The Willy T Will Return

The Willy T Before Irma

     We are finally well on our way here in key west in our repairs after Irma.  I often think about the other island that were in her path and so many wonderful places that were destroyed Throughout the Caribbean.  One of these was the William Thornton, better known as the Willy T.  Great news out of the British Virgin Islands recently, the new Willy T will be in the same place very soon.

     The William Thornton (Willy-T) Floating Bar & Restaurant, which is known for its lure of adventure-seekers, is expected to be back in operation this month.  The restaurant which usually operates on the south-west corner of The Bight off Norman Island was ‘an absolute right off’ following last year’s hurricanes, Manager Ewan Anderson said.

     In an exclusive interview with BVI News, Anderson said the replacement vessel will be almost an exact replica of the previous steel boat.  He said the remains of the old vessel are still on the beach and will be removed and sold for scraps soon.  “We are building a new Willy T,” he said. “It is the same kind of ship [but] a bit larger and it will be in the same place.”  “We are going to drive it down next month,” he added.

New Boat Costly

     The vessel was sourced in the United States and is currently being retrofitted.  And while remaining tight-lipped on the overall cost of the undertaking, Anderson admitted that it is costly.  “We are putting a lot of money back into it. Willy T will be back at a vast expense,” he noted.

Willy-T Coming Back Important

     Anderson said his family, which has been operating the unique business for more than 35 years, believes “it’s absolutely tantamount” to restore Willy T.  “It is one of the top ten attractions in the BVI. It’s a big tourist attraction,” he stressed.  He said fans of the restaurant are eagerly awaiting its return

     There are no pictures of the new Willy T at this time,.but I hope one will be made available soon 

Bahia Honda Marina,The One Place That Hasn't Reopened at the State Park

     One of Marta's and my favorite places to head to when we want to get away for a couple of days is the Bahia Honda Marina.  We pull in and spend a couple of days in our "Aqua-camper" and relax and enjoy kayaking, and sitting in the open water area just outside of the marina entrance and enjoy our cocktail hour as the sun sets.  I just hope that they can get it operating again soon.

Bacardi Aims to Eliminate 1 Billion Plastic Straws By 2020

     Bacardi has teamed up with environmental charity Lonely Whale to clamp down on single-use plastic and eradicate one billion plastic straws by 2020.  The latest collaboration from the drinks group, called The Future Doesn’t Suck, will also see Bacardi remove “non-essential”, non-recyclable single-use plastic across its global supply chain.  The campaign will feature numerous corporate and brand collaborations, events and global calls-to-action, and will also encourage consumers to join the movement and share ideas online via the hashtag #TheFutureDoesntSuck.   Rick Wilson, senior vice president of corporate responsibility for Bacardi, said: “Engaging our accounts and our consumers in the reduction of single-use plastic is a critical next step in helping to put an end to plastic pollution.

     “Single-use plastic items are among the most collected pieces of trash in our oceans, and we are urging our consumers to add ‘no plastic straw, please’ to every drink order so together we can make an impactful change.” The Future Doesn’t Suck campaign will initially launch in London, where Bacardi and Lonely Whale will work with consumers and businesses to help them cut down on their plastic straw usage.  A number of illustrations will accompany the campaign, depicting the “devastating” impact of single-use plastic straws on oceans. Bacardi will no longer be serving single-use plastic straws at branded events, music activations or the Bacardi Rum Truck, and will also be introducing biodegradable paper cups across its UK activations.

Education

     Furthermore, Bacardi has launched a new training program at its global headquarters in Bermuda, designed to educate distributor partners and on-trade venues about plastic straw alternatives.  John Burke, chief marketing officer for Bacardi globally, said: “Our focus for the past two years has been leading the industry charge with our #NoStraws pledge and now is the time to review the larger issue of single-use plastic in the greater Bacardi world to determine how and where we can truly make a bigger difference and continue leading the charge to build a more sustainable future.  “I believe through collaborations like this one with Lonely Whale, where we can bring society and business together, we can make impactful change to ensure ‘the future doesn’t suck’.”  People keen to get involved in the campaign can learn more and commit to the cause by visiting thefuturedoesntsuck.org.

Read More at https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/07/bacardi-aims-to-eliminate-1bn-plastic-straws-by-2020/

Hemingway Rum Company Steps into A New to Us Idea.

