StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q July/August 2014 24 casks. The collection is so rare it's initial release only included select retailers and high-end restaurants in the Miami area and New York City. Although the price tag may not be as expensive, the Cruzan Distiller's Collec- tion was created with a similar premise in mind: superpremium, blended aged rums. Unveiled last September, the Collection includes Cruzan Estate Dia- mond Dark Rum, Cruzan Estate Dia- mond Light Rum, and Cruzan Single Barrel Rum. All three prod- ucts are available nationwide with the Estate Diamond labels retailing for $19.99 per 750 ml bottle and the Single Barrel retailing for $29.99 per 750 ml bottle. For its part, Patron released Pyrat XO Reserve Rum a few years ago as a superpre- mium sipping rum, part of a high-end niche that has expanded its footprint during the past few years. Unusual Rum Suspects T he Caribbean might be the obvious rum producing part of the world. But it's not the only spot where the U.S. draws from for its imported rums. Tanduay, a company founded in the Philippines in 1854 and currently the world's second largest rum pro- ducer, has two expressions that hit the U.S. a year ago. Tanduay Silver and Tanduay Gold are produced by Tan- duay Distillers, Inc., and can be found in Connecticut and Florida. As of June, Athens Distributors has expanded distribution to Tennessee, while Southern Wine and Spirits will be bringing Tanduay Asian Rum to Illinois in July. Both the Silver and Gold expressions retail for $19.99 (750 ml bottles) and have garnered awards at the 2014 Rum Renaissance and San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Screech Rum honors a tradition that dates back to the old seafaring days when Newfoundland sent ships full of salt cod to Jamaica and received cask-aged rum in return. In the present day, Screech Rum is distilled and barrel-aged in Jamaica, then bottled by Rock Spirits in Newfoundland, creating an 80 proof spirit that has scored high in spirits competitions. Rock Spirits recently partnered with M.S. Walker, making the company the exclusive U.S. distributor for Screech Rum's products. The new partnership brings an updated label design to Screech's bottles that celebrates its nautical heritage and two new fl avors. Joining Screech Rum, an 80 proof product that retails in the 750 ml size for $18.99, are Screech Honey Rum, an oak-aged Jamai- can rum, and Screech Spiced Rum, a blend of four- to eight-year aged Demerara Rum and natural spices, and imported from Guyana. Both new fl avors are 70 proof and retail for $19.99 in the 750 ml size. Diversification I n 2012, E&J Gallo entered the rum category with Shellback Caribbean Rum, and The Wine Group launched FlipFlop rum. Palm Bay International has Dos Maderas Rum, which includes the triple cask- aged Dos Maderas PX. Last summer, Terlato Wine Group forayed into spirits with its Artisan Spirits portfolio fi rst launching a vodka and gin. In November, Terlato announced the ad- dition of Don Pancho Origenes to its port- folio, a luxury rum produced by legendary Cuban master rum distiller Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez at his Las Cabras Dis- tillery in Panama. Don Pancho has already rolled into select markets with the limited- quantity 30-year retailing for $425 and the 18-year retailing for $90. Terlato expects an 8-year-old rum to eventually follow. "This is a connoisseur's rum, meant to be enjoyed as a fi ne spirit," said William A. Terlato, Terlato Wines' CEO. "We know that luxury whisky afi cionados are exploring other brown spirits — and Don Pan- cho superpremium rums will soon be on their radar." Trinchero Family Estates is just the latest wine company to introduce a rum. Its spirits division, TNS Brands, which launched in 2012, added Sugar Island Rum, the spirits division's fi rst in-house product innovation, in Sep- tember 2013. Sugar Island Rum is available in spiced (92 proof) and co- conut (42 proof) expressions and both 750 ml bottles retail for $18.99. M.S. Walker was recently named U.S. distributor of the line Screech Rum. E&J Gallo has seen initial success with its launch of Shellback Caribbean Rum. Another recent entry into the U.S. is Dos Maderas Rum, being represented by Palm Bay International.