2024 Caribbean Rum Awards: Island Company Rum wins Best Gold Rum 5 Years in a Row.
The Caribbean Journal
There’s a new best rum in the world. Martinique’s Trois Rivieres was crowned World Champion at the recent seventh annual Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth, with its Triple Millesime 2006 – 2014 – 2016 winning double gold in the region’s top rum competition.
The Triple Millesime fought off seven other ultra-premium rums in a blind tasting by 10 expert judges from North America and the Caribbean hosted at the Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth.
A Martinique rum has won the World Championship four of the past five years at the event, solidifying the island’s place as the rum capital of the world (Martinique is home to more rum...
Island Company Rum wins Spirits Business 2024 Luxury Masters!
The Spirits Business
At the upper end of the spirits market, consumers will pay a lot of money for high-quality expressions. In our annual Luxury Masters blind tasting, the judges put a wide selection of top-shelf drops to the test.
Financial concerns began to bite in 2023. Consumers started cutting back on how much they spent on alcohol as the cost-of-living crisis chipped away at their disposable income. Premiumisation was still evident in some key markets, such as India, China, and Taiwan, but Latin America, for example, moved significantly in the opposite direction, according to data from IWSR.
It paints a mixed picture for more expensive spirits. Consumers are increasingly seeking experiences over material...
Island Company Rum wins metal in the Rum & Cachaça Masters.
The Spirits Business
This year’s competition showed there was a lot to be excited about, with particular enthusiasm for cachaça.
As one of the biggest spirits categories in the world, rum is a popular and accessible drink, known for its versatility in cocktails and diverse flavour profile. Despite increasing competition from segments such as whisky and agave spirits, rum brands are keeping drinkers excited with innovations in flavours and high-quality sipping expressions. Aged rum is tipped to be among the next categories (alongside mezcal and no-alcohol) to explode, according to Bacardi’s Cocktail Trends Report 2024. Furthermore, Bacardi has noticed an...
Island Company Rum wins Gold Rum award at the 2023 Luxury Masters.
The Spirits Business
There is a strong trend of premiumisation in the spirits sector, but do higher prices mean better products? In our annual Luxury Masters competition, four panels of judges find out.
If one thing is certain in the spirits world, it is that premiumisation is an ongoing trend. Consumers are constantly seeking to drink better-quality brands – often at a premium price, and above.
But it is common knowledge that a product’s price point is not necessarily indicative of a liquid’s quality. At the annual Luxury Masters, sponsored by closures producer Talis, our judges look to reward those spirits sitting in the super-premium and ultra-premium price brackets with Silver, Gold and Master medals...
Island Company Rum was named Best Gold Rum at Bonaire Rum Week.
The Caribbean Journal
Bonaire Rum Week was back again in full force for its second annual edition, with world-class rum companies heading to the Dutch Caribbean island for a truly unforgettable week.
The event was a sign of just how far Bonaire has come as a destination, transcending what is already some of the best diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean and coming into its own as a new regional culinary power.
That was clear at every event, from dining at the three-Michelin-star-pedigreed Brass Boer to an exquisite oceanfront rum-pairing lunch at the Harbour Village Beach Club.
“Bonaire Rum Week 2023 was even bigger and better than our inaugural edition last year,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal, which organized the event in collaboration with Tourism Corporation...
Island Company Rum wins Gold at the Travel Retail Masters 2023.
The Spirits Business
As customers return to global travel retail in airports and on cruises, we test the spirits that are on offer to tempt them.
Travellers have returned in droves to airports, cruise ships, and train stations after several years of pandemic-related restrictions. Holidaymakers are back stocking up on their favourite spirits in duty free outlets, or searching for the perfect gift for friends and families, and brands have jumped on the chance to entice customers with promotions, gift sets, and activations.
With so much activity in the travel retail channel, it can be difficult to decide which products are worth splashing the cash on. But fear not, as The Spirits Business enlisted the skills of an expert...
Could independent bottlers transform rum?
The Spirits Business
With their focus on rare, quality expressions from around the world, independent bottlers could transform rum in the way they have whisky, writes Lauren Eads.
Independent bottlers and blenders have long been a part of rum, but never has their influence been more keenly felt. With rum on the rise, the number of these third-party players is growing. Independent bottlers are keen to experiment with rum by sourcing rare casks in limited quantities, while big blenders are more in demand than ever. But what do independent bottlers and blenders bring to the wider rum category? Will their growth support the wider...
Diageo India Bets on Agave Spirits and Rum.
The Spirits Business
The chief innovation officer of Diageo India discusses the “massive” growth potential for agave spirits and why rum will be the next spirit to boom.
Diageo is the majority shareholder of India’s United Spirits, which diversified its portfolio of local brands by investing in categories such as agave spirits and coffee liqueurs this year.
The company has been on a mission to reshape its portfolio to improve profitability, offloading 32 brands from its Popular division in May 2022. Among them were Indian whiskies Haywards and Old Tavern, White Mischief vodka, Honey Bee brandy, Green Label...
Rum continuing to increase since 2019 US category sales.
The Spirits Business
IWSR’s US Navigator – which tracks monthly volume data in the States for all alcohol segments by price tier – analysed the rum category’s volumes over the past five years.
Looking at the category’s US volumes between January and August 2019 compared with the same period in 2020, rum posted a 4% increase. For the same eight months in 2020, compared with 2021, the category rose by only 2%. Total spirits performed better than rum, with a 5% rise in the US across both periods.
IWSR said rum fell into decline from 2022 to the year to date, with all subcategories posting volume drops. Flavoured rum...
