{"id":1769,"date":"2013-10-03T00:00:37","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T23:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rum.charlosa.com\/blog\/?p=1769"},"modified":"2013-10-06T09:46:29","modified_gmt":"2013-10-06T08:46:29","slug":"the-uk-rumfest-2013-sneak-peak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rum.charlosa.com\/blog\/rum\/the-uk-rumfest-2013-sneak-peak","title":{"rendered":"The UK RumFest 2013 (Sneak Peak)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

This year’s exhibitors list includes: Angostura Rum<\/a>, Appleton Estate Rum<\/a>, Banks Rum<\/a>, Blackwell Rum<\/a>, Bristol Classic Rum<\/a>, Chairman’s Reserve Rum<\/a>, Cruzan Rum<\/a>, Don Papa Rum<\/a>, DonQ Rum<\/a>, Doorly’s Rum<\/a>, El Dorado Rum<\/a>, English Harbour Rum<\/a>, Gosling’s Rum<\/a>, Green Island Rum<\/a>, Koko Kanu<\/a>, Lamb’s Rum<\/a>, Mount Gay Rum<\/a>, Mount Gilboa Rum, Old Grog Rum<\/a>, Pink Pigeon Rum<\/a>, Plantation Rum<\/a>, Pusser’s Rum<\/a>, Pyrat Rum<\/a>, R St Barth<\/a>, Ron Bacardi<\/a>, Ron Barcelo<\/a>, Ron Botran<\/a>, Ron Brugal<\/a>, Ron de Jeremy<\/a>, Ron Diplom\u00e1tico<\/a>, Ron Fortuna<\/a>, Ron Zacapa<\/a>, Rum Fire<\/a>, St. Aubin Rum<\/a>, St. Nicholas Abbey Rum<\/a>, Toz Rum<\/a>, Virgin Gorda Rum, Wray & Nephew Rum<\/a>, XM Royal Rum<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So what else can you look forward to? Well the UK RumFest describes itself as:<\/p>\n

… 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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<\/a> for some photographic inspiration of some of the things to expect at RumFest.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>; 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<\/a> conducted by industry experts and master blenders.<\/p>\n

\"RumFest<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> come in two flavours and cost \u00a325 and \u00a345 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 \u00a380, giving a saving of \u00a310 over separate tickets for both days. All tickets are subject to a booking fee.<\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n