     The team at Hemingway Rum Company is stepping into a new era of rum making.   Today we made a fermentation with 10% Dunder in the fermentation.  This hopefully will give us a new flavor to our wash and finally to our rum.

     Sorry this is so short, but I've been in bed with the Key West Crud for the past three days.  I hopefully will be back on my feet in a few days.

The World's The Top 10 Best Selling Rum Brands

Number 1 Tanduay Rum

     Overall growth for the world’s third biggest spirit category may have been marginal last year, but there’s excitement to be found among rum’s largest producers. Spirits Business looks at how the big players are performing.  According to figures from market research provider Euromonitor, total rum sales experienced an increase of 0.7% to 144 million cases in 2017. 

     Meanwhile, data published in our Brand Champions 2018 report showed a mixed performance for brands across the rum category in 2017.  There was some jostling for the top spot, while several international brands, such as Captain Morgan and Havana Club, witnessed soaring sales.  The impact of demonetization and a highway ban on alcohol in India continued to affect the performance of local brands in 2017.

     Following our recently published Brand Champions 2018 report, our pick of those brands selling more than one-million cases annually – we run through the world’s best-selling rum brands on the market today.  Data is listed to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes are based on the full data supplied to The Brand Champions 2018.  As there is no globally recognized definition of rum, brands featured on this list are all marketed as rums. 

10. Appleton Estate

2017: 1.2m
2016: 1.2m
% change: 0.0% 

Place last year: 10

Gruppo Campari’s Jamaican rum brand witnessed stagnant sales in 2017, remaining at 1.2m cases. The company’s total rum portfolio increased by 6.4% in Gruppo Campari’s 2017 Full year results. boosted by Jamaica, the UK, the US and Mexico.   In November 2017, Gruppo Campari unveiled a new campaign for Appleton Estate Rum inspired by the brand’s Jamaican heritage at New York’s JFK Airport.

9. Old Port Rum

2017: 1.3m
2016: 1.7m
% change: -22.3% 

Place last year: 8

Indian brand Old Port Rum is owned by Bangalore-based Amrut Distilleries. The brand witnessed the biggest drop in sales across the best-selling rum brands, falling by -22.3%.

The brand most likely continued to see its sales slip due to the impact of demonetization and a blanket ban on alcohol sales within 500 meters of any highway in India in 2017.

8. Ron Medellin

2017: 1.6m
2016: 1.4m
% change: 15.7% 

Place last year: 9

Ron Medellin, owned by Fabrica de Alcoholes y Licores de Antioquia, experienced an impressive 15.7% growth in 2017 – the fastest growth rate among any million-case-selling rum brand.

Made in Colombia, Ron Medellin is predominantly consumed in Latin America. Its core range consists of a 12- and eight-year-old expression.

7. Contessa

2017: 1.8m
2016: 2.0m
% change: -10.1% 

Place last year: 7

Radico Khaitan-owned Contessa was hit hard by different market factors in India and continued to experience declines in 2017. The brand was unable to reach the 2m case mark it witnessed in 2015.

Radico says that Contessa is the most popular rum brand in India’s defense segment, with a 25% market share. It also has a presence in Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East, and is now rolling out to the US and Canada.

6. Barceló

2017: 2.2m
2016: 2.1m
% change: 6.3% 

Place last year: 6

The brand continued its solid performance last year, when it increased by 6.3% to hit 2.2m cases. Barceló has continued to witness consistent sales and hasn’t declined in five years, according to Brand Champions data.

Produced in the Dominican Republic by Ron Barceló since 1950, Barceló is sold in more than 50 countries.

5. Havana Club

2017: 4.4m
2016: 4.2m
% change: 4.8% 

Place last year: 5

Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club brand has witnessed consistent growth, increasing by 4.8% in 2017. In the company’s H1 results, Havana Club increased by 7% with “good and improving growth”, driven by Cuba, Russia and Germany.

The brand’s legal row with Bacardi over the Havana Club Trademark intensified last year after the latter company launched a Forever Cuban campaign that contained “misleading statements”.

4. Captain Morgan

2017: 11.7m
2016: 10.7m
% change: 9.3%

Place last year: 4

This year’s Rum Brand Champion, Diageo-owned Captain Morgan, boasted the highest rate of growth for any international rum brand.

