A clear path ahead?
Heritage plays its part, but bars and flavour also drive the rum revolution
Here we are in 2019, upping our rumgame with this annual that follows smaller supplements that dipped our toes into the water. It seems like 2019 has thus far seen a number of benchmarks raised in the world of rum; whether that’s the knowledge of rum-lovers, retailers with their offerings, or the producers exceeding expectations with expressions. It’s been a good year thus far and it seems like more than ever we’re on the cusp of a real renaissance for the spirit.
What drives this improvement? Sure enough, brands are offering us a greater depth of choice and increasingly higher quality, which is a consequence of rum drinkers seeking variety. However, I would hazard a guess that most people are being introduced or reintroduced to rum by a bartender looking to flex their mixing-muscles with the spirit. As we demand greater range of flavour from our drinks, bartenders are searching harder for rums that truly deliver and producers are responding to that call.
I think it’s fair to say, particularly in the major cocktail cities, that the number of bars serving quality rum-based drinks has more than grown. This is married to what appears to be an increasingly ‘higher quality’ of drinker. ‘Higher quality’ could be swapped for pain in the backside, depending on how you’re feeling on any given day. These drinkers like to ask questions and they won’t just settle for a Cuba Libre or a Mojito, they’ll want to choose a specific rum or for the bartender to recommend the best spirit for that cocktail. Similarly, more often than not we’ll reject pure-marketing talk for an honest story and crucially, for a flavour we like. It’s also the reason why more than ever a clearer lexicon for rum is needed – but I’ll leave that to Peter.
As drinkers we are becoming more flirtatious – less likely to just drink one spirit type and more likely to mix and match as the music takes us. The same goes for the brands that we enjoy – maybe we do have a ‘go-to’, but we’re also likely to pick up something that intrigues us now and then. We don’t always go for the same.
But flavour is the stickler here. Most people don’t start as rum-lovers, but as flavour-lovers. That’s where it sometimes still feels as though we’re having a bit of a wrestling match for rum’s heart.
As rum-lovers, who presumably want to spread the good word about the spirit, we have to find that balance between being open-minded with newcomers to the category and standing up for the regulations and rules.
It’s a responsibility that does also extend to producers as well. There’s plenty of good rum out there and even more good ideas about things to do with rum, but perhaps a lack of transparency to nudge it along.
Clearly rum is nuanced and that’s a good thing, but a little honesty will go a long way in driving the category forward. It’s a spirit that I believe has something for everybody and the better we all get about talking about it the more likely it is to find its way into people’s homes and drinks cabinets.
It’s my hope that this year’s Rum Magazine has something to offer all too, as we look to cover the latest trends that are making waves in the spirit, explore brands that you will have heard of – and perhaps some that you might not have. We delve into production methods and of course, we whip up some cocktails that we encourage you to try at home or order at your favourite bar.
This time of year, as more of us travel the globe whether on business or holidaying, we have also looked at the best bottles you can pick up in the exciting world of travel-retail. The world of rum is changing rapidly, as more countries around the globe turn their hand to production and we look forward to covering those as we move forward with them.
“More often than not we’ll reject pure-marketing talk for
an honest story and crucially, for a flavour we like”