The Rum Daddy

Rum Renaissance Miami May 14- 17, 2009

The Americas grew up on rum. The North American colonies relied on rum as an integral part of their commerce, up to the Revolutionary War. During Prohibition, the smugglers were labeled ‘rumrunners’ regardless of their cargo, and southeastern Florida was a massive mixing pot of bootleggers, rumrunners,and federal agents. It was only fitting that a major rum event be held in Miami.

Holy cow, what a success!!

Over 1,100 attended this (first) year’s event, at the Shore Club on Miami Beach. The main Saturday event saw over twenty vendors, including yours truly. My table was for five American distillers: Charbay (www.charbay.com) , Classick(www.essentiaspirits.com) , Maui(www.haleakaladistillers.com) , Prichards(www.prichardsdistillery.com) , and Rogue(www.roguespirits.com) .

We were slammed for six straight hours, with tremendous foot traffic and lots of interest. A few public comments on each brand:

CHARBAY: Tropical Island Rum and Tahitian Vanilla Rum
‘Leafy and botanical notes’. ‘Wow! I taste blue agave!’
‘Sophisticated vanilla notes’

CLASSICK: Silver Rum and Gold Rum
‘A pure rum, very crisp’. ‘The gold is wonderful for classic cocktail mixology’
‘What a great product story!’

‘What a great rum for a Dark’n’Stormy!’ ‘An honest dark rum – lots of fruit notes’
‘Sweet molasses with dairy notes – really smooth!”

‘Wonderful oak notes in the Fine Rum’. ‘The Crystal Rum is amazingly complex’.
‘A great, clean, pure taste in the Key Lime Rum’.

'Clean and honest taste'. 'A true rum'
'The hazelnut spice rum is at once unique and superb'
'These are dream rums for the serious mixologist'

A veritable ‘Who’s Who’ in rums stopped by and sampled the selections at my vendor site. Good friend Ian Burrell of the UK RumFest and Cottons Restaurants London, the three musketeers of mixology mayhem Paul McFadyn and Ben Reed of IPBartenders London, England, Mr. Seale with R.L. Seale & Co. Distillery out of Barbados, Mike Streeter with RumConnection.com, Anthony Graziano of CHILLED MAGAZINE, Barbara Melendez of Opici, Amaris Del Pozo of Proximo Spirits, Michael Baer of Remy Cointreau USA, Bob Davies www.therumelier.com , Arturo Sighinolfi of Southern Wines & Spirits, Joseph Schwartz of the Little Branch Bar NYC, Joe Santos, Brand Director of Bacardi USA, and bud Matt Robold www.rumdood.com , and the list goes on.

This was a superb event, especially considering the economy and the logistics. Kudos to Robert, Robin, And Rob Burr for their amazing professionalism. They deserve the upmost congratulations. It was GRAND! Check out the attached article from theMiami Herald, as well as the video (with yours truly} created for Rums of Puerto Rico.

Miami Herald:

Rum Renaissance Miami - a celebration of cane spirits in the New World, is a chance for fans of sugar cane spirits to sample, learn about and enjoy more than 50 rum brands from the Caribbean and around the world.

Over the four-day event patrons will enjoy a host of VIP parties, rum exhibitions, rum tastings, celebrity seminars, and an event celebrating “island culture” with live music, food and tropical cocktails.

Rum Renaissance will kick off with the 2009 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition on Thursday, May 14 and Friday, May 15 at the Florida Room inside the Delano Hotel (1608 Collins Ave.). A group of expert distillers, mixologists and spirits journalists have the delectable task of judging a slew of rums on four distinct characteristics: aroma, initial taste, body and finish. Some of the judges include Paul Artrip, a Virginia based rum connoisseur who runs therumdaddy.com, Robert V. Burr, from Coconut Grove, known for the Cane Spirit guide to the younger generation and John Lermayer, chief mixologists for Morgans Hotel Group in Florida, including the Florida Room at the Delano.

On Saturday, May 16 events shift over to the Shore Club (1901 Collins Ave.) for the Grand Rum Tasting event and seminars. The tasting event is open to the public and will be at the Red Room Garden area inside the Shore Club. Many varieties of rums will be on hand including different products from Barcelo, Flor de Cana, Zacapa and Bacardi. Aside from the 50-plusbrands at the festival, some new products are going to be introduced by vendors.

There are eight seminars scheduled, including UK Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell’s “Blind Taste Tour”, a premium rum taste tour through the Americas using your sense of taste and smell to digest the essence of the rum. Some of the other seminars are Willy Shine and John Lermayer’s “The essence of Jamaica,” Ben Reed’s “The sociable history of rum,” and Richard Seale’s “An appreciation of rum: Where is rum’s place in the world of spirits?”

