Rum proves its mixing credentials
Although a relatively small category compared to Scotch or vodka, rum can lay claim to the best of both spirits arenas – it has the heritage as well as the crucial versatility. Richard Woodard reports
For what seems an age, rum has been touted as “the next big thing” in the spirits industry, with its combination of flavour, provenance and mixability carving it out a bigger and bigger niche in the major global markets.
In its more mature destinations, the sector appears to be close to a tipping point, as the initial wave of brand building and consumer education gives way to consolidation and exposing consumers to a broadening range of products, most especially aged rums.
But let’s not get carried away, because in most of these markets – when compared to the likes of vodka and Scotch – rum is still pretty small. The total global sector barely tops 50 million cases, and all that talked-about potential has attracted the attention of brand owners the world over.
Speaking specifically about the UK (although his comments apply equally to many other markets), Wray & Nephew UK’s Barnaby Rodgers believes rum is even more cut-throat than vodka. “It’s very competitive because it’s a growing market for a small amount of volume,” he says.
Premium rum in the UK, for instance, has volumes of just 400,000 cases, but given the noise made by the wide range of brands on offer, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was much bigger.
“There’s a huge amount of brands vying for a small amount of volume and the brands that have more clarity in terms of heritage and production are really going to establish themselves,” says Rodgers.
It is clear that growth – despite the economic downturn – is continuing, with golden and dark rums outperforming white rum in sales gains, if not absolute volumes. That success is at least partly down to rum’s ability to please a wide range of consumers, Rodgers believes.
“What you get in a nascent category is the absence of established codes of identification,” he argues. “Vodka is defined by its price and packaging. Whisky, especially Scotch, is defined by age, heritage and production. Rum is unique because it goes across both categories. It has a vibrancy for cocktails like vodka, and the production heritage of a whisky brand.”
Brian Woods, senior marketing manager, global rum, at Angostura, broadly agrees. “One of the general trends is that anywhere where cocktail culture is beginning to take hold – and that’s down to the wealth of the nation – there are opportunities for rum,” he contends. “Bartenders view rum as a more flavoursome addition to cocktails – you can do a lot with it.”
And Bacardi’s Eugenio Mendez joins the general chorus of cocktail approval. “Rum is no longer associated with only fruity umbrella drinks,” he says. “Top mixologists are using rum in signature cocktails and classic cocktails.”
Both Angostura and Appleton Estate are aiming to bring consumers up the product ladder in the direction of higher-priced, more
complex aged rums, and to good effect. “We can’t dictate the category, but I would like to think that by having such an interesting age range, we’re certainly helping the category’s image,” says Woods.
“More objectively, there is a trend towards aged rums and a category trend towards super-aged which is, I guess, being led by Appleton and Zacapa. That’s really helped everyone and really helped build the image of rum.” Rodgers concurs. “Knowledgeable bartenders have really jumped on that,” he says. “Aged rums have really moved that way, whereas golden rum [in the UK] is now becoming more mainstream.”
The move towards more premium rums may have been hindered by the recession, but the delaying effects of an uncertain economy are already beginning to diminish as bartenders, retail buyers and consumers increasingly embrace the category – and take it as seriously as some of its more historically significant rivals. In short, rum is no longer the poor relation to single malts or Cognac. Instead it’s being seen as a really good alternative. SB
