Brooklyn Rum Fest 2022

I missed the New York Rum Fest & Congress which was held on June 18th of this year. It’s the biggest rum festival in the city. Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) it was held on the same day as the Decanter Wine Encounter which was too good of a tasting to miss.

So, I was happy to see that the Brooklyn Rum Festival would be held on August 13th. The event was held at the Brooklyn Monarch, an event space in the outer reaches of Bushwick at 23 Meadow Street.

The great thing about rum is the shear diversity of the styles available. There are white rums, dark rums, flavored rums and rums of various ages. While the industry is concentrated in the Caribbean, rum is made throughout the world, and they were represented here as well.

Every producer poured several versions of their rums and even the mass producers such as Bacardi poured some limited production aged rums.

The event space is a huge warehouse with an outdoor area in the back which had a DJ spinning tunes. There was definitely a “Caribbean” vibe to the event which had about half the number of producers present than in the New York Rum Fest, but there were till more than enough rums to sample that afternoon.

Some of the rums I sample, every producer poured several different.

Dos Maderas	Rhum Barbancourt
Bacardi	Trans Continental Rum Line
Plantation Rum	Rhum J.M.
Mount Gay	Rhum Clement
Chairman’s Reserve	Ten To One
Dan Q	Pasetto 8
Equino	Copalli

Rum Fest 2021

RumLab is a website dedicate to rum and to the people involved with it. They sponsor a travelling Rum festival stopping in San Juan, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami Beach and after a year hiatus, in New York City on August 21st.

It was a tasting that featured 100+ rums from several countries in all styles. There were also several seminars throughout the afternoon.

The event was held at the popular event space, the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

Rum is made from molasses or free run sugar cane juice which is then fermented and distilled in either a column still or a pot still. Not surprisingly, production is centered in the Caribbean countries though it’s made worldwide as well. The rum comes out of the still clear and aging (or adding additives like caramel color) adds color to the rum. The various styles of rum include light rum, gold rum, dark rum, black rum and spiced rum.

Personally, I save the white rums for the pina coladas and rum and Coke while I believe that aged rum is one of the most underrated spirits in the world. It’s something you sip neat while watching the sun go down with bonus points if you are smoking a good cigar.

I particularly enjoy the Rum Agricole that are produced in the French West Indies. They generally have more character with earthy and grassy notes and a lighter texture than rums made from molasses.

Last years tour was another victim of the pandemic so a good crowd showed to the event to sample what was offered, though I did notice that there were fewer producers on hand this time around than in previous years.

Some rums I sampled:

El Dorado 15yr, 21yr	Clement 10yr, 15yr
Chairman’s Reserve Legacy, 1931	Bounty Officer’s Release, Dark Rum
Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican	Ron Abuelo 7yr, 12yr
Maggie’s Farm Single Barrel	Rhum JM 2002, VSOP
Montanya Oro, Exclusiva	Barcelo Imperial
Long Pond 15yr Single Malt	Clement Canne Bleue, XO
Holme’s Cay Guyana 2005, Belize 2006, Barbados 2005	Plantation Jamaica, Australia, Trinidad
Don Q Anejo, XO

New York Cocktail Expo 2019

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On August 18th I attended the 3rd annual New York Cocktail Expo. The Expo which began in Rockville Center, Long Island in 2016 has grown to be New York’s premier cocktail festival, “the most attended cocktail event in New York”.

The event was held at the Melrose Ballroom located at 36-08 33rd Street in Long Island City, Queens, a short walk from the “N” train. It’s cavernous (and dark) music venue space where on this day all three floors were full of spirits and cocktails.

The 3rd floor held the “Rum Room” which was decorated in tiki style with many wearing an Hawaiian shirt. The floor was full of rum with many of the usual favorites such as Diplomatico, Appleton Rum, Plantation Rum and The Real McCoy and some off the radar brands such as Soggy Dollar, Stroh and Transcontinental Rum Line to name a few. The two other floors in the rest of the venue were packed with various whiskey, gin, vodka, tequila, cachaça, specialty liquor, beer, cider, and quite a few locally made apple brandy.

There was a cocktail competition and a Tiki Throwdown going on with Mixologists from local restaurants and bars participating so every table had a particular specialty cocktail to sample as well as whatever spirit was being poured. Consumers had the chance to vote on their favorite.

The winner of the Best Cocktail of the Year went to Bartender Leah Moss of Tooker Alley in Brooklyn using spirits from Balcones Distillery.

The winner of the Tiki Throwdown was Paradise Lounge in Ridgewood, Queens using Plantation Rum.

The event last year had one long session and was quite crowded, this year they decided to break the event into two sessions which made for a more manageable crowd size, I attended the evening session.

Rum Fest New York 2019

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Rum is a distilled spirit made from sugar cane juice or its byproduct molasses. Generally, there are three styles of rum based on nationality. Spanish style rums tend to be lighter, English style rums darker and richer and French style rums which are a controlled product governed by an AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlle) and uses only free run sugar cane juice.

Rum Lab is a website that caters to all things, rum with rum themed articles, and interviews with people in the rum business. Their motto is “teaching the secrets and history of rum”.

They also host rum festivals in Miami, San Francisco, Chicago and Puerto Rico. On Saturday June 15th, they hosted the New York City rum fest which was part of rum week in the city.

The event which was held at Metropolitan West, an event space at 639 West 46th Street on the west side of Manhattan.

There was an extensive selection of rums from around the world with an diverse collection of white, aged, flavored rums and rum cocktails. Many of the Caribbean and South American countries were represented but there were rums from countries that are not usually associated with rum production such as the U.S., Sweden and Java.

