In the run-up to the UK’s largest rum-tasting exhibition, RumFest, The Whisky Exchange will be hosting a soirée to look into the world of aged rums.

They’re delighted to welcome Stefanie Holt, International Brand Ambassador for El Dorado Rum, to present a range of sipping rums from around the Caribbean.

Although Stefanie works for Demerara Distillers, makers of El Dorado Rum, she is very much a champion of rum as a whole. Basically, if you’re drinking her rum then that’s great, but so long as you’re drinking any quality rum, it’s all good!

Education is the name of the game and to this end, Stefanie will present a range of seven aged rums. Each has its own unique style and is representative of the island or country that it is from.

The line-up for this exotic Caribbean cruise is as follows:

• Matusalem 15yo Gran Reserva
• Diplomatico Single Vintage 2000
• Barbancourt 15yo
• Rhum JM 2002
• Appleton Estate 12yo
• El Dorado 15yo
• El Dorado 21yo

The tasting will take place on Monday 29 September, 7.30pm. Tickets are priced £30 each.

As ever, tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and are limited to two per customer. Tickets went on sale at 3pm, Wednesday 17 September

To book your ticket, call: 020 7403 8688 or visit the shop:

The Whisky Exchange Vinopolis
1 Bank End, London, SE1 9BU

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.

With less than a week to go to, the fifth annual Boutique Bar Show is shaping up to be a great event at London’s Royal Horticultural Halls.

Taking place over 2 days, between Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st September 2011, this On-Trade show features a great selection of the smaller boutique brands, representing a number of spirits, including; Rum, Cachaça, Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey & Bourbon, Gin, Liqueurs, Beer & Cider, as well as a number of other spirits and Juices & Mixers.

Confirmed Rum and Cachaça brands attending the show are: Boca Loca Cachaça, Koko Kanu, Appleton Estate Rum, Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, Germana Cachaça, Pink Pidgeon, Ron Barcelo, Flor De Cana Rum, Kraken Spiced Rum, Banks Rum, Doorly’s Rum and Chairman’s Reserve.

The show also features a number of seminars and speakers, along with competitions. If you already missed the Manchester show in May and cannot make the London dates, Edinburgh will be hosting the last Boutique Bar Show this October. For more information please visit www.boutiquebarshow.com and if you’re interested in attending the show, please don’t forget to register.

With so many rums on the market, picking one for my first full rum review was never going to be an easy choice. However that choice became a lot easier, thanks largely to the generous support provided by the lovely people at J Wray & Nephew, the parent distillery of Appleton Estate Rum.

With a history dating at least as far back as 1749, Jamaica’s Appleton Estate is known for its hand crafted blended rums and their unique taste and quality.

The flagship rum of their range, the Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum is a blend of fifteen rums of varying types and ages. Golden in colour, with a rich orangey aroma and a smooth, rich and sweet taste, this rum makes for a great premium mixing rum, while still retaining enough character and complexity for sipping over ice.

Presented in the distinctively shaped Appleton Estate 70cl bottle, with its depictions of a traditional sugar plantation and the rum distillery, Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum  has been bottled at 40% ABV / 80 Proof.

The tastings and cocktail making were done over several evenings, allowing an opportunity to properly assess the qualities of the rum. Tastings included sampling the rum neat and over ice, as well as the base rum in the following cocktails: Cuba Libre, Daiquiri, Mai Tai and Mojito.

Tasting Notes

Neat – In its most basic form, the Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum has a smooth start with a slightly spicy after-bite. Notes of honey and burned sugar come through in the mouth, while the aroma has a noticeable orange peel scent.

Over Ice – Adding ice to this rum really lets it open up and gives it a silky smooth finish. Given a choice between drinking this rum neat or over ice, over ice would always be my preferred choice.

Cuba Libre – Despite the strong flavour of the lime, the complex flavours of this rum really shine through, giving this cocktail a more noticeable and robust taste.

Daiquiri – Again the stronger flavour of the V/X rum stands out in this classic cocktail. While not quite as refreshing as when made with a good white mixing rum, this Daiquiri had plenty of taste and made for an excellent cocktail. If trying this one yourself, you may want to add a touch more sugar to compensate for the more complex flavours of the rum.

Mai Tai – With this cocktail calling for both a golden and a dark rum, I feared that the flavours of the V/X might be lost among the stronger flavours of the Myers’s dark rum. This fear was proved unfounded as, despite being more subtle than in some of the other coctails here, the character of the V/X came through and helped this drink come alive. Definately a good combination of rums in this great drink.

Mojito – Like the Daiquiri, this is another cocktail that is known for its refreshingly light taste and is most often made with a white mixing rum. Adding a golden rum was clearly going to change the taste profile of this cocktail, giving it more character and flavour. And with the quality and complexity of the V/X, this change was certainly a positive one. Although it still made for an excellent Mojito with white sugar, you may want to experiment making this with some form of brown sugar, thereby complimenting the rum with the more complex sugar taste.

In summary Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum makes for an excellent mixer, deserving of its premium label. It brings a smooth and complex taste to all of the classic cocktails (Cuba Libre, Daiquiri, Mai Tai and Mojito) without being too overbearing or distractive from the expected taste. It is also easy enough to sip and enjoy it over ice making this rum a great all rounder.

Further Information – Appleton Estate Rum

Rating – Great Mixer to Sip