Offering a world-first, unique rum re-distillation experience, the Spiced Dry Rum Club will delve into the world of rum like never before.

Launching Friday 12th October 2018
144-145 Upper St
London
N1 1QY
www.lakikane.com/spiced-dry-rum-club

A spectacular and exciting secret is tucked away above Laki Kane’s tropical escape bar, in the heart of N1. After months of development and refining, the Spiced Dry Rum Club will open its doors for its first official rum experience commencing Friday 12th October. The Spiced Dry Rum Club provides a truly unique rum re-distillation experience by utilising techniques that have not previously been made available to the public including nineteen copper alembic pot stills. Lead by a rotating team of London’s foremost rum experts, guests will embark on a voyage of rum discovery, experiment with flavours and design their very own bottle of rum to take home, completely bespoke to their own tastes.

A charismatic and charming 17th century inspired interior sets the scene for this unique 2.5 hour experience taking place daily at Laki Kane’s Spiced Dry Rum Club. Run by London’s most prominent bartenders and rum experts, rum-lovers and newcomers alike will be taken on a journey through the history of rum, indulge in premium rum tastings, learn about the key ingredients used in rum making and discover the perfect cocktail pairings for this exciting new style of rum.

Each guest will be seated at one of nineteen beautifully hand-crafted, copper alembic pot stills as the Spiced Dry Rum Club master distillers guide each guest through the re-distillation process, experimenting with spices and fruits to create their very own bespoke bottle of rum to take home.

The design of the Spiced Dry Rum Club has been influenced by the 17th century maritime rum trade, tales of large ships sailing high seas is etched throughout the upstairs bar with the main Pusser’s Rum Ship table seating twelve people and the Captain’s Table seating seven.

Experiences are available to book now from £119 (plus booking fees), which includes food and drinks during the session plus the guests own 700ml bottle of rum to take home along with a Spiced Dry Rum Club gift bag containing exciting products from Laki Kane and partners. Bookings can be made at lakikane.com/spiced-dry-rum-club and further bespoke packages will be available on request.

Speaking about the launch of the Spiced Dry Rum Club, Georgi Radev (Creative Director) says: “Rum is such an amazing spirit and to be able to offer others an opportunity to learn about the history and re-distillation process is something I have wanted to do for years. The Spiced Dry Rum Club is an unforgettable experience and one that will allow rum lovers and newcomers alike to be truly immersed in the wonderful world of rum.”

The Spiced Dry Rum Club follows the success of the downstairs Tropical Escape bar, which opened its doors at Laki Kane in early July 2018. The concept was created by life-long Islington resident and businessman Steve Kyprianou, Islington local finance and operations manager, Sam Robson, and ex-Mahiki bar manager Georgi Radev, a leading tiki, rum and cocktail expert with over 16 years experience managing bars and high end spirit brands.

What’s been said about Laki Kane’s Tropical Escape Bar

“Bar of the week” – GQ

“a two-floor, plush paradise” – The Nudge

“this tropical paradise is about as close to Hawaii as you can get on the Piccadilly line” – Secret London

“Bringing a spot of tropical sunshine to Upper Street” – Design My Night

“Welcome to paradise” – Barchick

“this is a Tiki Bar with a difference” – Le Cool

“Rum drinks are delightful” – Time Out

With 2016 being the 10th annual UK RumFest and a landmark year for the “world’s oldest and most famous Rum festival”, Ian Burrell and the Rum Experience team decided to bring back the Golden Rum Barrel Awards, sponsored this year by Green Engineering and with it I was honoured to be asked to be involved in this year’s judging panel.

So imagine my surprise to learn that not only was I one of the collective of judges for the first time, but that Rum.Charlosa was also one of the five nominees in the category for the Best UK Rum Website 2016. Now I remember sitting at the 2013 Golden Rum Barrel Awards, which also happened to be the last awards ceremony, watching A Mountain of Crushed Ice receive that year’s Rum Blogger of the Year award and saying to RumwiththeMrs that I’d be over the moon, if I was just shortlisted to be a nominee.

Now, while I’ve been running this site for a number of years, I’d be lying if I tried to suggest that I’d been particularly prolific or even steady in putting out content of late, either on the site itself or over social media. However, I do try to keep abreast of my fellow bloggers and put out stuff were I can and express myself through my photography.