Some of what I sampled:

English Harbour (Antigua): 5yr, 10yr

The Real McCoy (Barbados): 3yr, 5yr, 12yr

Mount Gay (Barbados): Black Barrel, XO

Four Square (Barbados): Empery, 2007

Montaya (Colorado): Exclusiva, Aniversaria

Dictador (Columbia): 12yr, 20yr, XO, Perpetual

Centenario (Costa Rica): 12yr, 18yr, 20yr

Karukera (Guadeloupe): Gold, Rhum Vieux Agricole, Rhum Blanc Agricole

Smith & Cross (Jamaica): Traditional Rum

The Funk (Jamaica): Heavy Pot Still Rum

Wray & Nephew (Jamaica): White Overproof Rum

Worthy Park (Jamaica): Single Estate Reserve

Rhum J.M. (Martinique): V.O., V.S.O.P.

Maggie’s Farm (Pittsburgh): Queen’s Share

Don Q (Puerto Rico): Vermouth Cask Finished, Single Barrell 2007

Havana Club (Puerto Rico): Anejo

Admiral Rodney (Saint Lucia): Princessa, Royal Oak, Formidable

Kronan (Sweden): Swedish Punsch

The Scarlet Ibis (Trinidad)

Plantation Rum: Guyana 1998, Trinidad 2009

Diplomatico (Venezuela): Single Vintage 2002, Ambassador

Santa Teresa (Venezuela): 1769 Solera Rum

Pusser’s Rum: Original Admiralty Rum

Rum Fest New York 2018

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On September 29th, the Rum Lab.com held their 2nd annual rum festival in New York City. They have produced similar festivals in Puerto Rico, California, the Midwest and Seattle. The Rum Lab is “focused on becoming the official rum expo throughout the northern east coast.”

Rum is made around the world but most associated with the Caribbean. Generally, there are three principle styles of rum in the Caribbean that reflect the terroir, climate and who colonized the country. There is the Spanish style ron which is molasses based and are generally lighter in body, the English style rum which are also molasses based and tend to be bolder, and the French style rhum agricole which are based on sugar cane juice and have many of the place of origin rules that wine have, they tend to taste of herbs and the earth.

The event was held at Sounds of Brazil, a music venue located at 204 Varick Street in lower Manhattan. There were a good selection of rum from around the world and since I enjoy aged rum, I began the tasting by trying whatever was the oldest rum at the table.

Some of what I sampled:

Montanya (Colorado): Oro, Exclusiva, Anniversaria.

Owney’s (New York City) Distiller’s Reserve, Superior Quality.

English Harbor Reserve (Antigua): 5yr, 10yr, port cask finish, sherry cask finish.

Chairmans’ Reserve (St. Lucia): The forgotten cask, 1931.

Ron Barcelo (Dominican Republic): 30yr Anniversary Reserve, Imperial.

J Bally (Martinique): 2002.

Clairin (Haiti): Sajous, Vaval, Casimir.

Diplomatico (Venezuela): Single vineyard 2002, Ambassador.

Plantation Rum (Barbados): XO 20th Anniversary.

Clement Rhum (Martinique) VSOP, XO.

Flor de Cana (Nicaragua): 18yr, 25yr.

Rhum JM (Martinique): 1999 Reserve.

Denizen (Jamaica): 3yr, 8yr.

Barcardi (Puerto Rico): Limitada.

Boukman (Haiti): Botanical Rhum.

Rum Fest New York

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The 1st annual New York Rum Festival was held on September 30th. The event showcased over 40 rums from large, micro and boutique distilleries including producers from various countries in the Caribbean, South America and the United States. The event was produced by the Rum Lab which hosted similar events in Chicago and San Francisco.

The Fest was held at S. O. B.’s (Sounds of Brazil), a live music venue at 204 Varick Street in the SoHo district of lower Manhattan which was an appropriate venue to host a rum event since they specialize in Afro-Latino music acts.

The event had a good mix of styles of rum from various countries and with this overwhelming amount of spirits to sample, I stayed away from white Rums and fruity cocktails and focused on aged rums which in my opinion are some of the most underrated spirits in the world. It was a good crowd of people enjoying the afternoon sipping on rum.

Seminar: Don Q Rum Master Class with Jaiker Soto (Puerto Rico)

Añejo: 3-8 year old rums, amber with grassy and oak notes on the finish.

151°: 3-5 year old rums, grassy, oily nose, big hit of alcohol with some honey notes on the finish.

Single Barrel: 9 year old rum, light amber, closed nose, dry finish with oak notes.

Spiced: 3-6 year old rums, light amber, vanilla on the nose, subtle flavors with a hit of heat at the finish, 90°.

Gran Añejo: 9-12year old rums, light amber, unusual sweet cotton candy and chocolate on the nose with chocolate notes on the finish.

Some of what I sampled:

Lost Spirits (California) Navy Style Rum

Montanya (Colorado) Oro

Boukman (Haiti) Botanical Rum

Chairman’s Reserve (St. Lucia) The Forgotten Casks

Foursquare Distillery (Barbados) 2004, Criterion, Zinfandel Cask Blend

Mount Gay (Barbados) Black Barrel, XO

Plantation (Barbados) 20th Anniversary

Plantation (Jamaica) 2002

Denizen’s Merchant’s Reserve (Jamaica) 8 year

Rhum J.M. (Martinique) V.O., V.S.O.P.

Clement (Martinique) Select Barrel, 10 year

Brugal (Dominican Republic) Gran Reserva 888

Abuelo (Panama) XV

Parce Rum (Columbia) 8 year, 12 year

Flor de Caña (Nicaragua) 12 year, 18 year

Diplomatico (Venezuela) Mantuano Extra Aged, Reserva Exclusiva

Don Pappa (Philippines) Small Batch