Spirits training: Become a 'Rum Master'

One strand of the True Rum campaign launched last year to promote rum from the Caribbean is a barstaff training programme in use of the spirit. Campaign organiser the West Indies Rum and Spirits Association (WIRSPA) is aiming to train up 1,000 'Rum Masters' across the UK, Italy and Spain by the end of 2009.

It is claiming a "renaissance in rum" and that the training will help unlock the profit potential of the spirit. The training includes a rum overview, rum tasting and interactive demonstrations in making mixed drinks.

Neil Morris, WIRSPA head of marketing, says: "The aim of our training programme is to excite and educate the on-trade about the opportunity that Caribbean rum presents. Rum offers an untapped opportunity for profit enhancement as bartenders in the know can encourage customers to explore new tastes and trade up to more premium brands. The training is specifically designed to build the knowledge of the most important influencers of all - the bartenders."

JR Perras, a barman at the White Horse in Parson's Green, London, went on a True Rum course. He says it has had a positive effect on his ability to persuade customers to trade up to higher-margin rums and to interest them in the category: "People have asked me questions about rum and I have had the confidence to answer them. I have been able to introduce people to better-quality rums, which has made them more likely to come back and try other rums and return to the White Horse."

True Rum training courses are set to run in Liverpool this month, Brighton in June, London in July, Manchester in August and Bristol in September. For more information, or to book places on the course, email rummasterclass@truerum.com