THE RUM RANGEAs the cane-based spirits' market share grows, so does

the plethora of sub-categories, flavors and niche offerings.by Gregg Glaser

RUM flAS THF sr -I f ~

12.9 PERCENTFOR ALL SPIRITS SOLD IN THE U.S. THISTRANSLATES TO 25 MILLION NINE-LITERCASES OF RUM SOLD HERE EACH YEAR.

~L ike ~(l many cmegmies of spirits, the

news for rum is the growth in premium

. and super premium.s. Only vodka, lhe

It"~lding spirit sold in the U.S., outsells fum.

Htlwever, vodka should watch its market

share, says Dod Bry<l11t of Polished PalaH.', a

Wlllpany [hM holds spirits' tflstings in major

cities acwss the €ounrry. "[ havt.: seen Ilvt.:r

,UlL! Ll\"t~r again huw interesTed pl;'llplc

h.:ollnc with rum once they han" a ~ir,

o.::>pccially Ihe fiueT \ arielil'S. Rum spoils

thcm." Malcolm G(l~ling, pn:siJl'llt ~lf

CJllsling's Expn!T (BennuJ,J) LId., a family

Jl~tilkr, :lgrct.:S. H..: t..:.'\11Cl:b rum "til lrt:n~l

upwarJ III 2015."

ACCl)rJing to Rum:! of Pucno Rico, fUlll

has the ~cond highest marht share - 12.9percent - for all spirits sold in the u.s. This

transhm.'s ro 25 millilm nine-lirt.:r cases llfrum sold here each year (Adams' estimatl' (llr

~006 s<lles was slightly less, al 22.8 milli\)n

\.:tses.) \Vith rum being the fastest growing

)pirit c<ltegory, these figures should make

Puerto Rican rum distillers SIHllll "SiJllld!",

hecause they sell about 70 perct'nt of ~lll rum

sllid in the U.S. The leading worldwide

h...nLI, Bacardi, has a 10( to do with thm.

RUM 1,< RHUMColumbus brl)Ught the first sugar cane to

the West Indies in 149.3, and that region

rL'mains n mnjor producer of nun, bm thert'

Me rum distilleries throughom the world.These distilleries either grow their own

....ugar cane or they plIrch<lse molasses. rhL'

hy~product of the industrial sugar-making

prucess and the basis for mOSI rum. Even

Puertu Rico, a major rum distilling nation.

huys iL~ mtJiasses (rom offshore. The island's

t"Ct.mllmy has become more industrial Ihan

.lgricultllml, and not nearly enough l)u/!:lr

c:me is grown there any longer.

This brings up the uiffen.:nce betwccn

Rum <JIlLI Rhum - thm pesk} 'h' is an

importalll litrle letter. Mosl rum ill the

world ~ pl\lbahly 96 percent ~ is distilled

tnnn molasses. 11lis is :-nmctimt.'s rl'lercl'LI hI

<IS "indusrri;ll rum," ilhhllllgh lllany rum dis­lill\:r~ mig-hI nllt likc thar term, helie\'ing it

In hl' a pejmative, That's n,11 the CISL'.

\'(Iont!erflll rums are made this way_

\Vhcn Ihe 'h' is aLkleJ, thc rhum distillers

arc ('cstalk ttl pllinr our that their rhums are

"..gricuhurnl" chums. Or "agricole," Ihe

French wnrcl. just ;l5 "rhum'" is the French

,~pclling. What d1C "agricultural" rhum dis~

lillvr~ ,H'C pflln10ring to differentiate their

rruLlllct!' is that instead of using molasscs,

t!\I.:Y rn,'~ rhL' juice directly from freshly h;lr~

\'l' ..rcli !'ugar canc - sometimes special single

\'ariL'ues II cane ~ .llld llistill this juicl.:,

Lib.: such proUUCI.S as Rhum Clemenr

and Rhllm B<lrbancollrt, thest' distilleries

COl1lpme r1wir rhum making process morc tIl

willl' making, 111 that rhum is only rroJuced

frllill Ihl: harvest (insread of yeaHOlll1d), is

Cl)tale grown anJ distillell, uses a srecial

sugar CtnC, ilnd is made in small batches, It's~l great selling pLlint for the super premium

c:ltI:g\lry :tnd the custnillers who have g~llle

to Ihe trL.luhle III learn ahout it, or Wh\l have

atr":ll.:kJ .. rasting where they have heen

inlrOLluced to ''rhum agricoll'."

