The Rumcast

In this episode, Johann Jobello takes us inside the world of Transcontinental Rum Line, La Maison & Velier’s growing collection of rum releases sourced from all over the world. As product manager and U.S. market coordinator, Johann has a hands-on role at every stage of the process, from sourcing the rum, to aging it, to planning releases, and more. We discuss: Growing up in Martinique, the hea...

In this episode, we begin a conversation on the myths, misconceptions, and “marketing-speak” that create confusion in the rum category. From the all-too-common “rum is sweet” to eyebrow-raising marketing claims, we bounce around a variety of the stuff we’ve heard a lot lately and discuss what fuels it.

In this episode, Master Distiller Don Benn takes us behind the scenes at West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados. Topics discussed include his 20+ year career in rum, how WIRD has changed over time, rebuilding the Rockley still, creating the Stade’s Rum brand, and more. Also, before the interview, we introduce a new segment (What Are You Buying?), and do a quick Rerum inspired by this episode’s gue...

In this episode, a listener’s message about visiting St. Lucia Distillers inspires us to each pick three destinations for our rum travel bucket lists. Listen in on the discussion, then send us your own picks!

In this episode, we talk to Kyle Reutner of Kō Hana Distillers about the Hawaii distillery’s approach to making fresh sugarcane juice rum from heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane varietals. We go deep into: How sugarcane’s journey to and role in Hawaii differs from other places around the world Why Kō Hana is focusing exclusively on single cane varietals in their rum The distillery’s production process (a...

Ever thought you had your mind made up on a certain rum, distillery, or brand…only to have another experience change the way you look at it? Yeah, us too! In this episode, we each share three experiences that caused us to look at a particular producer a little bit differently.

In this episode, we chat with Knud Strand about the rapid rise of Mhoba Rum, a single estate distillery making rum from fresh sugarcane juice in Malelane, South Africa. Over the last few years, Knud has worked closely with founder Robert Greaves to guide Mhoba’s development, bring the rum to new markets, and get it on the radar of rum enthusiasts around the world. Knud takes us through the distill...

In this episode, we get caught up on everything new happening at Worthy Park with one of the Jamaica distillery’s newest team members—Craig Nicholson! As quality control manager and senior blender, Craig has a hand in just about everything the distillery puts out, from Rum Bar products to the distillery’s eponymous lineup of aged releases. Prior to joining Worthy Park, Craig spent over a decade wo...

In this episode, we each selected three rums we think rum drinkers are underrating right now and discuss why they’re worth giving a second (or first) look. There are so many factors that can contribute to a particular bottle being underrated, whether it’s price, style, design, category perception, lack of media coverage, lack of distribution, and more. Give it a listen and then email us at host@ru...

In this episode, we chat with Jen Akin, general manager of Rumba in Seattle, about the ins and outs of managing one of the world’s top rum bars. Jen talked us through creating new rum blends, managing a 20-page rum list, tasting rum from 1892, where cocktail ideas come from, the opening of the new bar next door (Inside Passage), the challenges of presenting rum to a broad spectrum of clientele, wh...

In this episode, we chat with Lance Surujbally of The Lone Caner about his Key Rums of the World series—one of our favorite pieces of rum writing online right now. It’s an essential series for anyone wishing to understand the rums that are defining the modern era, whether you’re new to the category or have enjoyed it for years. Lance talked us through the origin of the series, how he settled on hi...

Big news: we collaborated with Holmes Cay to co-create a new rum release! Meet Fiji Rum, a blend of pot- and column-distilled, molasses-based rum that was distilled at South Pacific Distilleries in Fiji. In this episode, we sat down with Holmes Cay founder Eric Kaye to take you through the unpredictable series of events that led to the rum’s creation, all the decisions that went into bringing the...

In this episode, we start with a quick review of recent rum and cocktail experiences before getting to an interview with Martin Cate (18:30), owner of the bar Smuggler’s Cove (among other ventures) and author of the rum and tiki book by the same name. Martin catches us up on the planned June 15th reopening of Smuggler’s Cove and then we hop around a variety of rum- and bar-centric topics, includin...