Global brand director Nik Keane attributes Captain Morgan’s success to innovation and its growing presence in markets including the UK, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and France.

Diageo recently launched a number of shot-inspired flavor extensions, including watermelon and coconut, and tweaked the bottle design to create a "more modern brand visual identity".

3. McDowell’s No.1 Rum

2017: 12.5m
2016: 14.9m
% change: -16.1%

Place last year: 3

Last year, Indian rum brand McDowell’s No.1 Celebration – owned by Diageo’s United Spirits unit – experienced a double-digit decline of -16.1% to 12.7m cases.

Unfortunately, the world’s best-selling rum brand in 2015 continued its rapid decline last year, while successfully holding onto third position among the best-selling rum brands.

2. Bacardi

2017: 16.8m
2016: 17.2m

% change: -2.7%

Place last year: 1

It’s a new position for Bacardi as it slips from the top spot to become the second best-selling rum in the world.

Bacardi recently shifted its focus to more premium positioning, releasing two new products with higher price points in April this year. But will its premiumization efforts pay off this year?

1. Tanduay

2017: 19.5m
2016: 16.6m
% change: 17.5%

Place last year: 2

Philippine brand Tanduay has overtaken Bacardi to become the world’s best-selling rum brand after reporting 17.5% growth last year. The brand was almost neck and neck with its rival Bacardi in 2017, but managed to experience an astounding increase to claim the top spot for the first time. The brand is getting ever closer to the 20m case mark it once held in 2012. Tanduay is the best-selling rum in Asia and is now available in the US.

Read More at https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2018/07/the-top-10-best-selling-rum-brands-2/11/

Seattle Bans Plastic Straws, Utensils, Becoming First Major United States City to Do So

These Items are Banned in Seattle

     Seattle has officially become the first major U.S. city to ban restaurants from giving plastic straws and utensils to customers to help the environment.  Since July 1, restaurants in the Emerald City are barred from providing customers plastic straws, cocktail picks or utensils unless someone specifically requests one. In that case, the customer should be given a compostable option, according to Seattle Public Utilities.  With 5,000 food service providers in the area, Seattle is the first major city in the U.S. to enact such a ban, KIRO-TV reported.

     "Plastic pollution is surpassing crisis levels in the world's oceans, and I'm proud Seattle is leading the way and setting an example for the nation by enacting a plastic straw ban," Mami Hara, the general manager of Seattle Public Utilities, told KOMO News.   The Seattle ban actually began with an ordinance prohibiting one-time-use food service items in 2008, but the city has allowed exemptions on certain items every year since. For example, Styrofoam food packaging was banned in 2009, according to the Seattle Times. But because of the market, plastic utensils and straws have been exempted in Seattle's ban until now, the newspaper reported.

     New York City is latest to consider banning plastic straws altogether.  Restaurants were encouraged to use up existing supplies of plastic straws and utensils before July. If that deadline could not be met, restaurants were asked to check in with Seattle Public Utilities to come up with a different schedule.

     California's enacted and potential bans, from internal combustion engines to plastic bags.  Duke Moscrip, founder and CEO of Duke's Seafood and Chowder, told KIRO that his restaurant switched to compostable straws and utensils about three years ago. Then, the products were "30 to 40 percent more expensive," he said.  "Now it's about 10 percent. But we did it anyway, just because it's the right thing to do," Moscrip said.

     Now customers at grocery stores, restaurants, food trucks, even institutional cafeterias must find another way to get liquid into their mouths. Compostable paper and plastic straws are allowed under the ban. People who have a medical need to use a straw are exempt.

Read More at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/07/01/seattle-becomes-first-major-u-s-city-to-ban-straws/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.af0f56153706

Richard Seale on Why Use Sugar Cane?

Barbados Surgarcane

     Richard Seale wrote an interesting piece on his facebook page the other day.  The distilleries on
Barbados seem to be heading back to their roots if you will and making use of several local resources that were available to their forefathers to improve their rums.  Barbados has the distinct honor of being one of the earliest producers of rum and today is still in the forefront of innovation in the industry.

WHY USE SUGAR CANE

     If we look back far enough, we will find less diversity in rum than we have today. It was not wild yeast versus cultured yeast, it was not molasses versus juice, it was not dunder versus non dunder.   There was no "imported molasses" either.

