RUM:THE CHAMELEON

SPIRITBy Jeffery Lindenmuth

T he Mojito, a classic Cuban cocktailmade with white rum, ice, fresh mint,and muddled limes, sweetened and

occasionally topped with soda, continues tocreate barroom buzz. From the urban bars ofMiami and New York, the refreshing tropicalcocktail has spread to small towns and Irishpubs, helping to rocket rum sales 50 percentover the past five years. But the Mojito mere-ly kicked-off the national rum party, and withone foot in the door, producers are nowunleashing the full breadth of rum. More thana white mixer, rum comes in aged, flavored,high-proof and prepared cocktail offerings.

Flavored rum includes everything from thebooming spiced brand Captain Morgan, tonew tropical fruit offerings and even exotichybrids like Bacardi’s Ciclón, flavored withTequila, lime and Agave. According to JayMaltby, Chairman and CEO of To d h u n t e r, whichimports Cruzan rum, comparing the year 1997vs. 2001, rum sales as a whole grew 31.6 per-cent. But in 1997 flavored rums accounted for23.6 percent of total rum sales and in 2001they grew dramatically to 36.5 percent.

Cruzan is a key player and frontrunner inthe flavored arena, having launched theircoconut, pineapple, and banana, followedshortly after by orange and citrus about sixyears ago. In April 2002 they added vanillaand mango in selected markets.

Maltby cites several reasons for the popu-larity of flavors, especially on-premise. “Thesespirits are so mixable. And they allow bar-tenders to be creative without stocking a lot ofadditional exotic ingredients. They have all-natural, fresh flavor and it’s key that they arelight in color, which makes beautiful cocktails,”says Maltby. “ And with fruit juice, nothingmixes better than rum.”

In taking the brand to the next level,Maltby says there will be an enormousincrease in advertising and promotionalspending – from $4 million to $10 millionthis year. He’s optimistic that the universalappeal of the product will continue to carryCruzan flavors forward, noting that “male,female, early adopters and also consumersin their 50s and 60s” all seem attracted tothe brand.

M a l i b u ,p e r h aps the most ubiquitous flavo red rum, is also Barbados' largest rum distillery andis credited by many for re i nv i gorating rum sales in the U. S . after the catego ry hit a modern lowof 11 million cases in 1994.Allied Domecq acquired the brand from Diageo in May 2002, and thec o c o nut flavo red rum is holding its own in spite of fierce flavor competition.

In discussing Bacard i ’s new flavo red rums, Paul Francis, senior marketing brand manager fo rB a c a rd i ,s ay s ,“ We ’re re a l ly playing in the vodka wo r l d .” Part of this strategy is cool-sounding callsfor the on-pre m i s e, l i ke Limón, i n t roduced in 1996, and “O” which debuted in 2001.

Bacardi also has three new flavors, packaged in bold Op-art-style bottles, introduced inApril of this year: Razz, Vaníla, and Cóco (which is coconut, not chocolate).“With flavoredproducts we tend to be a little different,not so uniform,so we have lots of fun elements. Ourpackage speaks to the vodka consumer and we play that middle ground between rum andvodka,” says Francis, who notes the new flavors are in a position to sell 200-300 thousandcases each in their inaugural year.

S t eve Schachter is VP of marketing for Extreme Beverage Company, which offers three rumsp roduced in the West Indies. In addition to their basic rum, t h ey have two versions which are nat-u r a l ly, and potently, f l avo red with coconut and banana. "When you think about why the wo rde x t reme is being used so mu c h , it's because this generation wants more out of life in so manyw ay s , whether it's more excitement in terms of sports or more in terms of social life and also interms of flavo r. I think that's where the wo rd extreme resonates with a younger generation."Schachter says that Extreme rums have found a fo l l owing in urban centers where the companya c t i ve ly targets nightclubs and DJs through niche magazine adve rt i s i n g ." We also think, in add i t i o nto extreme quality and flavo r, we offer extreme value at around $14 retail," adds Schachter.