It’s not uncommon to find rums that were distilled in Belize, but how much do you know about the distillery that many of them come from? In this episode, we chat with Amanda Perdomo and Myito Perdomo of Travellers Liquors to get the deeper details on one of the biggest sources of Belizean rum. You’ll get a window into the Perdomo family’s history in the rum business (which dates all the way back t...

In this episode, we share thoughts on some recent rum experiences (including the Appleton Hearts collection) before jumping into a roundtable discussion Will hosted with three rum producers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico that are growing sugarcane for the purpose of making rum (Erik Vonk of Richland Rum in Georgia, Pepe Alvarez of San Juan Distillers in Puerto Rico, and Steve Jefferson of Kuleana Rum...

In this episode, we answer a listener question everyone has as they get deeper into rum: now that you’ve experienced most of the initial wave of recommended rums for those getting into the hobby, where do you go next? We came up with our top three picks for what to look for (while staying under $100) and revealed them to one another live. If you’ve already dipped a couple toes in the water and are...

In this episode, we kick things off with a quick discussion of some rums from KōHana Distillers in Hawaii before jumping into our interview (18:44) with Kevin Crossman, the creator of UltimateMaiTai.com. Kevin has spent the last couple of decades drinking his way toward the ultimate mai tai, both in bars and at home, and documenting the process on his website. We pick Kevin’s brain on a little bit...

In this episode, we kick things off with a listener question on additives in rum, along with a quick rerum, before jumping into our interview with Francisco Terrazas of Paranubes. Paranubes is a fresh sugarcane juice rum distilled in Oaxaca, Mexico, by José Luís Carrera, a third generation sugarcane grower and distiller of aguardiente de caña . Not only does Francisco share the backstory behind th...

In this episode, we talk to Jay West (whom the Internet may know better as t8ke), prolific spirits reviewer and founder of the Aficionados Group, the collective behind the XXX Series of rum releases and a recent string of high ester bottlings, including that DOK release you probably saw everyone talking about. Jay takes us through the stories behind those releases, what he’s learned from reviewing...

In this episode, we start with some more chatter on Hampden’s latest Great House release and revisit a defunct rum produced in Trinidad (though probably not the one you’re thinking). From there, we jump into our conversation with Ian Burrell, the Global Rum Ambassador and co-founder of Equiano Rum (the world’s first African and Caribbean rum) among other ventures. In signature fashion, Ian takes u...

In this episode, we start with John’s impressions of the new Great House release from Hampden Estate before jumping into our interview with Christelle Harris, marketing director at Hampden. Christelle’s family purchased the legendary Jamaican distillery at auction from the government in 2009, and she has been instrumental in developing the brands now associated with the distillery itself. In a wid...

In this episode, we start with a quick edition of Rerums (revisiting rums we haven't had in awhile) before moving into our St. Lucia Distillers interview. In the interview, we talk with CEO Margaret Monplaisir and Master Blender Deny Duplessis about the wide variety of rums produced at St. Lucia Distillers. Known for brands such as Chairman’s Reserve, Admiral Rodney, and Bounty (and Denros Strong...

In this episode, we each do a top 3 list of essential mixing ingredients that we think every rum lover should have in their home bar to better explore their rum collection —and to take their rum cocktail game up a few notches. Also, don’t miss our intro topic discussion debuting a brand new resource for the rum community we are excited to put on our website: a current list of geographically-based...

In this episode, we talked to Dr. Frank Ward, an icon of Barbados rum, about his time as managing director at Mount Gay, the sought-after pot still rums released under the Mount Gilboa brand (and via various independent bottlers), his time as chairman of WIRSPA, the development of the Authentic Caribbean Rum marque, his thoughts on the Barbados rum GI, and more. Before the interview, we kick thing...

In this episode, we take a look back at our favorite rums and rum-related experiences of the year, while also revisiting some of our top highlights from the Rumcast’s first year. Pour yourself a glass of something you fell in love with in 2020 and listen as we discuss: Our personal favorite rums this year in the following categories… Unaged rum Aged rum “New to me” rum Best value rum Most surprisi...