Rum

The Curious

Spirit of Rum

Rum is a curious spirit. In Australia we swim against the tide, with dark rum far more popular than the white category. And few countries see a single brand as dominant in the market as Bundaberg Rum has been for decades. Spiced rums are emerging, but whereas gin, whisky and a few other spirits have seen serious interest in their craft offerings - and those of what might be termed the second tier distilleries - rum seems slower off the mark. Even more puzzling is that the great premium rums, which prove more than a rival for most of the top malts and Cognacs (and usually available at a fraction of the cost), seem to be the beverage world’s best-kept secret. By Ken Gargett

Even in a state as obsessed with Bundy as Queensland, it comes as a surprise to many lifelong fans of the rum that Bundaberg Rum produces not just their favourite - the massively popular Original, and a few others - but serious premium rums matching it with the best. None of this is made any easier by the fact that - perhaps even more than most beer and spirit drinkers - rum drinkers are intensely loyal. You’d have more of a chance getting a Maroon fan to back the Blues than a Bundy drinker to swap rums. The emergence of rum as a more premium spirit, with devotees trying a range of styles and producers, might be a little further down the track than one might wish. It is coming.

Where to for rum, is anyone’s guess, or perhaps the $64 million question. Currently, rum sits fourth in overall sales behind whisky, bourbon and vodka.

Bundaberg Rum’s recent success in the 2016 World Drinks Awards, held in London, might change a few opinions as to whether it is simply a mass blender or that it can be a premium spirit. Bundy’s ‘Blenders Edition 2015’ was named Best Rum in the World; its ‘Small Batch’ had already taken Best Golden Rum.

As Jodi McLeod, Bundaberg Marketing Manager says, “Australians aren’t drinking more, but they are drinking better…Rum waits patiently for its moment to step into the spotlight.” CEO of island2island Beverage Company, distributor of Angostura Rum, Allan Shearer notes, “Australians have always loved rum and, traditionally, have been very parochial in their tastes. However, we’ve been seeing a steadily increasing interest in rums from around the globe in recent years, with category growth driven by spiced rums, aged rums and premiumisation. Consumers are being educated by the on and off-premise trade, be it a knowledgeable bartender or a hand-sold bottle of rum in a retail outlet, and premium rums are now viewed in a more similar way to Cognac, Scotch or whisky.” It does suggest promising times ahead and that there will be rewards for those who persist.

For decades, rum in Australia has meant Bundaberg, and still does to a

large extent, but there have always been small distilleries nipping at their heels and overseas producers developing their own following – most obviously Bacardi with their white rum. Even New Zealand has hopped on the bandwagon with Stolen Rum. A few years ago, spiced rums were sold in one in five venues and accounted for around 0.5 per cent of spirit sales. That has now increased to two in three venues and 3.6 per cent of sales, largely driven by names such as Captain Morgan, Kraken and Sailor Jerry.

Stolen has arrived in the market with a number of rums, but it is its Spiced Rum that attracts interest as the world’s first smoked rum, one of those, “so simple, why did no one else think of it” ideas. The makers liked the smoky notes of certain malts so decided to replicate that with rum. To do so, they used a process of smoking/infusion of a number of ingredients, including Columbian Arabica coffee beans, Moroccan fenugreek, Madagascan vanilla and smoked American hardwood. One cannot but feel that this is the beginning of a new chapter in the book on rum.

James France, owner/founder of Vanguard Luxury Brands, which imports the Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Cana, had some interesting thoughts on this sector of the market, noting that the “real growth we’re seeing in the rum market is in spiced rum, which is becoming a real threat to the bourbon market. Most of the traditional rum producers, including Flor de Cana, have decided to leave this sector of the category to the larger, more commercial brands with big promotional budgets.”

Offshore, if one thought of rum, it was the Caribbean which immediately came to mind; yes, pirates and treasure and all that entails (perhaps the finest and rarest rum ever made is the extraordinary Cuban rum, Isla del Tesoro, which Castro had made for visiting dignitaries. Meaning ‘Treasure Island’, it came in a small treasure chest with a pirate map). It would surprise many to learn that the world’s largest selling rum is actually from India, McDowell’s No.1 Celebration (18.3 million cases). Bacardi is a smidge behind at 18 million, followed by Tanduay (17 million cases) from the Philippines. Those three rank ninth, tenth and twelfth in world spirit sales (still a long way behind the number one, Jinro soju, a Korean rice spirit with sales of 71 million cases). All that aside, most rum lovers would gravitate to the sunny Caribbean when it comes to the great sipping rums (and plenty of much larger volume styles as well).

