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.

Having missed out on the last Rum Club of 2011, I was really looking forward to starting the New Year at Trailer Happiness‘ Notting Hill Rum Club. And I can happily say that I wasn’t disappointed.

Having first come across Banks 5 Island Rum at September 2011’s Boutique Bar Show, I thought I knew what to expect of the evening’s rum tasting and that it would be more of an opportunity to catch up socially, with the other rum club members. So it was a pleasant surprise to find out how wrong I was. Not only did I get the chance to reacquaint myself with this distinctive white rum, but we were also introduced to its more complex brother, Banks 7 Golden Age. 

Ensuring that good things often come in three’s, James Triffo of Spirit Cartel also brought along the Banks Rum Master Blender, Arnaud de Trabuc, who talked us through our exploration of the evening’s rum and how Banks came to be.

So following a uniquely Banks 5 Island Daiquiri made by the bar team of Alex and Paul McFadyen (covering for Max and Damien), we sat down to listen to James and Arnaud explain the concept of Banks Rum.

Named after the 18th Century explorer and botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain James Cook on his first scientific expedition to the South Pacific Ocean aboard HMS Endeavour. As well as introducing the Western world to many plants, such as eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and Banksia, Sir Joseph Banks was also influential in the propagation of sugar cane in the Caribbean.

In this light, Banks Rum attempts to capture the spirit of this English naturalist by bringing together different rums from both the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean to create a distinctive premium rum.

Conceived in 2009 it took 14 months of blending and sampling, before Banks 5 Island Rum was introduced to America in June 2010 prior to it arriving on the UK shores in March 2011. It is a blend of 21 different rums aged between 1 and 5 years old from 6 different distilleries on 5 different islands: Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and the Indian Ocean island of Java.

The blend is then aged further in used Bourbon barrels in Amsterdam, before it is then charcoal filtered to remove the colour prior to it being slowly cut with Dutch water to a bottling strength of 43% ABV / 86 Proof.

The aroma is noticeably of grassy sugar cane, almost reminiscent of Brazilian Cachaça or Rhum Agricole, while the taste starts with smooth, grassy, tropical fruit flavours, that always reminds me of the British Parma Violets sweets. It finishes with a slightly sweet spiciness.

To describe this rum as unique is not an understatement, it really is unlike any other rum that I’ve tried and it’s one that continues to provoke mixed feelings for me. There’s a lot to like about this rum and I can see it being a really interesting premium white rum for a good mixologist to play with the distinctive and complex flavours. However, that same complexity that I see as allowing a creative expression is also the same complexity that I personally think is too much in some simpler cocktails, such as the Cuba Libre or the Daiquiri.  As such I don’t see this as being my go-to white rum but more of a playful premium mixing rum.

Our other rum of the evening was the soon to be introduced Banks 7 Golden Age Rum and what a treat it was. Aged between 1 and 7 years, this is a blend of 23 rums from 7 different islands: Barbados, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad and the Indian Ocean island of Java. Unfiltered, the addition of the Guatemalan and Panamanian rums give this dark amber rum a sweeter and lighter taste than Banks 5, while still retaining some of the spicy finish. Like Banks 5, it is also bottled at 43% ABV / 86 Proof. For me this was the highlight of the evening and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who likes rum.

It’s worth noting that the complexity of both of these rums is due to the distinctive blend of rums. From the simple, but strong Trinidadian rums to the full-on flavour of the pot-distilled Jamaican rums via the fruity Guyanese rum and the elegant and spicy bite of the rums from Barbados. Lastly and possibly the most distinct element in the blend is the addition of the Batavia Arrack from Java, which adds a touch of spice, along with the fresh sugar cane notes. In addition, the Banks 7 Golden Age Rum adds the sweet Solera rum from Guatemala, as well as the smooth flavours of the rum from Panama.

To round of the evening’s tasting, James teased us with a hint of Bank’s next rum, which will be named in honour of HMS Endeavour. Without a sample available for the evening, there’s not really anything more that can be said about Banks Endeavour Rum at this point, but if it’s as good as their Golden Age rum it will be worth waiting for. Watch this space for future news.

Of course no evening at Trailer Happiness would ever be complete without a bit of Tiki inspired flaming on the copper lined ceiling and what’s better than some 73% ABV / 146 Proof rum to help brighten up the place… Of course it also goes without saying, don’t try this at home as you’ll more than likely catch fire to the house, injure yourself or worse still set the cat alight…

As usual, my thanks to Max and the Trailer team for yet another great Rum Club and to James Triffo of Spirit Cartel for a wonderful evening with Banks Rum. Details for the next rum club are still pending, so please keep an eye on the Rum Diary for any update. For those interested in learning more about the London Rum Club, please either visit the website or pop into Trailer Happiness and speak to the bar staff.

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.