So I sat down with RumwiththeMrs and we voted accordingly, while trying to maintain a degree of impartiality by putting ourselves last, in our own category. So, bearing in mind the excellent company that we were keeping, with the other nominees:

• Rumbustious Times
• Rum Diaries Blog
• The Fat Rum Pirate
• The Floating Rum Shack – Golden Rum Barrel Awards 2011 Rum Blogger of the Year (Europe)

I for one was content to know that we’d been nominated and that we’d simply have the opportunity to enjoy the evening, while mingling with the likes of Appleton Estate’s Joy Spence, Foursquare Rum’s Richard Seale, Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and Martin & Rebecca Cate of the Smuggler’s Cove over a 3 course meal with rum.

As it happens, Rumbustious Times and The Fat Rum Pirate were unfortunately unable to attend the awards ceremony, but we did get to sit on the same table as our other friends, the Rum Diaries Blog and The Floating Rum Shack, along with the Brand Consultant for Spirits Elite and Bacardi’s UK Brand Ambassador Metinee Kongsrivilai. So all in all a good night as far as I was concerned.

Photo Courtesy of the Floating Rum Shack

So it’s fair to say that I wasn’t expecting what happened next when they announced the winner of the Best UK Rum Website 2016.

We won… And to top that, I was even presented with the award by the lovely Joy Spence.

Rum heaven… I’m still in shock several days later as I write this

Now the only problem with attending an awards ceremony, that you’ve been nominated in, but with no expectation of winning, is that you rarely practice any kind of speech. So you can only hope that you don’t make a fool of yourself when you do have to talk. As such I kept mine short – at least that seemed to go down well…

What wasn’t so great though in hindsight, was that I forgot to thank my lovely Wife for all her support and patience over the years with this hobby of mine. Therefore, I think it only fitting that I say a huge thank you to my RumwiththeMrs and what better way for a blogger to say it, than via a website available for everyone (of responsible drinking age) to see.

Despite forgetting to thank her though, RumwiththeMrs made it quite clear that she was proud as rum punch of the achievement- she shouted it from the top of Facebook. Thank you my Wife 😀

I’d also like to thank my fellow nominees for their graciousness and genuine congratulations – that’s among the reasons why I consider them such excellent people to know and spend time with as friends.

Lastly, I’d also like to thank both Ian Burrell for being such an amazing representative for rum and for giving us not only the UK RumFest, but also the Golden Rum Barrel Awards and also the entire judging panel for their votes. We’re aware it was a close run thing, but between which nominees we were unable to ascertain. And as corny as it might sound, simply being nominated made us all winners in my mind.

The full list of category nominees and the respective winners for the 2016 Golden Rum Barrel Awards are:

Most Influential Rum Blender over the last 10 years
Joy Spence (Appleton Rums, Jamaica) – Winner
Alexandre Gabriel (Plantation Rum, France)
Juan Gavito Sanchez (Bacardi, México)
Tito Cordero (Diplomático Rum, Venezuela)
Nestor Ortega (Santa Teresa, Venezuela)

Distillery Ambassador over past 10 years 
John Georges (Angostura Distillery, Trinidad) – Winner
Jose Sanchez Gavito (Bacardi, Mexico)
Joy Spence (Appleton Estate, Jamaica)
Richard Seale (Foursquare Distillery, Barbados)
Roberto Serralles (Serralles Distillery, Puerto Rico)

Most Influential Rum bar in the UK over past 10 years 
Trailer Happiness (London) – Winner
Mahiki (London)
Mojo’s (Leeds)
Mojo’s (Manchester)
The Liars Club, Manchester

International Rum Brand Ambassador 2016 
Alexx Mouzouris (Don Q Rum) – Winner
Daniyel Jones (Angostura Rum)
Dickie Cullimore (Bacardi Rum)
Meimi Sanchez (Havana Club)
Miguel Smith (Mount Gay Rum)

UK Rum Brand Ambassador 2016 
George Frost (Duppy Share) – Winner
Jon Lister (Diplomatico Rum)
Jonathan Almonte (Botran Rum)
Metinee Kongsrivilai (Bacardi Rum portfolio)
Sean Duprey (House of Angostura)

