Turning tides
From craft distilling to Cuban spirits, our contributing editor gives his predictions for upcoming rum trends
The world of rum is hot right now, so just what is standing out as something we are going to see a lot more of in future? Well… new products are not exactly a trend, although they reflect confidence in coming to market. You only need to keep an eye on the rum section of the ‘new products’ feed on Master of Malt to see the volume of new releases, and a quick count-up revealed something like 350 in the last year alone. Some were the result of the rebranding of existing lines, but the interest equates to confidence, and that feels like a positive trend to me.
Of those new products on Master of Malt, more than 150 were flavoured products, and that backs my prediction of the increase in spiced and flavoured options from the previous issue of Rum Magazine. Scrolling through and making tally marks showed that the first half of the year had around one in five of the new releases being categorised as a spiced or flavoured rum, with this jumping significantly in the second half. Master of Malt itself confirmed, “We’ve seen a big relative increase in spiced rum, overtaking dark rum, while other variants are largely flat over time.” It’s probably worth noting that Master of Malt does list a lot of flavoured rums, more so than other retailers.
Single flavour or pairings are now more commonplace. Want a pineapple rum? You’ve got a dozen options. Fabulous coffee-infused rum? No problem! Banana seems to the flavour of the moment though, and I think we will see far more of that. Also expect plenty of redistilled spiced rums, mostly marketing themselves as botanical rums, and those with ingredient lists that read in a way that will surely appeal to gin drinkers, as well as plenty using regional botanicals that offer a sense of provenance. Oh, and celebrity tie-ins? Judas Priest spiced rum is a thing (albeit yet untasted), but we can certainly expect many more releases like this in future.
The trend of refreshing and improving existing product lines is far from new, but one that will surely increase in the coming years. The growth of the category requires the attraction of new drinkers, and because some folks seem to equate quality with the price
point, it is not a stretch to imagine that price points will increase as well. Rum as a category has been – at least for the savvy shopper – something of a bargain, and while those days are not quite past, I think we will be paying more in general. Mount Gay led the way with a reformulation of its existing XO and Black Barrel lines. Overall, an increase in age, and hence the value of rums in the blend, saw an increase in retail value as well – and of course, a more complex, flavoursome blend. Its Port Cask release cemented the bona-fides of new master blender Trudiann Branker, whose Pot Still release launched her onto the international scene.
Appleton Estate has also followed suit, reintroducing the Eight Years Old in favour of Reserve Blend, amongst the repacking of the Signature Blend and 12 Years Old lines. Excitingly, and perhaps entirely due to the charismatic personality of Luca Gargano, the Hearts Collection hit the shelves in late 2020 in the form of a hand-picked selection of long-aged 100 per cent pot still rums – and is arguably the most exciting rum release of 2020. Something very obviously Appleton in origin, but a long way from its regular releases, compelling in so many ways and delicious – only a producer with such a pedigree when it comes to long-aged
rums could bring such a thing to market. A trendsetter for sure, as so many will be keen to emulate to the best of their abilities.
We can expect to see a lot more of Cuban rum in the future. For many years it was
‘the’ cool indie country, even though Havana Club is a huge global brand. Diageo picking up Santiago de Cuba, and the release of Eminente Reserva 7 Years Old – a Moët Hennessy brand – cements the fact that the Cuba Ron SA Corporation is ready to do business with the world. The Biden administration could well give the access that sets this reasonable trickle into a full-blown flood. Havana Club will undoubtedly respond to reaffirm its position as ‘the’ Cuban rum.
Plantation Rum was one of the first mainstream brands to offer exclusive bottlings, a savvy way of building brand relationships. This last year many more ‘Bottled Exclusively For’ labels via fantastic brands such as St Lucia Distillers, Rhum
J.M and Foursquare, among others, have been appearing with bars and retailers. I fully expect this trend to continue, and of course, you could have one for yourself if you can afford the minimum sales quantity.
The craft producer scene continues to explode around the world. Local rum production is very much on-trend with rum making from first principles – i.e. fermenting, distilling, and cask ageing.
But there is also a rise in brands putting together blends via rum merchants such as E&A Scheer. There are plenty of singlecask offerings as well – leading to the other ‘on-trend’ activity of independent bottlers. Again, this sort of thing has been around for a long time. The popularity of rum, and some folks’ desire to cash in, accordingly results in myriad offerings with the majority coming via the same rum merchants. The result is a duplication of sorts, but thanks to the diversity in presentation style, there will undoubtedly be a brand that suits you.
The cashing-in element leads me to my final observation. It is entirely right and proper to be giving full credit to the rum producer for their skills in producing the delicious liquid we love so much, and the number of enthusiasts using grown-up language to influence others is on-trend right now. Trying to appeal to the educated enthusiast – especially if you are a new producer or bottler coming to market – really will need to be done with the right language, or you risk falling at the first hurdle.