So what’s bringing you to RumFest this year?

In the case of the author of this article, the opportunity to find out what’s new in the rum world is absolutely the number one reason, although truth be told there are loads of other reasons!

RumFest is a great place to catch up with our friends at well established brands; to find out what’s new to market and try to wheedle out a little bit of information on their plans for the future.  The fact that a chat is normally conducted over a sip or two of fine rum is a real bonus!

But as a rum focused writer, I’m lucky enough to be able to get into the Boutique RumFest as well – this is a place where the game changes a little.  One moment I could be chatting to a recently formed company, whose hopes and dreams for their ‘baby’ is written clean all over their expectant faces and the next I could be speaking to a global company who (for whatever reason) haven’t yet been trading in the UK, although they may have been trading all over the US, Asia and Europe.  It keeps me on my toes I can tell you!  For all those not able to get into that particular section of the show – I’ll be doing my best to write up what I’ve learnt afterwards on TheFloatingRumShack.com.

The Boutique RumFest will feature at least six brands that I’ve not tried before, which is pretty exciting and the hope is that all will find a proper place in the UK market.  Pirates Grog (a rum from Roatan in the Caribbean) is already well established in Central America and Fortuna is a brand that’s making a big splash in Miami.  Other brands featuring for the first time are Rebellion rum and Ramsey Rum who are representing several Grenadian brands – feels like I could spend an entire day in the Boutique RumFest.  And how can I not mention the un-aged white rum from St. Nicholas Abbey?  Several years in development and (hopefully) now ready for market.

Outside the Boutique though we’ve Don Q from the rum powerhouse of the Caribbean: Puerto Rico and Jamaica’s Overproof specialists from Hampden Estate: Rum Fire!  Both are relatively unknown here in the UK.  So there goes another hour…

Add into the mix the well known brands like El Dorado, Goslings, Chairman’s Reserve and Diplomatico (amongst many others), then you’ll start to appreciate just why I never seem to be able to speak to everyone I’d like to, despite always going to both the Saturday and Sunday of RumFest.  Oh, and I’ve not yet considered how I’ll fit the all the seminars in as well…  A time turner perhaps?

Pete