Rum Bar Team of the year 2016 
Mahiki, London – Winner
Trailer Happiness, London
The Merchant House, London
Rum & Sugar, London
The Liars Club, Manchester

Best UK Rum Web Site 2016
Rum Charlosa – Winner
Rumbustious Times
Rum Diaries Blog
The Fat Rum Pirate
TheFloatingRumShack.com

Best New Rum Brand in the UK 2016
Foursquare 2006 Single Blended Rum – Winner
Don Q Signature release 2005
Nine Leaves Rum Angel’s Half French Oak Cask
Velier Hampden Jamaica 2010
Wild Tiger Rum
Foursquare 11 year Zinfandel Cask

Rum Influencer of the Year 2016
Luca Gargano (Velier Rums, and Ambassador of Pure rums) – Winner
Federico Hernandez (Midwest & California Rum Fests)
Martin Cate (Smuggler’s Cove voted Best bar in USA)
Richard Seale (Foursquare Distillery)
Jeff Beachbum Berry (Tiki Historian, Author and Latitude 29 Bar owner)

Rum Menu of the Year 2016
Cubana (Sheffield) – Winner
Rum & Sugar (London)
Rum Kitchen (London)
The Merchant House (London)

Boutique RumFest Brand of the Year
Nine Leaves – Japan – Winner

Consumer’s Favourite Rum
Diplomatico rums – Venezuela – Winner

And last but not least Ian Burrell was himself presented with an engraved glass hip flask by Richard Seale, in celebration of all that he has done for the category of rum. I believe that the engraved message read as “To the great ambassador and an even better friend”. It was a wonderfully fitting end to a great night.

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First Ever Rum Experience Week is Less than One Week Away
Rum lovers invited to explore new ways with rum in a week-long series of tastings,
masterclasses, parties, music & fine dining

#rumweek

Monday 12th – Sunday 18th October 2015
London
rumexperienceweek.com

The first ever Rum Experience Week lands in London from 12th – 18th October 2015. Headed up by Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell, the seven day series aims to raise awareness of the spirit like never before and welcomes both rum newcomers and the discerning drinker to embrace the vibrant culture of rum and explore new ways to enjoy a tipple.

The rum-fuelled action kicks off on the Monday with Lamb’s Navy Rum, where those lucky enough to get a ticket can sample the first limited edition batch of Lamb’s Single Cask in one of Alfred Lamb’s old stores under the Thames at Voltaire followed by the official launch party for Rum Experience Week. Joined by the biggest experts from the world of Rum, Bourne & Hollingsworth are delighted to invite guests to The Rum Masters Tasting & Dinner on Tuesday evening, sampling four unique and bespoke rums, specially created by master distillers for the first ever Rum Experience Week. The evening’s engaging hosts consist of some of the world’s most renowned ambassadors including David Morrison from Appleton Rum, Richard Seale from Foursquare, Luca Gargano from Velier Rums and Luis Figueroa from Pampero Rum.

Rum tasting will be taken to new heights on the Tuesday as Appleton Estate Rum is offering over 400 lucky rum enthusiasts the chance to yet again take part in the ultimate ‘alternative night in’, as they present #AppletonLive the ‘Taste of Jamaica’ Appleton Estate Rum’s Twitter Tasting. Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell and Appleton Estate’s senior blender, David Morrison will host the live Twitter tasting, in which rum fans can follow online, from their very own homes, to unlock the true tastes and smells of Jamaican rum, with each tweet. Thursday welcomes rum lovers to jump aboard the Tiki Boat for Tiki On The Thames. Expect an afternoon of Tiki vibes, Tiki tunes, complementary Tiki cocktails and all things Tiki before voyagers disembark for a special after party at the famous Mahiki Club in Mayfair.

Friday sees the return of the Rum Experience University to offer rum lovers with even more of an education in rum and a recognised diploma, while industry figures gather for the annual rum trade event Boutique RumFest to sample and meet new and emerging rum brands to the UK market. Rounding off the week is the ninth annual RumFest. The huge two day rum celebration is on course for its best year yet featuring tastings of over 400 rums, cocktail making competitions, seminars, workshops, a Christie’s rum auction, incredible food and the party atmosphere of Carnival Hour.

