Published by - The Daily Gleaner: Monday, August 13, 2012
TRELAWNY- BASED Rum Fire White Overproof Rum from Hampden Estate in Trelawny, Jamaica, was awarded its first gold at this year's International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). The brand had been previously awarded two silver medals, the first in September 2011 in the Ministry of Rums blind tasting competition held in San Francisco,California, where it was the only Jamaican brand in the category to be awarded a medal. The second was awarded in April this year by the International Rum (XP) Expert Panel - comprised of 80 international rum experts - at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.
Of the hundreds of medals awarded this year to various wines and spirits from all over the world, Rum Fire was the only brand entered from Jamaica to win a gold. Of note, Appleton Estate Reserve Eight Year Old won a silver outstanding medal. The three other rums that were listed as Jamaican rums (indicating that some Jamaican rum is used to make it) that won medals were Sainbury's Superior Dark Rum, Sainsbury's Superior White Rum and Brave Navigator, The Spiced Spirit. They were all awarded silver medals.
Ten rums in addition to Rum Fire were awarded gold medals this year. The list is as follows:
Admiral Rodney Extra Old St Lucia Rum
Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
Doorly's Fine Old Barbados Rum 12 YO
Dos Maderas Luxus Doble Crianza Rum 10 + 5
El Dorado Rum 21 YO
Key Caribbean Dark Rum 4 YO
Plantation Rum Grande Reserve 5 YO
Plantation Three Stars Blended White Rum
Woods 100 Old Navy Rum
Rum Fire was the sole overproof rum gold award recipient.
Rum Fire has seen some growth locally in the past year, since its launch in March 2011. Although it is a mammoth task to gain market share in such a highly saturated and (almost) monopolised industry, it may not be insurmountable in the months and years to come, particularly if awards like this keep rolling in.
Quality
Reacting to the win, director of marketing at Rum Fire, Christelle Harris states, "There may be a dozen or more white overproof rums on the local market, but very few have accolades like the ones we seem to be collecting and that speaks to the quality of what we can, are and will continue to produce at Hampden Estate. The IWSC is no joke. It is certainly something to be very proud of - to say we have been awarded an IWSC gold, especially considering we beat off competition from some of the world's most sought after, aged, and even extra aged (up to 21 years) Caribbean rums."
Harris reinforced that the team at Hampden Estate will be working assiduously to ensure that the product continues to satisfy the palates of everyone, from connoisseurs and social drinkers to chefs and mixologists worldwide.
