Returning for a fourth year, the Golden Rum Barrel Awards recognized exquisite, stand-out rums, as well as individuals, who have made a significant contribution to the rum industry over the last twelve months. Winners were carefully selected by Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell and a panel of experts with awards including ‘Best Blogger of the Year’, A Mountain of Crushed Ice and Destilerias Unidas S.A. (Venezuela) who picked up ‘Rum Distillery of the Year’ plus Virgin Gorda Rum receiving ‘Boutique Rum of The Year’. 2013’s Master Blender of the Year was picked up by the hugely talented Tito Cordero for both his depth of experience and for producing what is, arguably, the finest and most consistent rum with his Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva blend.

The inaugural ‘The Rum Experience Hall Of Fame’, launched on Saturday as part of the UK RumFest, recognized those who have proved to be a phenomenal force within the industry. Master Blender Lorena Vásquez Ampié‘s dedication to the promotion of Guatemalan rums, particularly Ron Zacapa to a new and discerning rum clientele was recognized as the first in a number of inductees on the night. Passionate about the art of crafting premium rum, Lorena is driven by her quest for perfection and is one of a small number of female master blenders in the world. Jose Sanchez Gavito has been a master blender for over 36 years and has been pushing the boundaries for new rum throughout his career. After retiring, from making rum in Mexico for Bacardi, Jose then joined the Bacardi Global team to create a new wave of “retro rums” such as the Bacardi ‘Heritage edition’, which has broken new ground and re-introduced Bacardi rum to the cocktail & mixology world.

Laurie Barnard, Chairman of St. Lucia Distillers, was seen by many as one of the greatest rum makers of his generation. A man with great dreams and ambition for Caribbean rum to be seen as the great spirit, worldwide. He was committed to quality control, as well as diversity in the production and distribution of his rum. Sadly Mr Barnard passed away in October 2012 but his legacy lives on through his rums like Chairman’s Reserve and Elements 8. Laurie’s award was received on his behalf by London Boxer David “The Hayemaker” Haye.

Master Distiller Richard Seale was awarded for constantly proving that “Rum innovation is rum tradition waiting to happen”. Richard Seale is a rum trend setter. A 3rd generation rum maker, he was definitely “born to make rum”.

Francisco Don Pancho Fernandez is a pioneering Master Blender and for over 50 years, Cuban born Don Pancho has been involved in making great Spanish styled rum. During the 1970’s as director of the Cuban Beverage Industry, Don Pancho helped in the renovation process of the rum industry in Cuba, introducing modern technology, renovating the cask inventories and modernizing the plants and distilleries. He also helped to improve fermentation, production and blending techniques that set the standard worldwide enabling him to travel the world and interact with different spirit industries such as Whisky in Scotland and Vodka in Poland. These multicultural exchanges developed his experience and skill and made Don Pancho the quintessential Master Blender he is today, with a unique and personal touch. Rums like Zafra 21, Ron Abuelo and of course Ron de Jeremy rum has kept Don at the top of his game.

 2013 GOLDEN RUM BARREL AWARD WINNERS:

Boutique Rum of the Year sponsored Imbibe Magazine 

Virgin Gorda Rum

Rum Distillery of the Year

Destilerias Unidas S.A. (Venezuela)

Master Blender of the Year sponsored by Green Engineering 

Tito Cordero

Rum Blogger of the Year sponsored by Don Q Rum 

A Mountain Of Crushed Ice

Rum Experience Hall of Fame Award

Lorena Vásquez Ampié
Jose Sanchez Gavito
Laurie Barnard
Richard Seale
Francisco Don Pancho Fernandez

Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador comments, “This year’s Golden Rum Barrel Awards plays tribute to the pioneers within the the industry whether blend or being. Rums rising popularity throughout the world can be attributed to many of these esteemed individuals or brands and we are thrilled to announce such an incredible range of distillers, master blenders, ambassadors and rum blends from all over the world.”

UK RUMFEST ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL AFTER PARTY

THE WORLD’S LARGEST RUM FESTIVAL WILL HONOUR THE INDUSTRY’S FINEST AT THE FOURTH ANNUAL GOLDEN RUM BARREL AWARDS
Saturday 12th 2013, The May Fair Hotel

Returning for a fourth year, the Golden Rum Barrel Awards recognises exquisite, stand-out rums and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the rum industry over the last year. Winners will be carefully selected by Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell and a panel of experts, with a special RumRatings Award for Best Rum at UK RumFest voted for by the public at the RumRatings website. The awards form part of UK RumFest’s intimate after party, where the public and trade professionals can keep the rum flowing with Havana Club and Don Q serving up delicious cocktails, mouth-watering canapés will be offered for all helping to soak up the rum fuelled day and music played out at the stunning five star May Fair Hotel, within the heart of London.

