Jamaican distilleries have joined forces to stage the Jamaica Rum Festival at Hope Gardens in St. Andrew on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, 2019. The Festival is being presented by J. Wray & Nephew’s Appleton Estate brand in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Tourism Enhancement Fund. The signature local initiative will promote brand Jamaica, boost tourism in Kingston and showcase Jamaica’s cultural excellence in rum, food and music.
The two-day festival will educate consumers about rum and the different ways it can be enjoyed. Consumers will also be exposed to the rum-making process, learn about the unique provenance of Jamaican rums and sample a variety of blends. Additionally, festival attendees will uncover ideal rum & food pairings, while enjoying entertainment from some of Jamaica’s finest musicians. Patrons will also be encouraged to explore the Jamaican competitive spirits through their participation in rum-based culinary and mixology competitions, domino contests and other games.
Noting the unique contribution of the spirits sector to Jamaica through employment in agricultural, manufacturing, tourisms and a variety of service industries, J. Wray & nephew chairman Clement “Jimmy: Lawrence said “the Rum industry is one of the most integrated industries in Jamaica, touching every aspect of the Jamaican life.
This festival provides a platform to showcase this, educate the populace about Jamaican rums and creates a tourism attraction event that will show the world another example of Jamaican excellence. Jamaican rum is a part of brand Jamaica and we have the opportunity to set the standards globally and position Jamaica as the Caribbean’s equivalent to the Champagne region of France.
Continuing Lawrence said, “This festival isn’t about pushing consumption, instead it is about growing an appreciation for the premium nature of our rums and encouraging persons to savour and enjoy them responsibly. Additionally, this is a natural extension of the gastronomic experience which Minister Bartlett has been championing worldwide. There is so much history between Jamaican rums and food and we want to show this off.”
On board with the initiative is the 87 year-old Spirits Pool Association Limited, established on March 10, 1932, and which represents all six rum distilleries in Jamaica. The distilleries are Appleton Estate in St. Elizabeth and New Yarmouth Estate in Clarendon, owned by J. Wray and Nephew Limited, owners of the Wray & Nephew and Appleton Estate Rums brands; Clarendon Distillers Limited at Monymusk and Long Pond Distillers in Trelawny owned by National Rums of Jamaica Limited, producers of the Monymusk brand of rums; Hampden Distillers in Trelawny operated by Everglades Farm – the producers of Hampden Rums; and Worthy Park Estate in St. Catherine which produces and markets the Rum-Bar rum brand.
According to chairman of Spirits Pool Association Limited Evon Brown, the organisation is pleased to support and endorse the Jamaica Rum Festival. “The collaborative event will be integral in giving positive exposure to Jamaica’s centuries-old rum industry and bringing local and international focus to Jamaica’s top quality rums and other spirits. The Jamaica Rum Festival represents a splendid opportunity for Jamaica to display our superb rum brands along with other cultural offerings and confirms the authenticity of our products,” stated Brown.
Underscoring the Spirits Pool’s pronouncements, Chief Executive Officer of National Rums of Jamaica Limited, Winston Harrison asserts that “the Jamaica Rum Festival presents the Monymusk brand and other players with an exceptional opportunity to showcase the full variety of rums that are on offer. It also creates a platform for all the purveyors to highlight the distinctive qualities that have allowed Jamaican rums to be held in such high esteem internationally. Jamaica’s unique inputs – its limestone water from specified regions, utilising strict manufacturing and distillation processes provide our rums certain attributes that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. This makes our rums highly sought after globally by spirits consumers and rum blenders,” he pointed out.
Mr. Harrison is of the view that showcasing Jamaica’s rums while educating consumers about the products is an important part of further developing the industry and underlines the reason for Monymusk Rums being integrally involved in the event.
Hampden Rums, Christelle Harris concurs with the other rum distillers and adds “as a rum professional, who has travelled extensively to Rum & Spirits Festivals all over the world, I am pleased to see our brands manufactured by Hampden Estate in Trelawny, have the opportunity to participate in our very own Jamaica Rum Festival on home soil. These brands include the locally distributed Rum Fire White Overproof and Hampden Gold Rum. I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to be on display alongside other Jamaica Rums, celebrating our newly acquired G.I., as we collectively articulate to our audience the true diversity of rum, beginning right here at home. I hope that the education and exposure will heighten our home crowd’s interest in the category of rums, showing them that all Jamaica rums are superb, diverse products.
I also hope that the Jamaica Rum Festival will further boost our hugely successful tourism product through rum-tourism! With the participation of JAMPRO and the Tourism Enhancement Fund, I anticipate that the JRF will not only garner the attention of the local press, but also that of the international press and the increasingly important spirits blogger. Rum is currently ranked the least consumed spirit internationally, and in Jamaica, has lost momentum alongside the competition of the many trendy emerging categories over the past decade particularly. Collaboration among our nation’s producers is absolutely necessary, both internationally and locally, in order for the category to grow.
The Jamaica Rum Festival was officially launched today at Jamaica House on February 5 is expected to attract 2,500 patrons daily. Key sponsors include the RJR Group, Digicel Jamaica, Main Events Entertainment Group, Wata, True Juice, CB Foods, Wisynco and Kia Motors