To close the Rum Renaissance, revelers will be treated to The Big Bang Beach and Pool party around the pool of the Shore Club from 2-6 p.m. on Sunday, May 17.

Where: Delano, 1608 Collins Ave.; Shore Club, 1901 Collins Ave.; Mondrian South Beach, 1100 West Ave.

Tickets: $45 (includes Grand Rum Tasting event, seminars, rum guide and show program); $150 (includes Grand Rum Tasting event, all trade and seminars, VIP parties, VIP goody bag, pool and beach bash, rum guide and show program.)

Purchase tickets online at Rum Renaissance Miami or for more information call 305-443-7973.

The Miami Rum Renaissance Festival:
a great variety of rum, lots of rum enthusiasts, plenty of parties,
great exposure throughout the media.

Our recent Rum Renaissance Festival in Miami Beach exceeded all
expectations and served to reinforce our message that rum is enjoying a
notable resurgence in popularity.

Attendance was beyond our goals. Our final tally was 576 tickets for the
Grand Tasting Event, 292 VIPs and 98 media specialists. 212 upscale
guests of the Shore Club Resort participated in the Grand Tasting event
for a total of 1178 participants, along with 100 exhibitor personnel at
the event.

Our media coverage was extensive. Starting with two full pages in the
Miami Herald on the cover of the lifestyle section, we also placed more
than a dozen large print ads, ran dozens of television commercials, and
produced 16 live television and radio interviews on morning shows across
the country promoting Rum Renaissance and the booming surge in rum's
popularity.

Our online presence was overwhelming. There were many dozens of blog
entries, interactive contests and promotions -- and email blasts to more
than 30,000 targeted consumers. Rum bloggers came from as far away as
London, Rome, Jamaica, California, New Orleans and New York. Local media
was completely saturated with event coverage as the word spread
throughout the social media networking community in South Florida.

VIPs were delighted! Several hundred very important persons came to
Miami Rum Renaissance from all over the world to enjoy the myriad VIP
Parties around town at some of the finest bars, restaurants and
nightclubs in South Florida. Mixologists, bartenders, store owners,
managers and buyers were among those discovering more than 100 fine cane
spirit products at the show. The master blenders and distillers, the
brand ambassadors, the judges and pundits rubbed shoulders with rum
enthusiasts from near and far.

Rum variety was astounding. Spirits from virtually every rum producing
country in the Western Hemisphere were savored -- from the most notable
birthplaces of classic cane spirits -- inspired by their unique
cultures, tropical locations and exotic influences.

The setting was ideal. The Shore Club Resort's Red Room Garden, the Red
Room Night Club and the poolside private bungalows provided rum
companies with lush, tropical settings in which to display and serve
their brands, the perfect context for reflecting the easy-going,
fun-loving nature of our rum enthusiast lifestyle.

American Rums were well represented. Attendees were treated to some
hard-to-find gems made in the United States. We'll be keeping out eye on
these up-and-coming brands produced by some very talented and passionate
teams across the USA.

Truly, rum is enjoying a renaissance. More than one thousand people left
the Rum Renaissance events with a new-found enthusiasm and understanding
of the noble spirit of the new world. They are proclaiming their
discovery and delight to their friends and family far and wide, as newly
appointed rum ambassadors, set off on their own further discovery of the
fascinating world of rums.

Rum Renaissance 2010 is already in the planning stages. We're working
closely with our top exhibitors and partners on the next Rum Renaissance
event to bring a greater spotlight on the emergence of fine quality rums
from the Caribbean and beyond to the attention of consumers around the
world.

We'll keep you informed on this mailing list of our progress, as well as
the many the fine rum tasting events we host all year long in South
Florida.

Robert A. Burr
Gifted Rums Guide
Gifted Rums Tasting Events
rob@giftedrums.com
robertburr@gmail.com
office: 305-443-7973
iPhone: 305-439-1376
http://www.giftedrums.com
http://www.rumrenaissance.com

NEXT EVENT: TALES OF THE COCKTAIL NEW ORLEANS JULY 10, 2009

If you're anywhere near the Big Easy around July 8 - 12, try to catch my seminar on the history of Bacardi Rum in Cuba. It's July 10 2:30 pm, Sponsored by Bacardi, and I'm the moderator with two great panelists.

The Long Legacy of Cuban Rum
Friday, July 10, 2009 · 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Riverview Room (Hotel Monteleone)

***Paul Artrip*** Jonathan Pogash ***Pepin Argamasilla***
*****Moderator***** Panelist***** Panelist*****

Here's the link: Tales of the Cocktail