Is (,nl.; hetter than the other? Tlwr

Cl)l1lL',~ Jnwn to persunal taste,

On... of (hese ag:ricultllml rums, without

the "h", is 10 Cme, in tbe U.S. f\)r only 2-1/2years and;] pnxluct of Moct Hennessy USA .10 Come's Roh Bryans said with this hnllld

the iLlca is III "devate the entire rUin categn­

I)' with high-cnJ luxury rum, It's 3 huge edll­

C<ltinl~nl jnh in shifting the minJscr of people

~I rUIll i~ ctlnsidcred sex\' and COtl!."

1(1 Canc coml.;'~ from the Carihhean

bland uf Trinidad (\\'ith ;l history of many

Frl~nlll settll'rs), and Ihe marketing stresses

rllar 10 Calk' is Jitfcrcnr fnllll llther rUln:-.

hl'CIIIS;': Ilnly 10(\ percent pure C,mt' juict: b

di~lilkJ anJ only 70 p... rccnl of IhL' juice­

r1w I~st juice, thcy say ~ t'nltn the first

prL's~illg i~ ,lislill\.'I.l In nlklition, til(' rest Ilf

I.hL' pwccss i:, steeped in "II things French:

Fn.:nch rul stills, a French distiller and

French o:lk fm aging. "\Ve wanr Ihe taste dfIigIH, tresh rum, trlle It I the taste of lile ~llgar

cane." Bry:l1l:' said.

10 Cane is promoted with nationwidc

s,llllpling l.:Vl.:nrs I.hal include ,\ small cane

juice press set UI' ill tln-pn:mise !ocmi{lns

where CllS\()lll..:r:-. can press the cane them-

*Souree Rums of Puerto Rico

selves. The brand is alSl) working wirh bar­

tendcr.i to encourage the mixing of classic

rum drinks, anJ with chefs h> pair rum

Jrinks with food.

Depa: Blue Cane Amber RhullI, from

M<lrtinique in the Fn.:nch \Vcst Indies, defi­

nitely useS thl' "h," This agricul..: rhum is

proJuceJ un the Chnrc3l1 Depa~ family

estate, exclusively wirh hlue canL'. A proJ­

lIer from KobranJ, thaI cOl1lpnny's vr,director of spirits, Tom Congdon, ~aiJ rhat

blue cane, :l variety that is in Shllrt supply,

will become more important in (he rhumcategory in the coming years.

"Customers have started to dabble in

super premium rum~ hr.:CilUSC of press atten·

tinn," Congdon said. "They're st'cing

lJpl.ions and they're inrerested, bUI they're

11111 yel commir.ted to changing rheir rum

Llrinking patterns."

Congdon saiJ that Kohrand's policy is

to look for "authentic family pfllducts that

arc the best of rheir rcginn. ''1./e don't walll

to create ,) product [)ut u( a cuncept. Wc

think the consumer is smarter than that al1LI

wants authenticity." Wilh Depaz, Congdun

5..",id there's "a cachet and a flavor profile

linked to the limited·c:-.I.ate produnion...

The hrand even holds a French Appellation

J'Originc Controlce dc~ignation.

Only in the U,S, since June n( lasl. yl':lr,

initially in New YClrk City and Miami,

Ik-pa: h;b rt.·ct.'i\'eLII'(l~ili\'t.'prt.:ss <lrtentilll1

and tL'views 'Illd will he in len markt'l.;; hv

the end of the year. The markering cam­

paign is !ocus(,.'d (In wClrll-uf-llllllllh and IlIl­

pr~mise rasrings, KobranJ is <Ilsu wurking

with Cllntell1j1llmry Cocktails, Inc., a con­

suruulll of hal' chefs ,lcross till' Ct lUll try, to

cr~att: Sped'll Dcra: cocktails such as the

Depil: Summer SUIl. The hr.-lIld is 'lCcnlllpa~

nird hy Dcpaz Cant." Syruj', \vhich IS used in

cocktails find h'lked g(1l)ds such as Dep:l:

Rhum cake and n,.'pa: chocolare t'Tuffles,

(;-Iste of Rcrmulla. \'(Ie're selling tht..'

&'rmlllia Iife:'>I\,le."

