12 minute read
Rum Rising by Ken Gargett
RUM RISING
IT IS NOT OFTEN THE INDUSTRY IS ALMOST UNANIMOUS WHEN LOOKING AT THE STATE OF A SECTOR OF THE INDUSTRY AND THE FUTURE OF THAT CATEGORY, BUT SUCH WAS THE RESPONSE WHEN WE TOOK A LOOK AT RUM IN AUSTRALIA.
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Premiumisation. Everybody’s focus. Rum is the next gin. Rum will overtake gin. Even if this should happen, does that means instant premiumisation? I’m not convinced. The two issues seem discrete to me. It also neglects the fact that on an international basis, rum sales are roughly three times those of gin and, while both categories are in growth, gin is still growing at a much quicker rate than rum, though from a smaller base.
There has been some debate as to whether rum has already overtaken vodka (we take the view that perhaps not just yet), but it should be soon, and it should also exceed brandy in the next few years at current progress. Whisky is still a long way ahead.
Premiumisation. A work in progress, if ever there was one. As James France from Vanguard, who represents the Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Cana, notes, “as has been the case forever, Bundy owns dark rum, and Bacardi owns white rum.” That is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future despite best wishes and pipedreams from some producers; however, the rum industry was keen to talk premiumisation.
James notes that “total rum is up 5.8% with far and away the largest growth coming from super-premium rums, which echoes the general trend of spirits to show growth in the premium sectors.” And Flor de Cana is an ideal example with their extraordinary ’30-Year-Old’ rum (or the ten bottle allocation, at least) reaching our shores. This brilliant rum sits comfortably next to the finest cognacs and whiskies, and the price reflects that. Despite that one-off, James is of the view, and I am in full agreement, that “aged rums are excellent value for money compared to other aged spirits, especially scotch and bourbon.” He is convinced “aged rum’s time will come. Probably sooner than later.” Good news for rum lovers; indeed, lovers of quality spirits.
Another strong proponent of rum standing up as one of the world’s great spirits is Richard Seale of cult Barbados distillery, Foursquare (rums you must try). He is concerned that a large section of the market has focused on what he terms “substandard” products, therefore delaying the march to elite status. “We do not need to start making premium rum; we have been doing it for more than 100 years,” quote, Richard Seale.
Barbados is likely to make far more noise in the world of rum in the coming year than one might expect, as are the other three distilleries which exist on the Island, Mount Gay, Saint Nicholas Abbey and the West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD). The reason is the push to put in place a geographical indication (GI) for Barbados rum. At the moment, three distilleries are keen while
Words Ken Gargett
WIRD is yet to get on board. Whatever happens, this is compelling evidence that distillers are tired of being seen as just pumping out an average product. They are keen to be seen as making a great spirit, be recognised, and importantly, keen to have it protected. WIRD wants more flexibility in the rules even though there is no restriction on method of production. The government of Barbados will not approve legislation until all four agree.
From the latest international figures, published in January, the combined rum sector, which includes dark, light and spiced, sits fourth in spirit sales. Dark rums have been largely stationary while spiced rums have increased by 6.8% and light rums by 4.8%, which suggests a strong focus on cocktails. Where dark rums have shone is in the super-premium category with an increase of 2.4%.
Sam Jeveons, co-owner of Nusa Cana rums, believes that rum is on the rise. “Better quality rums are on the market, and better conversations about those rums origins, styles, environment, labour, blending, ageing and dosage are being had.” Sam believes some of “the biggest selling rum brands of the past decades have failed to capture new audiences.” For him, the future is about “turning rum’s positive energy of today toward educating and engaging with the entry-level consumer of tomorrow.” In Sam’s case, for his white rum, it is “communicating Asian provenance and showcasing a forgotten style of rum production through its mission to ‘bring back the forgotten story of Indonesian rum’”. They are taking particular note of the cocktail scene but acknowledge that this is a very different category, thanks not least to costs, to the sipping rum sector.