2013 GOLDEN RUM BARREL AWARD CATEGORIES

Boutique Rum of the Year sponsored Imbibe Magazine

Rum Experience Hall of Fame Award

Rum Distillery of the Year

Master Blender of the Year sponsored by Green Engineering

Rum Blogger of the Year sponsored by Don Q Rum

Best New Rum (UK)

RumRatings.com Award for Best Rum at the Show (as voted by the general public at www.rumratings.com)

Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador comments, “This year’s Golden Rum Barrel Awards takes on a new exciting turn opening its doors to a wider and wanting audience who will witness awards given to those making huge waves the industry. We have carefully selected individuals and brands who are at the top of their game and work endlessly to promote their rum brand. It also happens to be the perfect way to continue the party on after Saturday RumFest celebrations.”

Returning to the UK’s capital this October, the world famous UK RumFest takes place on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October 2013 taking each visitor on a voyage of rum discovery at London’s ExCeL Exhibition Centre. The seventh annual UK RumFest showcases over 400 of the rarest and most exquisite rums from across the globe, as well as cocktail demonstrations, intimate seminars and masterclasses hosted by industry aficionados. The delectable Tropical Food Market will feature mouthwatering food from all over the world, plus live music and main stage presentations creating an incredible two days of rum infused fun. This year UK RumFest presents for the first time the Connoisseur’s Cove area giving the discerning drinker the opportunity to delve further into rum’s rich culture and sip, savour and discover some of the rarest rums on the market. Limited tickets are available with standard tickets priced at £25 plus booking fee or the Connoisseur’s Cove tickets priced at £45 plus booking fee, all available with more information from the UK RumFest website.

With a week and half to go until this year’s UK RumFest, what can you expect of your day out immersing yourself in all things rum? Well for starters, Rum and a lot of it.

It may sound obvious, but with so many rum producers exhibiting at the show and with most of them having more than one expression of rum available, for those who have never been before, if can be quite an overwhelming experience as to how much rum there is to choose from on the day.

This year’s exhibitors list includes: Angostura Rum, Appleton Estate Rum, Banks Rum, Blackwell Rum, Bristol Classic Rum, Chairman’s Reserve Rum, Cruzan Rum, Don Papa Rum, DonQ Rum, Doorly’s Rum, El Dorado Rum, English Harbour Rum, Gosling’s Rum, Green Island Rum, Koko Kanu, Lamb’s Rum, Mount Gay Rum, Mount Gilboa Rum, Old Grog Rum, Pink Pigeon Rum, Plantation Rum, Pusser’s Rum, Pyrat Rum, R St Barth, Ron Bacardi, Ron Barcelo, Ron Botran, Ron Brugal, Ron de Jeremy, Ron Diplomático, Ron Fortuna, Ron Zacapa, Rum Fire, St. Aubin Rum, St. Nicholas Abbey Rum, Toz Rum, Virgin Gorda Rum, Wray & Nephew Rum, XM Royal Rum

While some of this rum will be available in the form of cocktails, most will be provided in the form of 1cl tasters – all the better for being able to appreciate the flavour and character of the rum. For those of you who are not used to drinking spirits neat, the best piece of advise to be offered is pace yourself, drink plenty of water from the various water coolers dispersed around the show and follow the RumFest Etiquette Guidelines.

So what else can you look forward to? Well the UK RumFest describes itself as:

… an international celebration of rum & cane spirit. The Rum Experience prides itself on bringing together the finest rum, great food and a range of educating seminars and entertainment to make learning about rum both fun and stimulating.

From personal experience, this statement does truly sum up what to expect when visiting RumFest and it’s also fair to say that words alone cannot sum up the experience. Of course, if you don’t follow the advice given above, you might find it even harder to put anything into words the following day… So lets forget words for a moment and rely on the old adage of a picture paints a thousand words and check out the Rum@Charlosa Pinterest board for some photographic inspiration of some of the things to expect at RumFest.

And what of the great food, education and the fun mentioned above. Well it includes: live entertainment, such as Salsa, Soca, Reggae, Zouk and Samba; the Tropical Food Market; the Cooking Demonstration Stage (hosted by Chef Hasan de Four); Food and Rum Pairings; the chance to win holidays to the Caribbean and visit a real rum distillary; live cocktail demonstrations; cocktails to try from some of the UKs best mixologists; hundreds of rums to try and buy and several Rum Experience University Masterclasses conducted by industry experts and master blenders.

All being well you’re now sold on the idea of the rum, but which shores must you head to with a steady wind in search of this here pirate’s booty. Well, for the second year in the events history you can expect to set sail towards the ExCel Exhibition Centre on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock in London Docklands. The nearest station is Custom House on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which is served from either the Tower Gateway or Stratford lines through to Beckton.

