A growing presence
Rum looks to lay a marker down in duty-free
Rum has not traditionally played a big role in the duty-free business outside the Caribbean where airport stores and downtown tax-free stores naturally prioritise local varieties. Elsewhere, it’s Scotch whisky and Cognac that still dominate. Of course, Bacardi Carta Blanca is the one rum travellers will find in just about every airport shop they pass through. It accounts for more than a third of duty-free rum sales with the well-known Captain Morgan and
Havana Club the second and third-ranked brands respectively.
In recent years, however, Bacardi has been using its dominant position in the marketplace to introduce travellers to some its older, more premium expressions such as the new Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial, which has just launched exclusively at DFS Group’s stores in Asia/ Pacific and the US at airports such as Singapore Changi, Hawaii and Los Angeles. The new rum is aged a minimum of 16 years in American oak barrels in the hot Caribbean, a length of time Bacardi believes is equivalent to 40 years of Scotch whisky maturation.
In terms of its flavour profile, Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial has warm, woody notes, as well as stone fruit and caramel on the palate. It possesses a pleasingly smooth velvety texture and a decidedly viscous mouthfeel. Bottled at 40% ABV, Bacardi Gran Reserva Especial has a recommended duty-free price of about $100 (£79) for a 1-litre bottle.
Keep a look out too for Bacardi Reserva Limitada, which once was only sold exclusively at Bacardi’s giant Puerto Rico distillery, but is now widely available in duty-free priced at about €76 (£68) for a 1-litre bottle. Presented in a stunning-looking black bottle and gift tube, Bacardi Reserva Limitada is aged in oak barrels for 17 years, but the rum is balanced with a small proportion of younger rum to give it smoothness. The nose has a nutty quality and the palate offers caramel, honey and ginger cake, while the finish is long and rich.
“Understanding exactly what an age statement
on a rum means can be tricky”
Bacardi also distributes Santa Teresa rum 1796 in duty-free and this single-estate Venezuelan rum, which contains a blend of rums aged between five and 35 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, is well worth tracking down. The rum is made to the west of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, at the Hacienda Santa Teresa, which commendably has allowed local gang members to work at the distillery and arranges rugby matches for them to let off steam.
Priced at about €60 (£53.60) for a 1-litre bottle, Santa Teresa 1796 has distinctive Cognac and Bourbon notes on its complex nose, while its dry palate has some gentle, smoky notes alongside flavours of dark chocolate, vanilla, plum, honey and leather. It’s a real crowd pleaser, which is still quite hard to find in many domestic markets.
Now that Diageo distributes and markets super-premium Zacapa 23 Ron Centenario, the Guatemalan rum has become widely available in duty-free stores worldwide. Containing a blend of rums aged between six and 23 years at around 200 metres above sea level, this superbly rich rum is packed full of dried fruit flavours, honeyed butterscotch and tropical fruit. Enjoy this great rum neat or in a simple rum-based Old Fashioned cocktail.
Understanding exactly what an age statement on a rum means can be tricky given the diversity of production methods and ageing systems used in different rum-producing countries, but in Jamaica it’s simple. The number on the bottle refers to the age of the youngest spirit in the blend. The island’s Appleton Estate Distillery, located in the lush Nassau Valley, produces some outstanding older rums that are now widely available in duty free and are even stocked at Sydney airport in Australia.
At Sydney, Heinemann Duty Free stocks the rare Appleton Estate Joy, a blend of rums aged between 25 and 35 years of age, which was released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the distillery’s pioneering female master blender Joy Spence. Presented in an attractive decanter and priced at A$270 (£150), Appleton Estate Joy has a deep amber colour and delivers warm spice, orange peel, ginger on the palate followed by a dry, oaky finish.
Outside of the Caribbean, arguably the finest selection of rum stocked by an airport retailer is at the Dubai airport stores of Le Clos, the fine wine and spirits retailer. Le Clos has bought up a wide range of Caroni rums. Full-bodied and once supplied to the British Navy, Caroni rums are highly sought after by collectors eager to snap up rare vintage bottles from now the closed Trinidadian rum distillery before stocks dry up completely.
Among the vintage Caroni rums on sale at Le Clos is the rare Caroni Millennium Extra Strong: a 60% ABV, 15-years-old rum distilled in 2000, just two years before the distillery closed, and presented in 1.5-litre bottle and priced at AED2,790 (£600). This release is a classic example of the distillery’s trademark style, woody, spicy with lots of tropical fruit, tobacco and treacle flavours.
In summary, the rum offer at most duty-free stores outside the Caribbean is still basic. However, the growing interest in superpremium rums is slowing forcing buyers to expand their offer beyond the usual suspects. As we’ve seen, Bacardi is using duty-free to showcase its older rum ranges and Diageo has made Zacapa widely available. Now premium brands such as Matusalem, Flor de Caña, Plantation and Diplomaticó are also eyeing duty-free as a way to expand overseas, which has to be good news for the travelling rum lover.