Rum’s long and storied history gives it an excellent starting point for tradition and quality, but of course, innovation and improvement is essential.
The world’s oldest licenced rum producer (1703), Mt Gay from Barbados, has a new master blender, Trudiann Branker. She is especially focussed on two of their rums, the Black Barrel and the XO, including increasing the opportunity for the overall age in both. Black Barrel is spending more time in heavily charred ex-bourbon barrels. XO now includes both older and younger material than previously, allowing for an expansion in the flavours. She has also included material from Cognac barrels. Interesting stuff, as I remember on one occasion when looking at the rum sector not that long ago, Mt Gay was all about the progress of their Eclipse, which would compete at a lower segment of the market.
Trudiann is a firm advocate for the GI, insisting that Barbadian rum be made from water sourced in Barbados (as Foursquare’s Richard Seale has noted, surrounding islands are volcanic while Barbados consists largely of coral limestone and it makes a difference) and then aged on the Island, with no added colour or sugar. The new GI would also require an age-statement to reflect the youngest material in the blend, surely something upon which all parties – and consumers – should insist.
Trudiann is also keen that the market reevaluate the way it sees rum – which seems a beneficial idea, although how easy it will be to instigate remains to be seen. She notes that, historically, divisions in the category are by colour – white, gold and dark. Additions of colour, and/or sugar can lead to misleading impressions, and a number of the top producers are fighting against such inclusions. Trudiann would prefer to see rum reclassified into three different styles.
These are; Rhum Agricole, which is made from sugar juice (look to Clement and Trois Rivieres); rum made from sugar cane syrup or sugar cane honey, which comes from boiling the cane juice (Zacapa and Diplomatico); or rum made from molasses, which is obtained during the sugar extraction process (Mt Gay and Eldorado).
Trudiann goes much further with categories depending on types of stills and other forms of manufacturing. As worth discussing as this is, space prohibits. She would also like uniform rum regulations around all producing countries; an excellent concept but good luck!
Andrew Shannon, from Campari, owners of another top-rated quality
Caribbean rum producer, Appleton, notes, concerning spiced rums, that after “huge growth momentum it has come off a bit with growth in other categories such as gin taking the limelight. However, growth is still positive and is forecast to continue now that this category has begun to mature.”
Andrew acknowledges the domination of Bourbon within dark spirits and Bundaberg within rum, but sees “the growth in dark spirits towards the super-premium and premium segments”. He likes the initiatives “which continue to breathe life into products in the category outside the dominant brand”, as well as efforts to educate new consumers and open up the sector. Again, he sees cocktails as an excellent entry point. Too early for any details but it seems safe to say that the super-premium category will feature some exciting new rums in the nottoo-distant future.
Tanya Mah, brand manager for Angostura in Australia, the most awarded rum portfolio in the world, understands that for many drinkers, “good quality, affordability and value for money are the most important factors.” That said, Tanya is aware that Angostura inhabits the “higher end” of the sector and notes that by using their “premium and luxury sipping rums” to “actively target dark-spirits connoisseurs – such as whisky and cognac – instead of traditional rum drinkers, this is helping to grow the premium, super-premium and luxury part of the market. Rum brands like Angostura behave less like a traditional rum and more like a whisky or a cognac, and that means consumers are moving away from making choices based on the category of spirit and instead thinking about luxury dark spirits as a whole.” This is a sentiment that is also expressed by the team at Zacapa, another producer of superb rums.
Tanya sees spiced rums as useful to “recruit new drinkers into the category… and to bridge the divide, attracting a younger audience and a more even gender split.”
The ‘Bacardi 2020 Cocktail Trends Report’ is a useful document to ascertain the state of the industry. It is, as they say, “a reflection of what’s creating excitement this year for bartenders and consumers”. Global brand ambassadors and bartenders, those with their feet on the ground, provide the information. 43% voted dark rum as the spirit that is ‘premiumising’ the most, followed by tequila (40%), gin (37%), mezcal (29%) and vermouth (21%). Remember that this is an international report – would our bartenders vote so highly for mezcal and vermouth?
