With a month to go until The UK RumFest returns to London on the weekend of the 11th & 12th of October, what better way to celebrate such a milestone then to remind everyone what they can expect over the weekend. With the old saying that a picture paints a thousand words in mind, what could be better than an entire Gallery to paint several thousand words from The UK RumFest 2013.

With the first 12 pictures uploaded today highlighting Ron Botran, Ron Centenario and Virgin Gorda, the rest of the Gallery will be added over the next couple of weeks showcasing other brands along the way.

For more details and to purchase tickets, please go to The UK RumFest 2014 website.

GLOBAL RUM AMBASSADOR TO STAGE THE WORLD’S LARGEST RUM TASTING
AS PRECURSOR TO EIGHTH ANNUAL RUMFEST

Very limited spaces available to the Guiness World Record attempt
and tickets available now on a first come first serve basis

Thursday 9th October 2014,
London’s ILEC, Earl’s Court
Tickets at £10, now on sale from rumfest.co.uk

For the first time in history, RumFest invites guests to become part of a record breaking attempt to host the world’s largest rum tasting, with hundreds of rum enthusiasts coming together to sample six esteemed rums from across the globe.

Representing Jamaica, Appleton’s Rum will be sipped and savoured with commentary from revered Master Blender, Joy Spence, whilst the Spanish style of rum, Don Q will be sipped and savoured with a yet to be announced speaker. For a historical twist Pusser’s Navy Rum will be presented by George Freegard and Peter Thornton. Angostura will bring a taste of Trinidad to the evening hosted by Master Distiller John Georges and the delights of Cuban’s classic Havana Club will be a part of the World Record Attempt with one final rum to be announced in the coming weeks.

Doors will open at 5pm where guests will be greeted with a welcome speech from Global Rum Ambassador and RumFest founder Ian Burrell, followed by an introduction to the rules and regulations of the Guinness World Records. From 6.30pm the world record attempt will begin as guests taste the six rums from some of the world’s most revered rum distilleries followed by an audience Q&A and the presentation of the Guinness World Records certificate.

Global Rum Ambassador and RumFest Founder Ian Burrell comments, “The possibility of hosting the World’s Largest Rum Tasting is incredibly exciting and we cannot wait to share the experience with so many rum lovers and it will be the perfect way to kick off what will be four days of superb rum celebrations. Rum is a spirit loved by many and to have the chance to taste six esteemed rums hosted by their top master blenders, ambassadors and distillers is an honour and a privilege. I cannot wait to share it with you all!”

The RumFest takes place in London at the ILEC on Friday 10th for press and trade and Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th October 2014 for trade and consumers. Standard tickets are now on sale at 49.95 for Saturday and Sunday, which include access to all areas of the the event and single measure tastings from the majority of exhibitors. The brand new Golden Tot Tokens are 5 each and allow for additional access to the more premium rums on offer. One token can be exchanged for rum retailing 80 – 100 and more expensive rums will be available for additional tokens. For full information please visit the RumFest website.

Three-day Ron Montero Festival launches on tropical coast of Granada, Spain.

Purveyors of premium rum celebrate rum culture with interactive tours, mixology classes, live music, parties and more at the Ron Montero Festival held on the 6th, 7th & 8th June 2014 in Motril, Granada

Launched by Ron Montero, Europe’s last remaining rum distillery and taking place in the Andalusian city of Motril, Ron Montero Festival is the ultimate experience for rum lovers.

Ron Montero has carefully curated a series of interactive Food and Cocktail Trails for festival-goers to explore the local cuisine. Using the official Ron Montero Festival App, rum lovers will be able to win points on a virtual passport as they embark on Tapas, Night or Sweet routes through the city and stop off at local foodie hotspots as well as amateur mixology workshops. The more points amassed the more chance of winning prizes.

Celebrating every aspect of the spirit, the Ron Montero festival will provide revellers with performances by The Monderos who tell tales of the rum harvests, live music around the city, an exhibition of giant 50th anniversary Ron Montero bottles, painting contests and cinema screenings as well as rum-inspired poetry and literature.

The sub-tropical climate has for centuries provided the perfect conditions for growing sugar cane and the festival will offer guests a voyage of discovery as Motril opens the doors to its rich rum lineage. Afiacionados will see the rum-making process first hand and even taste the sugarcane as they are taken on guided tours that roam through the Pre-Industrial Sugar Cane Museum, La Zafra sugarcane farm, Motril History Museum, the Interpretation Centre of Sugar Cane and of course the famous Ron Montero Distillery.

The Ron Montero Festival was launched by Ron Montero, a legendary authority on premium rum who last year celebrated their 50th anniversary and entered the UK market through Amathus Drinks. The distillery was founded in 1963 by Francisco Montero and as the only European rum distillery open to the public, Ron Montero is dedicated to educating and celebrating the rich rum heritage of the Tropical Coast of Granada and supporting tourism in the region.

Tickets start at €10 and are available at www.ticketea.com/festivalronmonterodemotril.

The menus from the Food and Cocktail Trail are €25 and the Tapas are €9. A variety of accommodation is available throughout the city for various budgets. For example, a standard room at the Hotel Salobreña is less than €50 per night.

Further information, including the Festival Programme can be found on the Ron Montero Festival Page

The International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), is widely generally acknowledged as one of the most prestigious and independent contests of its type in the world, with its rigorous judging: the tastings last seven months with over 300 judges from 30 countries.

This year’s winners were announced at last night’s awards ceremony held at The Guildhall in London and most noteably for us rum drinkers is that Demerara Distillers won both the American & Caribbean Spirits Producer award and The Rum Trophy for their excellent 8 Year Old El Dorado Rum.

Add this to a couple of extra Gold Outstanding awards for their sumptuous El Dorado 12 Year Old and the already highly decorated El Dorado 15 Year Old rums, along with a Gold award for the El Dorado 21 Year and an Outstanding Silver award for their El Dorado 5 Year Old and I think  it’s fair to say that Demerara Distillers are deservedly,  having another great year.

Full details on these awards and all the other awards in the Rum category can be found on the IWSC website.