Orher aged rums, among 3 long list.

include scveral from Bacarcli (Reser,,:!, ;,8.Resl'l'\'a limit:lda); Ron del Barrilitn's 25,,11'and') Star; non Q Aile-jo :mel Gnllld AllCjU

fmm the Serralles distillery (nil from Puerto

Rico); Ml,unt Gay Extra Old,:1 rum flgeJ for

17 years; Captain Morgan PI',,'atc Srock ,mdPyrat Rum XO Reserve.

Launched last Fehruary wirh tht." roll-uut

finisheJ in early May, Tommy Bahama Rum

from nal'badrls, imported hy Sidney Fr;mklmpnrring Cll., is practlcillly hmnd I'v.:w illthe U.S, The tWll br:lllds are TomlllYB<thanw \Xlhite Sanll (il clear rUlIl aged aminimum tl two years) and "Ttnnmy Bah.una

Gnldt'n Sun (an amher nUll which is a hlen\.1

(If rums agcJ three years).

LC'c EinsiJlcr, CEO tlf SiJney Frank

Imrurring Cn., said hl;' St..'cs "cxplosi\'c gnm'lh

potential with white rum illlll ultra~rremillm

profits f{lr retailers." Thl.' 1i.lmmy Rlh<1l11il

brands ilre hl.'ing advertisl.'d in many n;lrion:tl

m<tgazinl'~ year-round (Cig:lr Aficionadn,

Conde NaSI Tmvcler, Forhes, Food and \Vinc.

GQ, Golf, Gourmet, Men's joumal, NewYorker, Vanit\' Fair, \VinJing Road, Wine

SpCC{;"tlllr) wirh the lag lin!.' "1:'1511,.' Parndisc."

111esc ads will k-arurl' cnckrail reciIX'S thmwilllell consumers Imw 10 drink an ullm~rrt..'.

mium rum in llirm-prenlltlln cocktlils. One

such sigll,uurc drink is the TOllllllytini, a \Hilr­

tini made with rum.

An{1thl'r f<lirly rCCl.'nr inlroductilm illrhl,.' U.S, is Stall' AfriC<1n Rum, here for jllsl

two ami a half years. jeffrey Zarnuw, a fur­

mer flimmakcr, is Ihe imponcr. He t;(~t(.'d

the j1roc!UCI <tnd lefl Ihe film husincss.

Designed f'lr CX~1I.1rt ftom an estahlished

GOING DARK

"Peopll.' nre awakening to aged rums,"

according ttl Dori Bryanr. "It's actually

refreshing to see pcopk's eyes pup open

when rhey taste Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21,

Tortuga 5 aild 11, DiplnmatiCll, Salll<l

Tcn:sa 1796, (Ron) Botrnn Solem anJ R(ln

Zacapa 23 years."

Th<.'$(' arc·jusl a (ew of the man" aged

rums un lilt;" U.S. marker. In Jamaica,

Appleton Estate inuoduccd irs R~sl.'rn.'

Jamaica Rum earlil.'t this year. Cn:an:d h~'

Appleton Estate Mastcr Blender Joy Spence

(the industry's first fCllIale master blcn~k:r),

Reserve is a blend tlf 20 rums. Since ItS ~'rig·

inal n:lcasc in Jamnic;1 in 2002. Reservt' hm;

rccL'lvcd many inrcrnalillll..1 awarJs. TIl(,.'

Applchll1 ESTate p(lntolin also include:::.

Applcl.lm Estiltl.-' VX (the tlagship), Appleltm

Estate Extra, Arrlclnn E;;;(;lh.' 21 Year Old (<I

rone and expensive rum), Arrlctnn Otlld

Spcdd Rum and Applc[lln Whire Rum.

Anmhcrgreat jamail.:iln rum in thl' U,S,

markel is j,Kk Tiu Superil1r jamaican Dark

Rum, which recently n.~ccivcd a

"Recommended" accolade from the

Beverage l':lsting Inslilure. The oversi:ed

hnulc prcs\.·n{s great potential for the off­

premise seer.lr and is also a great mixing

rum f.lr (ln~premise ;lCCtlUlliS th,lt have cus­

tomers I00king for a Sweeter, dark rum.

Robert C(lilins, lnanaging director of FloI'de Calia, from Nicar:1!!lIa, said that even

thl)lIgh his higgesr seller is the 4 year~nld

Guld, l-llc.' hig push 11l the u.s. is with th(' 7year-nlLl Grand Reserva a;o; Flnr de Caila'~

flagship nlm In the premium c.Hegnry.