Gerry’s Wine & Spirits will be the official Rum Shop for the Rum Experience Week featuring a RumFest Takeover from Monday 12th – Wednesday 14th October where customers will be able to sample a selection of the exclusive rums that will be hitting RumFest and Boutique RumFest later that week, as well as speak to representatives from the various brands. With daily themes visitors will also be honoured with 10% off all rum purchases during Rum Experience Week to anyone who produces a valid RumFest ticket.

The Rum Experience Week will also celebrate the classic cocktails by giving it a Rum twist; each day bars will celebrate a different Cocktail of the Day. Monday is all about the Mojito, Tuesday the sweet Daiquiri, Wednesday plays with Mai Tai, Thursday is the exotic Pina Colada and finally Friday is Planter’s Punch day. Rum fans visiting the Rum Week bars, which include: Artesian, Mahiki, Trailer Happiness, Merchant House, Rum & Sugar, Portside Parlour and London Cocktail Club will also be in with a chance of winning bottles of rum by posting a photo of themselves drinking the cocktail of the day across socials tagging #rumweek. Merchant House are also offering 50% of ALL rums across the week as hosting their weekly rum masterclass for only £20 rather than £65!

Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador and Rum Experience Week Founder comments, “We are less than a week away till the first ever Rum Experience Week hits London and the excitement is building. We’ve paired up with some of the most pioneering and exciting partners and will be seeing events pop up all over the capital for the very special week of tastings, seminars, dinners, master classes, live twitter tasting and parties. Rum is an incredibly versatile spirit and there will be no better way to celebrate this than at the first ever Rum Experience Week. See you there!”

RumFest Founder and Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell is the leading name in rum. Dedicating his life to promoting rum and rum culture around the world, over the years Burrell has been recognised with a number of industry awards as well as regularly appearing as a rum expert at events and on television shows like Sunday Brunch, the Alan Titchmarsh Show and more.

Rum Experience Week Programme

Monday 13th October
Caribbean Hands on Cookery Class
Tickets available September | Website www.divertimenti.co.uk/cookery-school | Divertimenti Cookery School, South Kensington / Knightsbridge, 227-229 Brompton Road,  London, SW3 2EP

RumFest Takeover @ Gerry’s Wine & Spirits
1PM – 6PM | 74 Old Compton St, London W1D 4UW

Cigar & Rum Pairing
Sautters Knightsbridge: 106 Mount St, London, Mayfair W1K 2TW

Alfred Lamb’s Secret Store
VIP sampling session & Rum Experience Week Launch Party | Voltaire | From 7PM RSVPs iga@wearefullfat.com

Rum Appreciation Masterclass with Peter Holland and Matugga Rum
Lounge at Library Private Members Club.

Tuesday 14th October
Cigar & Rum Pairing
1A St James’s: London SW1A 1EF

The Rum Masters Tasting & Dinner
Bourne & Hollingsworth | Rathbone Pl, London W1T 1JF | For tickets click here

Wednesday 14th October
RumFest Takeover @ Gerry’s Wine & Spirits
1PM – 6PM | 74 Old Compton St, London W1D 4UW

Cigar & Rum Pairing
La Casa Del Habano: 76 High St, Teddington TW11 8JD

Rum & Sugar Rum – Rum Cocktail Masterclass
Suitable for beginners | 6.30PM – 8PM | Rum & Sugar, Docklands

Thursday 15th October
Cigar & Rum Pairings
James J Fox: 19 St James’s St, London SW1A 1ES

Tiki on the Thames
Festival Pier departure 1.45PM – 6PM (stop off at 4PM) | £22 via Eventbrite

Rum & Sugar Live Music Gig
8PM – 11.30PM

Friday 16th October
The Rum Experience University
ILEC Conference Centre | Tickets announced soon

Boutique RumFest
ILEC Conference Centre | Trade only | Registration essential here

Rum & Rococo Chocolate Pairing
Two sittings: 5pm & 7:30pm | 3 Moxon Street, W1U 4EW | Tickets £25 & booked by contacting Sam 07469 853 957 / events@rococochocolates.com

