The Melbourne Rum Club got off to a flying start in 2011, with over 35 members in attendance at the Golden Monkey bar in Melbourne’s CBD. The Club meets on the first Monday of every month to enjoy and learn about rum and cocktails.
Sponsored by Brown Forman and Appleton Estate Rum, the night marked the first gathering of the club since November's end of the year “Shipwrecked” party. Snacks as well as a free drink were offered to all Rum Club members, this time in a complimentary Appleton Estate tiki mug!
To kick off the annual Sydney BarShow Week, the Puerto Rican rum giant Bacardí hosted the official launch party for the BarShow at the Marble Bar in Sydney in the spirit of the early 1900s.
The event also marked the 100th Anniversary of the legendary cocktail, the Daiquiri.
The invite only event was due to kick off on Sunday evening; when I arrived people were already queued up waiting to enter the bar, most of them wearing fashionable and glamorous 1920s-1950s attire as suggested by the dress code.
There is no limit when it comes to setting prices for the rarest whiskies in the world, which included the Macallan 1926 that was auctioned for US$54,000 in 2007, which at the time was the most expensive whisky in the world.
Then along came Dalmore who sold a 62 year old whisky for over £25,000, another one later at £32,000 and now they have done it again after releasing a single malt whisky for a cool £100,000.
Only three bottles of the 64 year old Dalmore Trinitas were ever produced, two of which have already been acquired by a gentleman based in the US and by a UK based entrepreneur.
Ron Matusalem has introduced new top shelf rums to the U.S. and European markets to answer the growing demands of the consumers who have targeted the high end market of rums.
The company's rum range previously consisted of the Matusalem Platino, Clasico, Matusalem Solera 7, Matusalem Clasico 10 and their current top shelf offering available globally, Gran Reserva Solera 15.
The new additions to the Matusalem rum range are Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 18, which is currently only available in the U.S. market and Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 23, which is available in select European markets in Spain, Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands and Austria.
The winners of the first ever Golden Rum Barrel Awards were finally announced at the dinner that took place on Saturday evening on the 16th of October with some brands grabbing double awards in different categories.
The competition took place at an undisclosed location a couple of days prior the worlds biggest Rum Festival with some pretty exclusive rums available for tasting such as Appleton 30 Year Old and Black Tot Last Consignment.
The tasting panel consisted of several International Rum Experts, each who had previously nominated their top picks for the categories. These were then compiled and narrowed down to the top 5 rums in each category.
Recently, a document from Oliver & Oliver got into my hands. It contains some interesting company information and I am looking forward to share this knowledge with you. Thanks to Orlando, Maria and Kierstin for translation and correction help.
Experts believe they have uncovered a secret drinker on Sir Ernest Shackleton's polar expedition after opening a crate of whisky buried under Antarctic ice for 100 years. The whisky, bottled for the renowned British explorer's 1907 expedition, was excavated from beneath his Antarctic hut earlier this year and taken to Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand.
31st July 2010 will see the launch of a limited edition piece of Royal Naval history, the very last remaining stocks of Royal Naval rum from 1970.
On July 31st 1970 a 300 year old Royal Naval tradition ended at precisely 6 bells in the forenoon watch, when the last rum ration was issued aboard ships of the British Royal Navy, a day to be forever known as Black Tot Day.
To celebrate 40 years since the last rum ration was issued to the British Royal Navy, the very same rum that has been stored away since 1970, is being re-launched under the name Black Tot - Last Consignment.