Month by Month – The Year in Rum

Amidst the backdrop of global uncertainty, rum has seen a remarkable year in 2023, demonstrating resilience and innovation.

To summarise the key events, we’ll cover mergers & acquisitions, recognition, climate issues and leave the buffet of bagasse (plant residue of cane juice) behind.

Kickstarting our year, we toured Martinique and St Lucia’s rum distilleries. With my brand marketer’s hat, we shared the full range of visitor experience from extensive infrastructure upgrades, to displays, and impressive product ranges not available in Europe or the US.
The detailed storytelling, botanical gardens and art displays, tastings and product lines being snapped up by eager fans, as part of the immersive Caribbean rum experience being eagerly explored. Observing how visitors interact, and their reactions like a mystery shopper, revealed a wealth of insights—a renewed perspective on the essence of the passion for rum.

January

Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company, grabbed the headlines by announcing the acquisition of Don Papa Rum. What it means: You’ll see Don Papa Rum a lot more, thanks to Diageo’s depth of global distribution network and marketing. source

February 

Martinique-based GBH announced it bought UK spirits distributor Mangrove Global. What it means: You’ll see more Martinique & St Lucia rum in the UK, from bars to speciality drink shops. Rhum Agricole continues to move in the UK and now Mangrove introduces better category education for bartenders.

March

Jamaica’s Worthy Park Estate picked up the International Wines and Spirits Competition IWSC 2023 Rum Producer Trophy source

What it means: Worthy Park Estate highlights a growing trend of traditional molasses Caribbean distillers using cane juice and molasses to distill rum, and generally being more experimental. Thus, joining a “more than molasses” movement.

Still on the IWSC, they declared 2023 ‘The Year of Rum’ at the IWSC Awards. Richard Seale, CEO and master distiller of Foursquare Rum, is the IWSC 2023 industry champion. And, their 2024 Spirits Communicator trophy was awarded to the Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell.

April

Arizona Rum Distilleries Won Gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition Desert Diamond Distillery and Elgin Distillery

Appleton Estate announced the launch of the limited-edition 17-Year-Old Legend, a recreation of the spirit inspired by original the Mai Tai cocktail.
Chicago Cane Cooperative launched the first worker-owned rum cooperative source

And, Sydney rum distillery Brix revealed its new 100% Australian rum range.

May

Islay Scotch whisky maker Kilchoman announced they had planning permission to build a rum distillery on the island of Barbados. Although it could be some time before it opens. source

There was another addition to the Barbados rum distilling scene that started out in later 2023, at Hopewell Distillery.

June

It was announced, that the world’s first Greek rum was launched, Kavo Rum by The CoreBev Group. Also, the Rum Global Market Report 2023 projected that the global rum market could reach a value of US$17.68 billion by 2027, and its current size is approx. $14.35bn source

July

The West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) elected Margaret Monplaisir as the new Chairperson of The Board, the first woman to hold that role. If you have visited St. Lucia Distillery, you might have met Margaret, she is the Chief Executive but is actively hands-on at the distillery.
DropWorks Distillery in England, which launched in May, opened its distillery. Billed as Europe’s Largest Rum Distillery. India’s first pure cane juice rum, Camikara Rum was launched in the U.S.

August

Hawaii Wildfires in Maui Wildfires and Lahaina especially impacted local rum distillers. Businesses came together on the hashtag #MauiStrong and Old Lahaina Rum has a GoFundMe page

September

Singer Jimmy Buffett sadly passed away, a legend celebrated in Key West, and the wider rum community for his vibes, Margaritaville Rum and Margaritaville Restaurants.

October

Fall is release season, and in October Mount Gay grabbed the headlines with its long-anticipated Single Estate rum launch. Years in the making, master blender Trudiann Branker and her team used their cane, mill and grade A molasses, proprietary yeast, and nine-day fermentation to create this signature expression. Celebrating their 320th birthday with this seminal bottling is a highlight. Much like Renegade rum in Grenada, leading by example in cane provenance and laying down a marker to demonstrate their long-term commitment. source

Two Drifters Distillery picked up the green spirit award at IWSC, the world’s first carbon-negative rum, for their commitment to sustainability link

Also, in October, spirits giant Diageo, figures took a surprise drop in tough trading results. This affected the other corporates and large rum brands – showing the strain on the bullish strategy of premium pricing.

November

News came out of Cuba of them having another bad cane harvest. Sugarcane production has decreased, dropping from 56 active mills to 38 last year. The shortened season will increase the supply issues. The Cuban government has tight control over the rum and sugar industry. source

Also, Plantation Rum on Barbados installed the world’s oldest rum pot still the Rockley still at their distillery on Barbados. Billed as the world’s oldest rum pot still, it returned to Barbados in time for its 130th anniversary.

At the end of November, our little ole platform, The Rum Geography launched putting 1200+ rum producers in 105 countries on a map, for the first time. We also launched the first bang-up to date Lesser Antilles Map with all 65 producers from 17 islands.

December 

American Rum brand Montanya Distillers was bought by CRN Ventures, a team behind the brand. Montanya Distillers is one of the most recognisable American rum brands in the states with wide distribution. That’s thanks to Karen Hoskin who set up in Silverton, Colorado in 2008. For 15 years she drove her passion for rum far and wide from Crested Butte. source

Bundaberg Rum Distillery was awarded gold in the 2023 Queensland Tourism Awards, as well being admitted into the Queensland Tourism Awards Hall of Fame for their visitor experience.

Also in Australia, Husk Signature launched as the first rum to bear the Australian Cultivated Rum. Hailing a new provenance era for Australian rum, ACR is a trademark registered by Husk (not to be confused with ACR Authentic Caribbean Rum) source

And, right before Christmas, just under the mistletoe, Maggie’s Farm Rum opened their suburb distillery in Pennsylvania source

General Roundup:

Throughout the year, British rum distillers were getting noticed as challenger brands pushing boundaries in unaged, experimental, yeast and long fermentation in rum distilling like DropWorks, Outlier, Retribution, Islay rum, J Gow, Ninefold, Matugga and Two Drifters distillery source (note: we show producer numbers nearer 70)

• French independent bottlers are building on successes and moving into rum-making.
• Indian craft rum continues to gain steam, Goa is leading the way.
• In Asia, where rum is king, brands continue to invest in fast-growing south-east Asia markets.
• Lesser-known distillers are popping up in the Caribbean, widening the map.
• Australian rum continues to mature, but challenges remain with minimum ageing and climate.
• Universally, rum distillers have put down casks for longer ageing across all regions.
• Madeira Rum cemented its position and presence in the UK market.
• Rum Lab grew its events calendar across America, and will expand in 2024 to Europe with Spain.
• Climate, quality molasses supply, taxes, and aged stocks were never far from industry minds.
• Caribbean Winter sun cruise bookings were up, bringing higher regional footfall.

This only scratches the surface of another eventful year in rum.

While major investments in infrastructure at Caribbean rum distilleries showcase the rum industry’s robust health and brands’ long-term commitment, smaller craft distillers face a stark reality. Several have been forced to close or sell, squeezed by tightening tax regimes and inflation in key markets like the UK, USA, and Australia.

These factors exacerbate their already narrow margins, raising concerns about the category’s long-term sustainability for smaller players. 

What it all means?

It’s all the more important to support local rum distilleries, and shore up the category as a whole.

Check out our map to find rum producers near you.

Rum distilleries can now show up on a global and make it easier to be seen, put a pin on it!📍

What new rum adventures will you discover in 2024?

Further reading link. Image credits from Facebook pages