U\Vc\'(' bei.'11 <laively Jen..loping tlur

hranJs for seven years with :1n imemalional

division l,.lSCd in Miami," Collins said, IXlSi­

tioning our rums as high·LJuality ;lgcd rums­

the single malrs of the rum c:ucgory." floI' de

Calla's nmlS arc 100 percent ;lgc-slated nn thl'

label, Collins said, "nor :l hlend like others."

Th<:- marketing campaign in the U.s. LISt'S the

catchy term "Florplay" ro introduce l'i1e

brand. Other Rur de C:lna rums inclu\.lt.: 4year-old Ex[r.J Lite, 4 year-old Extra Dry,S

year-old Black Label, IZyear-old Cemenario,

18 year-old Centenario Gnld anJ the 21 y.:ar~

old uJmmclll()ratin Edition.

ljn:-Iing'<; Okl Rum .lcclimpanie!' till'!:>cvLn-generation-{1Id I3Cl'llluJa distillLr\

Rbck Se:l! Rum and Gold Rllm in ilK U.S.)\·blwlll1 Gllsling s•.Iid lhal (lI}(e hi~ (ll'ln

decided til put thc "CI)1Tect" c(fnrt;o; in!,)

m.jrkcting [lIdr rums in the U.s. thrl'l' yt.."HI'S

ag<l, lhl.' focus \Va:. nn 3g('J fum, "\Ve saw

that the cnnsumcr was cxperimellling with

new rroduct entri('s in Ihis cnc}!11ry,"

Gtlsling :-aid. Tht." Jbtillcr dCliJed 10

Ix'cnml' a player in Ihe U.s."Our hl':'>1 sales Innl is rhc tastC' in till'

bI1nk," GIl:-ling snill. The distiller is al:-o

advcnising in Bon ApPl.'tit r,l empha~i:e lhe

cutin<lry 'lspeCL~ of rum, :lnJ is offering W~[­

ing t)ppornll1itics thn)ugh the sp(l!1Sprship

of :ip.ln:- and social e,'('nts ~uch as foorh,lIl

(Gillene S(adium), gt)lf (LPlJA. PCA,Champi{lllS "ft111r). sailing (numef\IUS rt..'!.!al­

I,IS on rhe EI:.r Coast anJ \Vcsr Coa:'>l anJ

even C{llor.ldn), rughy (U~A 7':.), Nascar

(Ginn, Pncono '500), hook rnur~, rhl::ltre

(I-!:JS[\' PuJJing) an\.l rhe 13lln Appctit

Cclc-hril)' Chef E,"enrs in Bl'aver Creek,

CO, Scnllsdale, AZ, Las Veg,ls, NV ;l1ldTest I(i,clwll in New York City.

Gosling's is sold in all 50 ,q,lILS :111\.1Gusling !laiJ dlC company's signatllfl' cock­

t,lll, D:lrk & Srorm\'. "h<l;o; heen a gn::H

n~hiclc for Gosling's rn givc p\.'o"le rhe

•~.

NEW SCENE

~/ICUSTOMERS HAVE STARTED TO DABBLEIN l f f I ) \ Jt f

r ~ J THEY'RE SEEINGOPTIONS AND THEY'RE INTERESTED./I

, f'l - tl

"~St KHI:s. West Indies i

•www.brinleygoJdrum.com :§

Brinley Gold RUIll from the West

InJit:s has:'l wide :lrmy offla\'oP.i in its line.

The I:ll.Jrd-o!il) includl.'!> Vanilb, Mango,

Coffec, o,conul anJ Limt:, which is the

most rcccnt addition til the Brinley Guld

Rum linc of flaVl)ts.

Malibu is ;mnther hig player with

flavon:J rum:., with Malibu Ori:,:inal

CnCnnll( :lince 1980, Malibu Pineapple,

M;llihu Mango, Mrllihu Passion Fruit

and the 2007 addirion to the br.lIld,Malihu Tn)pica[ B::tn:l.Il:1.

Jeff Agdcrn, mruketing VP f\lr

Malibu nr PCl'1llKI Ricnrd USA, said the

bunch nf Malihu TrupiGd Banana has

bCt:ll suppnrred wirh ,1 multi~milli()n dlll­

Jar mmker ing cmnp<llgn including

natillnn! TV, print and mdin, and <J wide

range of Cllllsumer promotions and s~m­

plings over the slimmer. Also, a range of

Caribhcan~illspircd cockt:lils has heen

developcd hy harrcnders using Malihu

Tropical Ranana, such as Malibu

Tropic..1Sunrise, Malihu Green Monh.'y

and Malibu Slippery Banana. M;llihll

also brnllght OUl new packaging for rhe

entire M<llihu line earlier this year.