M a rt í , f rom Chatham Import s , is a flavo re drum that capitalizes dire c t ly on the mojito tre n dwith infusions of care f u l ly selected Caribbeanlime and fresh mint. “ I t ’s flavo red with the quin-tessential Cuban flavo r s ,” says Joe Magliocco,p resident of Chatham Import s . “ I t ’s a deliciousf u l l - p roof rum that you can sip neat or on thero c k s , t a ke as a shot, or use in cocktails, eve nwith Champagne.”

The rather unique flavo red rum, p re m i u mpriced at about $16, has spawned several cock-tails from elite on-premise operators likeRestaurant Daniel in Manhattan and Latin celeb-chef Douglas Rodriguez,who created the tongue-t w i s t i n g , and palate-pleasing Martí Mojito Mart i n i ,made with triple-sec and lime. L i ke many flavo re dr u m s ,M a rtí offers a great variation on the popu-l a r, but often ove r wo r ke d , classic rum and Coke.

Both Bacardi and Cruzan have contenders in another small but growing sub-catego ry :a g e dor sipping rums. B a c a rdi offers Bacardi 8 (eight years of aging) and Cruzan has their EstateDiamond and Single Barrel Estate.

M a l t by says the base of this catego ry is ve ry small, “ S u p e r- p remium might be a 200 thou-sand case catego ry in total.” But that small playing field seems to have lured some of the mostexciting and entre p reneurial marketers to the segment.

" M a ny consumers that drank rum as young adults, n o r m a l ly in simple drinks like rum andc o ke, h ave an affinity tow a rd the taste of rum but are looking for a higher/better quality," say sMichael Av i t a b l e,VP director of marketing at Marie Brizard , i m p o rters of Gosling's Black Sealr u m . He believes this helps explain why "the super- p remium rum catego ry has seen tre m e n d o u sg rowth over the past 5-7 ye a r s .The consumer is 'trading-up' to a better rum that can be enjoye din a snifter glass, l i ke a fine cognac or brandy." Avitable also cites the Hispanic population's matur-ing tastes in rum, and the fact that they are the fastest growing segment in the U. S .p o p u l a t i o n .

Notable is Sidney Frank’s Coyo p a , a ten ye a r-old rum from R.L. Seale & Company with anu n p recedented $50 retail price, a high-tech back-lit animated label and musical bottle. Since itsi n t roduction in September of last ye a r, t h e re has been much rumor and speculation aboutw h e re all the Coyopa has go n e.

According to Bill Thompson, vice president, Sidney Frank Importing Company, there wasindeed a failure of the complicated electronics — in the vicinity of 10-12 percent.But with ini-tial sales of 4500 cases,Thompson considers this “a hiccup.” Sidney Frank voluntarily, and tem-porarily, withdrew the brand.“We’re going to fix it and be back in the marketplace soon.”

R o b e rt Cullins,managing director for Santa T h e resa USA,which imports Santa T h e resa 1796,a sipping rum from Venezuela say s ,“A couple years ago the U. S .w a s n ’t ready for this pro d u c t ,b u t

Flavored rum sales

accounted for

almost 40% of total

rum sales in 2001

we now think the consumer and trade are re a d y.” Cullins says only in the last few years havesmall and major producers alike re a l ly started to concentrate on the pre m i u m , aged rums.“ I t ’sa lot like what happened with single-malt, then Bourbon, fo l l owed soon after by Te q u i l a ,” say sC u l l i n s .But he believes even sipping rums maintain their mixability — part of their essential rum-n e s s .“ T h ey combine the aggre s s i ve flavor of a traditional dark spirit and the more ap p ro a c h a b l echaracter of a white spirit.”

Tim Haughinberry, p resident and creator of Montecristo Rum agrees that mixing will alw ay sbe import a n t , even for premium rum. “ T h e re just are n ’t enough sippers out there,” say sH a u g h i n b e rry.“I can go after the sippers, s u re, but at our price point, e s s e n t i a l ly never over $30,people can also mix it.”