As mentioned above, Zacapa from Guatemala is another rum producer focused very much on premium offerings. Their Master Blender, Lorena Vásquez, has more than three decades of experience and is the person most responsible for Zacapa’s excellent reputation today. The ‘World’s Top 100 Most Valuable Luxury Brands’ named Zacapa. Lorena, who believes she has the best job in the world, has extended her efforts beyond simply great rum. She believes she makes the best rum in the world, and has worked tirelessly to assist many of the women in her community, especially the widows from earlier wars. More than 700 of them work in the petate weaving industry, preparing the bands which adorn the bottles of their ‘23’, thereby making an income well above the local average. To digress, if I have an issue with Zacapa, I would prefer that they change the name of the ‘23’, as they do use
rums as young as six years old in the blend – six to twenty-three, to be precise (although I am not so concerned that I plan to stop drinking it).
One of Lorena’s most momentous decisions was to base the distillery’s ageing facilities at 2,300 metres above sea level – the house above the clouds – which contributes nuance to the final blend and ageing. They also use a form of solera, based on the Spanish sherry industry, which they call ‘Sistema Solera’. 2018 industry figures ranked Zacapa as the number one ‘ultra-premium rum’ in the world. Lorena has stated that “importantly, Zacapa does not act like a rum, it acts more like a luxury dark spirit as it is often consumed in moments where people would enjoy whisky and cognac, for example, as after-dinner drinks. Our aim is to be recognised as the best tasting super premium dark spirit in the world, as such we compete with super deluxe dark spirits in addition to other rums.” For me, this is undoubtedly true of rums like their ‘XO’ and ‘Royal’ (when served blind to friends, many mistake ‘XO’ for anything but rum, though they love it), but for me, it is impossible to mistake ‘23’ for anything other than good rum.
Back home, we are seeing some craft distilleries dabble in rum, sometimes with superb results – Archie Rose, for example – and some are in their early days. Bundaberg rules the market with daylight second, third and fourth. Australia does have, of course, an incredible history involving rum – the Rum Rebellion, anyone? And we have been making it for centuries.
Inner Circle was a legendary rum, made by CSR but almost never seen by the public as it was shared around the Board of Directors and a select few, mostly their lawyers, accountants and doctors, I believe. My father (lawyer) received his annual bottle at Christmas, for work done for the company, but as he didn’t drink, it was a bit of a waste. Most of it ended up in the Christmas plum pudding, if mum got hold of it, or drunk by his fishing mates on their trips. I managed to salvage a single bottle, hidden in the back of the cupboard for a suitable occasion – perhaps our next Bledisloe Cup series triumph: it should be more than old enough by then.
Long story, but Bundaberg ended up with the trademarks for both Inner Circle and Holey Dollar, two iconic brands. In 2000, Stuart Gilbert and friends managed to track down the last person responsible for CSR’s rum production, Malcolm Campbell, who had retired several years previously, but still had the original yeast in his fridge. He’d been carefully cultivating it for 15 years. After gaining control of the trademark (as well as the Holey Dollar rum trademark in 2004), the pair made a rum as similar as they could to the old Inner Circle, at the South Pacific Distillery in Fiji. It was wellreceived by judges and consumers.
In 2004, Stuart purchased the Beenleigh Distillery, with the first rum made in November 2005. Some years later, Inner Circle was sold to Vok Beverages and in 2008, Stuart decided to establish Holey Dollar Rum. There are big plans ahead for Holey Dollar. Whether or not they come to fruition, it is yet another quality rum on the shelves.
For many, rum will remain inextricably linked to image of Bundy and Coke. Bundaberg Rum is a successful product, our leading distillery, and for many Australians will be their entry into the world of spirits. For others, the push to the elite end of the market will mean that rum is well on the way to taking its rightful place as one of the world’s quality spirits.
