Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics July-Aug 2014

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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www.beveragedynamics.com July/August 2014 • Beverage Dynamics 17 M ojitos. Caipirinhas. Mai Tais. Cachacas. Rum is a spirit as popular in cocktails as it is on the shelf, conjuring the tropics, beaches, summer and tiki bars regardless of the season. "With rum, traditionally, there is a lot more play factor," says Josh Hayes, senior brand manager, Malibu. "Rum tends to come from a more fun place." And that smell you get when opening a bottle of rum, that tropical scent, transports you to the islands. But there's no fooling around when it comes to this spirit, the second largest behind vodka. "Rum, in general, has a very bright future. Bartenders love it as it is so versatile — so mixable — in cocktails. It also has a lot more personality and character than many other spirits categories," say Kevin Oglesby, brand director-Bacardi Rums, and Kelly Adams, brand director for Flavored Rums. It has such a bright future that the category is buzzing on all fronts. Puerto Rico's Des- tilería Serralles, which produces the premium rum brand Don Q, is increasing its rum pro- duction in the next three years. Bacardi Limited has begun an environmental initiative that includes recycling the water used to produce its rum. Don Q itself is undergoing a packaging BY KATE STRANDNESS A spirit with roots in the tropics fi nds growth in U.S. market. M redesign. Malibu is experimenting with dif- ferent packaging formats and sponsoring a summer concert tour. "According to a report from Distilled Spirits Council released in February, rum has increased nationally in both volume and revenue each year since 2010," explains Tom Herbst, vice president of marketing, Rums, for Diageo North America. "A key contributor to this growth is because dis- tillers — including us — have experimented with innovative spices and fl avors." But the focus isn't solely on the catego- ry's biggest brands. That growth stems from the smaller labels, too. "Smaller players, like us, will likely continue to see signifi cant growth as we bring new excitement and high-quality offerings to the category," says Brendan Lynch, senior director of Rum & Cordials, for Beam Suntory. With the category growing as a whole, it's still far from reaching an end point. "Rum has a lot of room to grow," Hayes says. It's far from reaching a saturation level with consumers. SPICED SUCCESS "The rum category continues to offer a high-quality spirit--now including new in- novations and fl avor extensions," Herbst says. "In the last three years alone, there have been nearly 60 new entrants in the Spiced Rum category — a competitive trend we don't foresee changing anytime in the near future." Diageo's answer: honoring Captain Morgan with the brand's latest expression. Released in May, Captain Morgan 1671 is a limited-edition commemorative blended spiced rum, whose name is intended to honor the historic Panamanian battle where "In the last three years alone, there have been nearly 60 new entrants in the Spiced Rum category — a competitive trend we don't foresee changing anytime in the near future." —Tom Herbst, vice president of marketing, Rums, for Diageo North America All for Rum and Rum for All RUM MAGIC

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