Still Rums had a clear identity, by country. They were built on different formulas of the same prime elements - molasses, cane juice, dunder and water.   Rums were made on sugar cane estates and these elements were what was available.

     Economics drove change.   Agricole - rum from pure juice - blossomed in the 19th century from a myriad of economic factors.    City based commercial distilleries arrived molasses only obviously.   Cultured yeast fermentations of 48 hours arrived instead of 2 weeks and of course the column still which changed rum irreversibly forever.

     In the small islands of the anglophone Caribbean, free trade has seen the demise of the sugar industry in recent decades and today, the historic great producers are obliged to import molasses.

St. Nicolas Abbey Cane Crusher

     In 2016 we started making a little rum from syrup and this continued through 2017. Earlier this year we started using fresh cane juice. Both came from St Nicholas Abbey.    We have now started to crush cane ourselves.   As far as we know, our friends at Mount Gay are also using their own estate cane for some of their rum and of course St Nicholas does the same.

     We are not doing this to mimic agricole rum. Even if we release pure cane juice rum in the future, we won’t call it agricole. We believe agricole is the sole provenance of our French friends.    We may use dunder as well as we push the envelope in getting flavor from the cane but we are not trying to mimic Jamaican rum.    Definitely no muck pits or dunder pits though !  We are not trying to recreate some specific rum formula from the past.   Again, too much respect for our forefathers to use them as marketing gimmicks.   We are trying to maintain our near 400 year heritage as a sugar cane growing country.   We are trying to reestablish the historic link between Foursquare distillery and the sugar cane estate where it is nestled.   It is not about 'terroir', it is not about juice v molasses, it is about controlling your destiny.

Don Q Vermouth Cask Finish Rum

     Don Q and the Destilería Serrallés has done it again with a barrel aging technique that has aided in the raising the image of rum to new heights, emphasizing the importance of barrel aging to the rum industry.  More and more rum producers are trying different ideas in their aging and finishing.  This is not a new idea, but it is raising the image of rum showing its remarkable versatility of the spirit.  The result is that cask finishing is likely to be around for quite some time.    Plantation was one of the earliest companies to use the casks from cognac and other wines and spirits to finish the rums they sourced from around the world, today the process is being used by most all of the producers.

     Puerto Rico’s Don Q, has released its first official cask-finished rum: Don Q Vermouth Cask Finish last February.  Master Blender Jaiker Soto blends rums aged for five-to-eight years in American white oak casks before resting the final spirit for four-to-six weeks in Mancino Vermouth Vecchio barrels. Crafted from Italian white oak, these casks carry aromatics of the fortified wine they once held, as well as botanical flavors synonymous with vermouth.

     This is a rum of golden amber color. With inviting aromas and flavors of cinnamon-pumpkin loaf, pecan pie, castelvetrano olive, ginseng, mace, thyme, and violet with a velvety, crisp, fruity light-to-medium body and a tingling, complex, medium-long Manzanilla sherry and grass clippings finish. A complex and lengthy rum with a unique style and spicy-salty allure.

     This blend of rare rums first aged for 5 to 8 years in American White oak casks, followed by 4 to 6 weeks in Mancino Vermouth Vecchio casks, crafted from Italian white oak.     This is a rum that is of real interest to me, because of the consistent quality of all of Roberto Serralles led introductions of the past.  It will be priced at $49.99 and presented at 40% ABV.

Mother Nature has Painted Me a New Work of Art

     As I walked into the parking lot from the docks at Sunset Marina I was awestruck by the cloud formation in front of me.  It was one of those "Kodak Moments", and fortunately I had a camera with me to capture it.

     I love my life and where I'm living today.

Skotlander Launchs Festival Stage Aged Rum

     Danish rum brand Skotlander will release a new expression that has been aged inside a music festival stage.  Four ex-Sherry casks containing Skotlander Rum have aged in the canvas of the Orange Stage.   The rum brand partnered with Danish music festival Roskilde to age four barrels of its organic rum inside the canvas from the festival’s Orange Stage.  In summer 2017, as the festival site was being dismantled, Skotlander wrapped four ex-Sherry casks containing rum in the canvas of the Orange Stage, where they were left to mature throughout the winter months.   Due to high humidity in the canvas, the brand hopes for less evaporation, while the higher temperatures inside the canvas may result in “tropic ageing”.  The Orange Stage, which was bought by Roskilde Festival for The Rolling Stones following their 1976 European tour, will host performances from Dua Lipa, Massive Attack and Interpol from 1-7 July.