In additinll to iI'S other rums, Flm de

Cail:l also sells 4 ycar~old Limon. The

Don Q hr.md from Serralles has Don QLimon Cirrus Rum. Cnltrlll Rum

Distillery in Sc. Crnix offers consulHers 8tropical fla\'llrs Itl chlKhe from. And,

Carihay;.!, all imponcd Carihlx'an rum,

has (nm flavors in irs line - Spiced,

C ICOIHlt, M<lngu <lnL! Pineapple - in

addirion tu a liglH and ~IMk rum.

The nun clrcgory ha~ al~l henefiTted.

llf l:omsc. (r'lm I hI:: hugt: ropularit y of rhl:

mojim,;) cbssic cockraillhat SCfl':lmS for

rum. "rvhljihls h:wc IX'come ~(I 1Jl.lpular

thar if a hll' doesn't currt:ntly sen'l.' ;]

l1lojilO. rhey will sonn," BrY:lllt said. She

cVt:n IIlcntiullnl ,1 h,ll' in T8Il1p'l. FL,

Gd.':ipar's Grotlu. th,lt grows its uwn lIIitll

hehind the rest<lIlt,ll1[ fnr p,ltfons to select

for thdr mnjirl). Now. lhcl"c's ::l gout! way

fll incre;ISC yuur rUI1l s~lk~s.•

FlAVORED

1920's distillery in Mauritius, .In African

Isbnd, Zarnow :laid salr.:s ofSrarr African

Rum m0re than Joubled last yt:ar. Therllm is cum:ndy sllld in t:ighr start's.

·'t)ur luain !"I()inr In ...Ii(fl'rentiare liS,"

Z",rnow ~aid, "b that chi:. i!'l an African

rUlll. ll\lr Carihbl.:'<U1, Ccmral Of SuurhAmerican, which is botdt'\.1 in a unique

Afril.::nn-madc horde." This bonk with:I slt'L'k pyramid shape, is a major selling

pdim fnr rhl: hrand. "Pt'nph: Sl'C this hnt­

th: and rll ...,y wani it fll]" their home hars

1)1' to givl: til frknds," Zampw said.

Alsn j(lining the new rum wave is

the ulrr,,-pl'cmillll1 Balnhu, launched

mro the '<In:gury in M,m.:h 2005. As u(

July l)( this )'e,ll', J),llnbu has a new pack­

age, including a pink ["hel ~n,J lapl'reJ

French bnttlc, which is more true to irs

strateg)' as rh~ (irsl flllll designed for

women. rhmhu USCi' the m0st advanced

Jistillation and filrr,uilln tl.'chniques in

nrder to pnll..lucl' light hndil.'d, pure nllli

with \'irltlall)' no afrcr-m:.tl.'. It is hand­

crafted in sm:lll hmc!lCs, thus prnJuclion

is highly limiled.

The orhl.'r news with rllm is rhc intftl­

uucrion of 11;I\'llrcd rUllIs. Thl.'rt:'s a sim­

ple n:aS4l1l fllr tillS and the \\'or~l i1' nll.lka.\'Villwill Ramos 01 RaL~n.1i said that

COlllpellng with flavnr('~1 \".Jka is rhl.'

((:<I:.on l1aclrJi gIlt imp rhi-. marh'L

;'\Xlhcn BacarJi launchl.'d RacarJi Lilll\'111

it was giving Ihl.' C'\IlSUlHer a fum that

df"tcn.:J more 11a\'(lr than \"\x.Ika," R,UllllS

saiJ. "Thcrd~'rl.' it ul.'atL"d.l pl"tlllUl:! th:lt

prn\,idt·J llll)re h:dant.:e \\·hen it Gllne 10

Oa\'l ll, ,ugar, acids and alcoh\ ,I."n<lC,lr~1i 1l,IW 11m, P(',lCh Red,

rdca~l·d in tvla)', in additiull to Lilll{lIl

(I:tullChe~1 in 1995), Bacardi 0 (Orange

fbvtll"l:J), RIc;lrdi Cnw (Cllcollut tla­

vored), Racudi Razz (Raspberry Oa­

\'()r~d), Bacardi Hig ;\]lple ,mJ Hac<lrdi

Gran Mt,ltln.

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