The UK RumFest 2013 opens its doors at 12pm midday on Saturday 12th October, with last pours at 4.30pm and closes at 5pm. For those of you who either can’t make the Saturday or just love rum that much that you need to head back for a second day, you’ll be pleased to know that RumFest is also opening its doors for the same times on Sunday 13th October.

Now you know when and where to head for your rum, how much is this little expedition going to cost you to get there. Well RumFest tickets come in two flavours and cost £25 and £45 each day for the Rum Experience Ticket and the Connoisseur Cove Ticket respectively. For the serious rum lover, you can alternatively purchase a weekend Connoisseur Cove Ticket for £80, giving a saving of £10 over separate tickets for both days. All tickets are subject to a booking fee.

So what do you get for your money and which ticket should you go for. Well this will largely depend on what you’re interested in for the day. Both tickets will give you:

• The Rum Bars sampling 1cl tots in exchange for your tokens ( full sized cocktails will be on sale)

• Small selection of rum brands sampling 1cl tots in exchange for your tokens

• The Main Entertainment Stage

• Seminar Rooms

• Tropical Food Market stands selling hot and cold food

• Food Demonstration Stage hosted by Chef Hasan De Four

• 5 tasting sample tokens to exchange for 1cl sample and 50ml mini cocktail samples within the Rum Experience Area ( no more tokens will be available to purchase).

But only the Connoisseurs Cove tickets will also include:

• Entry to the Connoisseurs Cove with a selection of brands exhibiting their premium rums and serving 1cl samples (no drink tokens needed here)

And for those of you in the professional drinks trade, make sure you register for The Boutique RumFest, which runs alongside RumFest, for the opportunity to see and try many new brands and expressions, many of whom are looking for UK distribution.

So now you know what to expect, what are you waiting for, mark Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th October in your diary, head over to the UK RumFest 2013 Website and book your tickets now and make you so you finish London Cocktail Week with some serious rum fun.

Oh did I not mention it’s London Cocktail Week next week… You wait ages for a drinks event to turn up and then they all turn up at the same time – no wait, isn’t that meant to be buses… Anyway, make sure you also check out the London Cocktail Week website to help get you in the right spirit for the UK RumFest 2013.

COINCIDING WITH THE WORLDS LARGEST RUM FESTIVAL, BOUTIQUE RUMFEST RETURNS TO
CELEBRATE THE RUM INDUSTRY’S EMERGING TALENT IN A SPECIAL TRADE ONLY EVENT
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th October 2013, London’s ExCeL

Rum’s popularity has soared in recent years, becoming the UKs fastest growing spirit and the drink of choice for millions across the globe. There has also been a large rise in smaller brands available on the market and Boutique RumFest offers a platform for emerging distillers who would not necessarily have the opportunity otherwise to showcase their new products. Brands appearing at this year’s event will benefit from exposure to key industry figures including wholesalers, buyers, distributors and importers, giving them an invaluable opportunity to develop and grow within the industry. Bringing rum’s finest together for one weekend, brands for this year include Real McCoy Rum, Santiago De Cuba, Westerhall Rum and many more. No other event within the UK and beyond offers such an unrivalled and valuable opportunity.

Likewise, attendees to this year’s intimate showcase will be given a real insight into these developing brands and will gain a unique understanding into the world of this burgeoning spirit. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample and taste some of the newest brands on the market.

Boutique RumFest is an invitation/registration ONLY event, if you are a member of the Trade or Press please apply for tickets via the RumFest registration form. Attendees to Boutique RumFest will also gain complimentary access to the general area at UK RumFest, The Rum Experience. Those who wish to gain access to the Connoisseurs’ Cove area will need to purchase tickets from the RumFest website.

Founder of the Boutique and UK RumFest and Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell comments: “We are delighted to see the return of Boutique RumFest this year. UK RumFest is the ultimate celebration of all things rum and it’s so important that rising, independent brands are given the platform to showcase their talents and the recognition they clearly deserve. Boutique RumFest 2012 proved to be great stepping stone for small, emerging rum brands and we can’t wait to see even more join us in October.”

UK RumFest is presented by The Rum Experience and takes place on Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th October 2013 at London’s ExCeL Exhibition Centre. Standard tickets for this year’s RumFest are now on sale from 25 and includes access to the central zone featuring Rum Bars and selected Rum brands, the Tropical Food Market with live demo stage, seminar rooms and the Main Stage presentation area. The Connoisseurs’ Cove tickets are priced at 45 allowing an additional exclusive access to the most exquisite rum brands available at the moment where visitors are invited to take their journey of rum discovery to the next level. Weekend tickets are priced at 80 and include access to the Connoisseurs’ Cove. All tickets and more information are available from the UK RumFest website.