H a u g h i n b e rry ’s double-edged strategy for Montecristo, appealing to the sippers that smokethe cigars of his namesake and keeping the rum affo rd a b l e, h ave him on track to sell 15,000cases across 37 states in his first year of distribution.

M o re than 100 years have gone by since Andrés Brugal Montaner founded the Brugal Rumc o m p a ny in the Dominican Republic, and it was this producer that popularized the age rumsegment in 1976 with the launch of its A ñ e j o. Aging their rums in charre d , white oak barre l s ,Brugal also launched Brugal Limón, in 1998 a true novelty in the Dominican marke t , mu c hap p reciated especially by young adult consumers.A c c o rding to Will Clemente,VP brand deve l-o p m e n t , Renaissance International Import e r s , aged rums are hot right now because "peoplerecognize the time honored benefits of quality and value these rums offe r." Brugal prides itselfon offering some of the best value in the catego ry as we l l .

Matusalem from Skyy Spirits Ltd., also capitalizes on its romantic Cuban history (the brandis now produced in the DominicanR e p u b l i c.) A c c o rding to Matt Gilmore,brand manager, Matusalem is curre n t lyfocusing on Miami as an epicenter for theirt h ree labels — Platino, a silver rum; C l á s i c o,a ten-ye a r-old average Solera blend; a n dGran Reserv a , a fifteen-ye a r-old ave r a g eSolera blend. “ We ’ve revised our pro g r a m-ming to build a more compre h e n s i ve mar-keting program in Florida and then we ’ l lt a ke it to the other marke t s ,” says Gilmore.“Last year we did around 6500 cases andthis year we expect to do 17,000 cases.”

M a t u s a l e m ’s stylish campaign will alsoinclude sponsoring parties in theHamptons and print support fe a t u r i n gwomen wearing classic Cuban fe d o r a s .

Another portent of the catego ry as an up-and-comer, and serious rival to vo d k a , is Platino’srecent aw a rd for “Best White Spirit” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2003.

Mount Gay, c o n s i d e red to be the oldest operating rum pro d u c e r, will unveil a ve ry specialrum this summer in celebration of it’s 300th annive r s a ry. Mount Gay Tricentennial Selection isa blend of the distillery ’s finest stocks, some dating back to 1969.The release will be limited too n ly 2,100 specially packaged units and will retail for ap p ro p r i a t e ly $300.

In celebration of the annive r s a ry the flagship Mount Gay Eclipse will also don special pack-a g i n g . And Mount Gay will aggre s s i ve ly continue their nautical affiliations with the sponsorshipof 115 sailing regattas over the calendar ye a r.

Appleton Estate, distributed by Brow n - Fo r m a n ,o f fers a considerable line-up of quality mix-ing and sipping rums made from sugarcane grown on the J.W r ay & Nephew estate in Jamaica.

Appleton brand manager, Charles Shive say s , “My eve ry d ay pre fe rence still remains theAppleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum, for its versatility and great taste.” To that end, B row n -Forman is promoting signature cocktails, including a Bloody Mary variation,a c t u a l ly an A p p l e t o nCaesar called the Elusive Redhead.

The Appleton Estate Extra Jamaica Rum can be a premium cocktail call or a delightful sip-per, but the 21 year-old is almost exclusively a snifter pour.“I think it is up to each individual'spreference on what constitutes a ‘sipping’ rum,” says Shive.“That's the beauty of rum - it's asversatile as you want it to be, without being unapproachable or snobby.” From its beginningas simple molasses, rum may have more incarnations,in terms of origin, flavor, and versatilitythan other spirit.

E ver in search of fine drink, Je f fe ry Lindenmuth re g u l a r ly contributes rev i ews and tales of good tipples to Food A rt s ,Ta s t e, and W i n e& Spirits. He has also ap p e a red in men's magazines including Men's Health, M a x i m ,S t u f f , Gear and Esquire.

The 200,000 case super

premium rum category

has lured some of the

most entrepreneurial

marketers to the segment