What promises to be most interesting over the coming decade is the opening of Cuba and where that takes us. Havana Club aside, it is currently rare to see the island’s rums beyond its borders, but there are many fine producers, plenty of bargain priced rums and some of the finest aged spirits on the planet. One thing is for sure - there will be a monumental battle between Havana Club and Bacardi over the former’s name. It will make a lot of lawyers very rich, but anything we could suggest now as to how it might play out would be nothing more than speculation. With sales around four million cases, and rums of the quality of their ‘Máximo Extra’, not to mention being part of the Pernod Ricard empire, they will be serious players in the market whatever happens. The Cuban ‘style’ of rum is described by Pernod Ricard Spirits Education Manager, Ben Davidson, as becoming defined “in the late 1860s as having an aromatic and dry intensity that was accentuated by the use of copper column stills and the ageing of ‘aguardientes’ to create intense ‘flavour bases’ to be blended with the ‘ron frescos’ and then barrel aged further.”

Of course, rum in the Caribbean comes from many different sources. As France says, “Flor de Cana is enjoying renewed growth, having been in this market for nearly eight years now. The aged rum market is growing strongly, and Flor de Cana’s flagship rum, Seven Year Old Grand Reserve, is leading the charge, up 60 per cent on a MAT basis (Feb 2016). Flor de Cana is the market-leading rum, not only in its native Nicaragua, but also across all of Central America. So when Aussie travellers return from that part of the world, they look for Flor de Cana Seven YO Rum.”

Closer to home, we have seen some challenges to the Bundy dominance. The recently revived Beenleigh Distillery has had its ups and downs, but now, under the stewardship of Vok Beverages, is producing a range of impressive rums that should give the local market a shake. This is the oldest registered distillery in Australia and follows one of the great, long-forgotten stories of our past. The distillery opened, following the closure of the ‘SS Walrus’, a boat acting as a distillery (in order to sail up and down the Albert River to avoid officials) – an Aussie rumrunner! The distillery also makes one of our most famous rums, Inner Circle. Once

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the preserve of the CSR inner circle, a prized bottle would be given to members of the board and valued clients (from a personal note, my father would occasionally do legal work for CSR and was accordingly rewarded. As he was not a drinker, there was an annual battle between my mother who wanted it for the Christmas pudding and Dad’s fishing buddies. Fortunately, a few bottles snuck through and I’m able to confirm that it is simply more evidence that Australia can make exceptional rum). These days, it is more widely available. The distillery’s position on the highway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast makes it a major tourist destination and the new management is taking full advantage of this.

Bundy and Beenleigh are not the only producers offering premium rums. Most Caribbean producers have rums at differing levels and we have finally started to see products to match the great Cognacs and malts. Angostura has the amazing Legacy (some twenty bottles released worldwide, at $25,000 each), and they have the much more affordable, but still excellent new Cask Collection. The first is the ‘No.1 First Fill Bourbon Cask’, a blend of selected rums, aged ten to twelve years and then given an extra year in first fill Bourbon casks, while the second, to be released later in the year, is the ‘No.1 Cask Collection 2, Once Used French Oak’ - a 16-year-old blend, aged for a minimum of ten years in once-used American oak casks, re-casked into French oak that was used for ageing Cognac and then left to mature for six years. Others will follow. This is in addition to their current premiums, ‘1824’ and 1919’.

So where to for rum? It will remain a very popular spirit in this country for the foreseeable future. Spiced rums will continue their push, but to what extent will probably depend on the quality, and even more on their marketing. Local producers will continue with their popular rums, but expect to see more and more premium offerings. Craft rums? The difficulty is that they take so much longer to produce than spirits such as craft gins, but they will come. More and more top notch offshore rums will appear on the shelves. In time, premium rum will be seen as the equal of any fine spirit.

Beenleigh ‘Port Barrel Infused’

Rum – Orange rind, caramel, richness and a nice spirit lift on the finish, which is ideal for balancing the gentle sweetness. A good finish, which lingers impressively. The rum heralding a new era.

Angostura ‘No.1 First Fill Bourbon Cask’

Rum – Citrus and nuts, a gentle touch of oak. Some dark chocolate. Has real complexity. There is plenty of sweetness, but nicely balanced. Very hard to find malts and Cognacs of this quality for anything near the price. And that goes for all of these rums.

Stolen ‘Spiced Rum’ – I

am not a fan of spiced rums in general, but I very much like this one. The slight smokiness is immediately apparent. Then some really intriguing notes of salami and sweetbreads emerge. The subtle smokiness persists throughout. Distributor: Think Spirits

Flor de Cana ‘Grand Reserva 7 YO’ Rum –

Easy to see why this premium rum is so popular. A mature, soft and complex rum with pleasing sweetness. Hints of marmalade and dark chocolate. A lovely sipping rum.