     Anders Skotlander, the brand’s founder, said: “I am looking forward to unwrapping the barrels and tasting the rum. Maybe we will bottle it at cask strength, we will see.”   The limited edition rum will be served to all 180 artists performing at this year’s festival, including hip-hop group Gorillaz and singer Nick Cave.   Festivalgoers will be able to sample the rum at Skotlander’s Rum Lounge, where three cocktails will be served with the expression.  The remaining bottles will be available following the event through Skotlander’s website.

Caribbean Journal’s America’s Best Rums Awards

1. Siesta Key Rum (Florida) Still the leader, this Sarasota, Fla.-based boutique distillery has grown to become one of America’s most beloved rums, from its traditional spiced to its limited-batch expressions like the brand’s Toasted Coconut. It is as good as spiced or flavored rum gets. Period. (If you need more proof, it even took home the top honors against the best spiced rums in the Caribbean at this year’s Caribbean Rum Awards in Saint Lucia).

2. Papa’s Pilar (Florida) For years, this brand blended a range of rums from around Florida and the Caribbean Basin to make what is a delightful sipping rum — now, though, the Hemingway Rum Company is distilling its own rum at its new factory in Key West, adding an extra dose of authenticity. Either way — this is terrific rum.

3. Richland Rum Single-estate American rum? That’s precisely the result at this Georgia rum plantation, which grows its own cane and distills its rum in a copper pot still. Everything happens on the estate, from farm to glass. The result? A terrific aged rum.

4. Koloa Rum Company (Hawaii) Hawaii has quietly become a powerhouse of rum production, as more and more rum producers continue to pop up across the chain of islands — a part of the world with a long history of sugar production, if not rum production. The standard-bearer for Hawaiian rum has long been Koloa, based in Kauai, which makes a range of rums from white to spiced to flavored to aged — but we’re partial to the classic “dark” rum, which has a wonderful cacao-accented personality.


5. Ko Hana Hawaiian Agricole Rum (Hawaii) Rhum agricole? From America? From Hawaii? Yes, that’s exactly what Ko Hana is making at its Manulele Distillers plant, using locally-grown sugarcane. The result is a range of three rums, a white, a “barrel aged” and a cask-strength, the last of which packs a true punch at between 55 and 63 degrees.

6. Thomas Tew Rums (Rhode Island) Colonial America was a hive of rum activity, so it’s almost essential that an American rum be made in the heart of New England. Enter Thomas Tew, a rum made by Newport Craft Brewing and Distilling. While there are two Thomas Tew rums, an overproof and an aged expression, the three-to-five-years aged single barrel rum is the one to go for – it’s hearty, bold and punchy — it’s what you’d imagine a Rhode Island rum might have tasted like centuries ago.

7. Bayou Rum (Louisiana) Made from local cane and molasses, this Lacassine, Louisiana-based copper-pot-still rum has been steadily growing in popularity (and distribution) over the last few years. While Bayou offers a range of four rums from unaged to three years, the spiced has long been Bayou’s best offering.

8. Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum (Hawaii) If you haven’t guessed already, Hawaiian rum is booming. And former Van Halen front man Sammy Hagar was one of the pioneers of rum in Hawaii with his eponymous Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum, a Maui-distilled expression that’s long been a Rum Journal favorite. The catch? You can only buy it in Hawaii.

9. Cane & Abe Rum (Wisconsin) While the state is known for beer, Madison, Wisconsin-based distillery Old Sugar is making a name for itself with its small-batch, oaky rum.

10. Mermaid Rum (Florida) Given its rich sugar-production tradition, it’s no surprise that Florida continues to churn out quality rum distilleries. One of the newest Florida rums to enter the scene is Mermaid Rum, which offers a blend of three-year-old Florida rum and Caribbean rum aged in whisky barrels. The result is, well, a very unique expression.

Read More at https://www.caribjournal.com/2018/07/03/rum-journal-the-best-american-rums-2018/