Rum Focus: A spirit that still has the fun factor

"It's funny asking a person for their perception of what rum is," grins Richard Seale, owner of the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados and master distiller of brands like Foursquare Spiced, Tommy Bahama, Doorly's and Mahiki Rum. "Everyone has their own interpretation."

There are so many differing styles, countries of origin and unregulated guidelines to the creation of rum, that it's no surprise people's perception of it is hazy. Rum is, admittedly, pretty complex; a category that boasts both variety and versatility, but - no question about it - is doing pretty well.

"London has been one of our best markets," confirms Richard. And with 22 per cent of UK pubs stating an increase of rum sales in the past year in The Publican's Market Report 2010 and First Drinks admitting that this year it has rolled out its biggest-ever UK marketing spend on Mount Gay, it's easy to see why.

Drinks companies have been behind rum for the past few years. Pernod Ricard has a well-known longstanding target to sell five million cases of Havana Club by 2013.

Rum, and most notably aged golden rum and spiced rum, is really taking off.

Cool to know about

"Rum is doing fantastically at the moment, especially golden rum," says Inspirit Brands' rum expert Stef Holt, who looks after brands like El Dorado and Myers.

"White rum was always the big boy in the category, but over the past couple of years, we've seen lots of different golden rums launching. It's become quite a cool thing to 'know about rum'," she admits.

"Nowadays, most good pubs have got at least a couple of golden rums in," adds Stef, admitting that licensees would do well to explore the trend further by stocking a more varied range.

Similarly, Richard laments that there is still work to be done to educate the pub trade that there's more than the limited selection they've historically been used to offering customers.

"In a UK pub you'll often only see Lamb's Navy or Woods," he says. "A lot of the time, people need to be introduced to rum to realise they like it. Really, ideal consumers are just people who appreciate good spirits."

J.Wray & Nephew brand manager Barnaby Rodgers agrees. "Golden rum actually ages and improves with maturation, like whisky does, so you can really see a tangible difference in quality and styles," he says.

It seems the pub scene still has a lot to learn.

Hello Sailor...

Fast becoming a lifestyle drink and attracting a younger audience with its focus on popular culture - Sailor Jerry is a major hit with younger consumers. It has created a strong and very distinctive identity and built a relationship with live music, such as sponsorship of music festivals Bestival and The Big Chill, to boost its street cred - and with this in mind, it's easy to see why rum is a hit for Generation X and Y.

It's the popular lothario cousin of the spirits sector. Compared to Uncle Scotch, it's a bit more alluring to the non-fleece-wearing consumer. It's not dusty and old.

Instead, it's a coming-of-age category. One that people enter at the sweeter spiced rum level at college and move through to aged golden blends throughout their 20s and 30s. We may browse the broadsheets now, but let's not forget we all started out reading The Funday Times at some stage. It's the same for rum consumers.

"We see the growth of aged, spiced and golden rum as positive as it is bringing new consumers into the category, especially younger males," says Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands (BBFB) sales director Olly Berney.

UK rum ambassador and Rumfest director Ian Burrell highlights that this is because rum is a drink that's values are based on enjoyment, good times and having a laid-back attitude to life - all attractive to a younger audience or an older one that maintains a younger attitude.

"The association rum has with fun means people buy into the whole experience and think of the good times," he says.

Barnaby adds: "Anyone who says: 'I don't like rum' can't have ever tried much of it. If you get someone brought into the category by something exciting like spiced rum, it works well."

He says that the drinks industry has recognised that blends that appeal to a sweeter palate have opened up avenues for consumers to try rum in the first place. No bad thing in his book.

Mad for mojitos

But what will consumers want next? We all know that mojitos were the big trend a few years back and now spiced variants are gaining more back-bar space, but what will be the next big star? It needs to boost sales and basically be The Next Big Thing. Or will the mojito craze last forever?

BBFB certainly thinks so, and continues to hammer away at the trend for rum-based cocktails.

"In the last year the number of people drinking Bacardi Original mojitos has doubled, but this still represents a fraction of the number of Bacardi drinkers so we believe there is still a huge opportunity," says Olly.

"Identifying the next trend is incredibly difficult but there is a growing interest in daiquiris and rum punches."

But Stef, Richard, Ian and a few others are veering more towards ginger mixers and fruit juices without the pretension of named cocktails and suchlike.

"Offer rum mixed with ginger beer," says Stef. "Or apple juice is brilliant, as it doesn't hide the rum. Golden rum with apple juice is such a great drink," she adds, noting that rum is so versatile it can be offered in many different forms. "Mixing it with juice isn't sacrilegious."

"What's my favourite way to drink rum?" ponders Richard. "I like it with ginger ale. Foursquare Spiced and some cold ginger ale."

"But if I had to drink one drink for the rest of my life? It'd have to be Doorly's XO. It's not difficult to live with."

How to sell it - advice from the experts

"You should always encourage people to enjoy their spirits however they prefer to take them," advises Richard Seale of Foursquare Distillery. "Before pushing a new drink upon someone, you should ask them: 'Do you drink spirits straight?' If they don't, then don't offer it to them like that. I think everyone should drink things how they might enjoy them most. If you want to appreciate the rum, you can often mix it with something lighter, whether that be water, lemonade or ginger ale. No one should ever feel embarrassed about how they prefer to enjoy a drink."

"Look at your customer and see what kind of flavour they like," advises Stef Holt of Inspirit Brands. "If you have a large Scotch drinking clientele, then there are lots of rums that are of a similar age and production that will fit alongside them. If you sell more mixed drinks to a younger crowd, who are more likely to drink rum and Coke, or rum and ginger beer, then there are a variety of golden rums out there that are a bit more exciting and different and they make really different kinds of drinks."

"Licensees should organise tasting sessions to get customers trying different spirits," says James Stocker, marketing controller for dark spirits at First Drinks. "The use of point-of-sale materials is another useful way of engaging consumers. Even something as simple as the addition of a chalk board with branded spirit serve suggestions could help ensure rum brands are front of mind for customers when ordering. Customers have become more discerning than ever and will now commonly bar call brands when ordering spirits. With this in mind, operators must ensure that barstaff are knowledgeable about products, so investing in staff training is key. They will then be in a better a position to interact, make recommendations and encourage customers to trade up to more premium variants."

"Most people drink rum mixed," says Stef and UK rum ambassador Ian Burrell agrees, adding: "It's not just about the basic white rum or dark rum offerings any more, there are a lot of other rums you can offer customers. It's about doing more than the rum and Coke, having a mixer tha