Rum & Sugar Live Music Gig
8PM – 11.30PM

Saturday 17th October
RumFest 2015: the world’s premier rum festival
Tickets £49.95 / £75 (VIP) | rumfest.co.uk/purchase-tickets

Sunday 19th October
RumFest 2015: the world’s premier rum festival
Tickets £49.95 / £75 (VIP) | rumfest.co.uk/purchase-tickets

A few weeks ago I commented on a FB posting of a BBC article about a guy going off on a Rum Journey to track down a legendary Jamaican Rum. It appears that the author, Nick Davis, traipsed high and low around Jamaica like a Canadian Mountie to find his rum. And like any good Mountie, he found his Rum. Now I can appreciate the idea of an adventure, especially when it involves rum and therefore I finished my comment with:

 Personally I like the idea of going on a Rum Journey 🙂

So move forward to last week when an oft-trodden trip to the Whisky Exchange in London to pick up some supplies, started my own Rum Journey.

Of late in the Charlosa household, Plantation Gran Añejo Guatemala Rum had become the go-to rum for the other half of #RumwiththeMrs. Having all of the qualities of one of Mrs Charlosa’s favourite but somewhat more expensive rums from the same country, but for almost half the price, maintaining a supply of Gran Añejo has always been a bit of a no-brainer. So with the previously purchased bottle lasting no more than a few weeks, I set off to pick up a couple of replacement bottles.

To my surprise, they only had the one bottle left on the shelf. However an even bigger surprise was just around the corner, because when I asked when more stock would be due in, it was pointed out that the Plantation Gran Añejo had changed; that the bottle in my hand was the new blend and that the old “family favourite” had been discontinued with no stock left…

So here was a dilemma; was the last bottle that I’d bought and we’d enjoyed, like there was no tomorrow, the old blend or the new one. You’d think I’d know, but considering I was holding a bottle in my hands and I hadn’t even noticed the difference on the label, how could I remember about the bottle that we’d already put in the recycling bin and had been taken away the day before…

So now my challenge was to try and track down some old stock so at least I could do a taste comparison, both for my own blogging purposes, but also to know whether Mrs Charlosa was going to be happy with the new blend or whether we’d need to find her a new go-to rum for her Rum & Diet Coke’s. And so begun my own Adventurous Plantation Gran Añejo Rum Journey.

Now I do wish that this adventure involved a trip to the home of Plantation Rum: Maison Ferrand’s Château de Bonbonnet in the Charentais region of France or even to Guatemala to visit the Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala which is where the rum is originally produced, but that’s not to say that this little adventure wasn’t without peril. So from the confines of my desk I surfed the web looking for alternative suppliers carrying stock.

Despite indicating that the Gran Añejo was out of stock at Gerry’s Wines and Spirits I figured what harm could come of phoning them to confirm. While I may not have lost life or limb, my wallet ended up being lighter following that call. See, it turned out that the Gerry’s 4th Limited Edition Plantation Rum had arrived in that day and it was rum from Guatemala that had been aged for nine months in an Ice Wine Cask. So with my arm twisted I made the perilous journey through the jungle that is the West End of London on a Thursday evening in search of the colourful region that is Old Compton Street. While I may not have found the MacGuffin of my quest, I had in the meantime found something equally valuable. The Gerry’s Limited Plantation Rum’s are highly sort after treasures and with it being Guatemalan Rum and only 450 bottles to the cask I’d struck gold with this find. But I still didn’t have my Plantation Gran Añejo Guatemala Rum…

However, there’s a part to this tale that hasn’t been told yet. Shortly after coming off the phone from Gerry’s I’d called The Drink Shop to check whether the stock that they had listed was the new or the old blend. So after taking a yonder through the warehouse to grab a bottle, the customer services maiden was able to confirm that it had only the word Guatemala written in the red strip on the bottle. So having indicated that I was after two bottles, it turned out that there were just three bottles left. How could I in good conciseness leave one of those little fellows by itself. So after the little ones faced the perils of the courier service, travelling thousands of metres from the depths of Kent to the City of London, it would appear that my adventure is nearly at an end.

I say nearly, because now that I have both the new and old blends of Plantation Gran Añejo Rum, I need to open them up and compare them. But that’s a bedtime story for another day…