the release of the Gran Reserva de la Familia Serralés, its their most elite bottle ever offered.  Don Q is marking the 150^th anniversary of its 1865 founding last year with the very limited-edition bottle, blending 20-year-old rums from its oldest warehouses, hand-selected by sixth-generation distiller Roberto Serrallés. The elixir is being compared to cognac and in keeping with the company’s birth, only 1,865 bottles will be produced, with each costing $1,865.     

Belated National Pumpkin Day Celebration

      I missed National Pumpkin Day yesterday, but there is no reason not to celebrate it today.   We cannot wait for the big November holiday for some pumpkin stuff, we need pumpkin every-thing now.   Pumpkin Chunkin’, pumpkin patches and festivals. Jack-o-lanterns carved for Monday is a must too! This fruit grabs American’s attention in the fall every year.  We love our pumpkin cocktails as well. 

     This squash is native to North America.   A 2,145-pound pumpkin from Streator, Illinois holds the current North American record.  Grown by Gene McMullen in 2015, the”great pumpkin” weighed in a few hundred pounds lighter than the current world record pumpkin from 2014.  At 2,323-pounds, from Switzerland that still holds the world record.

 

     What would the “Great Pumpkin Day” be without a “Great Pumpkin Cocktail”?  Let’s put an end to that problem with a brand new cocktail for the occasion.

The Great Pumpkin Day Cocktail

• 1 oz. Rhum JM White 
• 1 oz. Rhum JM VO 
• 2 oz Pumpkin Puree
• 1 oz. Bahama Bob’s Pumpkin Syrup
• 3 Dashes of Fee Brother's Black Walnut Bitters

Place all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake until really chilled.  Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice and garnish with a lime zest.

Bahama Bob’s Pumpkin Syrup

• 1 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 ½ Cups of Water
• 2 Tbsp. Pumpkin Puree
•  1 Tsp. Allspice
• 1 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
• ¼ tsp. Nutmeg
• ½ Tsp. Lemon Juice

Place all ingredients except the water in a pan and heat at 375 degrees stirring until all melts into a liquid.  Slowly add the water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to 240 degrees and allow to slow boil wile stirring for 5 minutes.  Pour into a dish that will not melt or crack and place in refrigerator for about an hour.  Pour into a dispensing bottle and put into refrigerator until ready to use.

Real McCoy Rumtini

I was in a mood for a nice relatively dry cocktail yesterday afternoon, I just had gotten a bottle of Dolin Vermouth, and a bottle of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur for the bar in the boat.   Starting with a nice flavored dry rum like Real McCoy 12 year old rum and balancing the sweetness of the Luxardo with the dryness of the Dolin Vermouth yielded a really nice sophisticated sipping cocktail for this afternoons aft deck cocktail hour.


Real McCoy Rumtini

• 2 oz. Real McCoy 12 Year Old Rum
• 1/2 oz. Dolin Vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled.  Strain into a chilled large cocktail glass filled with ice.

2016 We Cycle "Zombie Bike Ride"

     The 2016 Zombie Bike Ride that went off Sunday evening, is only the zaniest, most creative and colorful bike ride anywhere!   If your alter ego is a zombie, ghoul, ghost, sugar skull, or other member of the undead, then this is the event for you!   This family friendly event has grown from 70 people in 2009 to more than 5,000 in 2013 and celebrates bike culture along with our fascination in all things zombie. This leisurely four-mile bike ride took the participants down the scenic South Roosevelt Blvd with beautiful ocean views, before winding through Old Town Key West and ending with the block party on Duval Street. 

     The historic and haunted Fort East Martello is the perfect backdrop to this year’s Zombieland from as early as 2pm to mingle with fellow zombies, getting your face or body painted, and enjoying the live music.  Food and beverage vendors keep the zombies hydrated and happy. Beginning at 6pm the hoard starts the four mile ride toward the block party on Duval Street.  Bike traffic flow was significantly improved this year, zombie ride participants will be able to use all four lanes of South Roosevelt as the group departs Fort East Martello headed west. They were able to have smooth riding as they wound through the south side of Key West this year!  

     Parade viewers lined up along the beach along South Roosevelt and all along Duval Street.  The voyeurs had a great view of the ride as it passed along the route   There are no official Zombie Bike Ride stops on our way to Duval Street, but several bars along the way did have “Unofficial” Pit Stops for spectators and tired riders.  I know all of the people involved and spectating had a really fun time watching the parade of zombies move smoothly along the route to the block party at the end where three blocks of Duval Street were closed from 7pm til 11pm for the party.

   

After 55 Years in the Rum Business, Evon Brown has Announced his Retirement

Evon Brown

     Evon Brown has been a prominent rum industry figure who has held leadership roles in National Rums of Jamaica and WIRSPA (West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc.), announced his retirement after 55 years in the business.   Brown served as a director of the WIRSPA for 31 years with several terms as the chairman.  He went on pre-retirement leave on the first of October and will officially retire in January 2017.

     Over his career, Brown held the role of director of the National Rums of Jamaica Group of Companies for 36 years, chairman of the Caribbean Molasses Company for 39 years, and chairman of the Spirits Pool Association for 20 years.   One of Brown’s many career highlights includes the development of a plan to inject capital in the National Rum Group from Caribbean distillers including the West Indies Rum Distillery of Barbados, Demerara Distillers Ltd from Guyana, and Diageo. As a result, the Group now operates one of the most modern rum distilleries in the region and is now poised to become a more significant player in the international rum market.

   In a statement, National Rums of Jamaica said: “The Directors of National Rums expressed their deepest gratitude to Evon Brown for his unswerving dedication to the rum industry for more than a half century.   His hard work and deep insights in overcoming numerous challenges the industry faced over those years.   “The Board  wishes to convey its tremendous appreciation for the magnificent job which Evon Brown has carried out both for the rum and spirits industry in general and the company in particular over his 55 years in the business.  As of this time, there has not been an announcement of a successor to Evon Brown's position.