The Rumcast

Rhum Barbancourt is a square peg to the round holes of rum categorization. It’s made with fresh sugarcane juice in a nation with historic ties to France, but it is not rhum agricole. It hails from Haiti, but there is a world of difference between it and clairin. Its production has aspects associated with all three of the colonial-based French, Spanish, and British categories. To get to the core of what makes Rhum Barbancourt unique, we sat down with the company’s new CEO—and fifth generation member of the family that started the brand—Delphine Gardère. We discussed:The aspects of production that make Barbancourt distinct from other rumsBarbancourt’s relationship with the 3,000+ farmers that supply the distillery’s sugarcaneDelphine’s vision for the company, and the relationship between maintaining tradition vs. trying new thingsWhat it means as a company to be an ambassador for HaitiThe importance of elevating women in the spirits industry and transitioning from a male-dominated environmentBarbancourt’s approach to aging with a combination of vats and different cask typesBringing pot still production back to the distillery (and what kinds of releases it might yield)And much more!Links mentioned in this episode:Netherlands Rum Society Facebook GroupNetherlands Rum Society InstagramMaggie Campbell’s interview with Delphine Gardère for the Daily Beast Watch Rhum Barbancourt’s livestream with WIRSPA and Zavvy.coRhum Barbancourt Website

Societies, groups, collectives—whatever you want to call them, communities that bring rum enthusiasts together, whether in person or online, are a big part of furthering rum education and driving conversations across the category. But what goes into actually starting one? How do you find people interested in participating and sustain excitement and involvement? And wait—how do you get to do all that cool stuff like private barrel picks from beloved rum makers around the world? As founder of the Florida Rum Society, Jay Cocorullo has experience with all of the above. We brought him on the podcast to share his experience growing the FRS, his tips for others looking to start local rum groups, the FRS’s work to bring a better rum selection to Florida rum consumers, barrel picks, and more. Oh, and as a long-time member of the FRS, John had a thing or two to add as well!Note: This episode was recorded back in September. It’s been a hectic few months for The Rumcast, but we’ll be back with regular episodes soon!

Even if you’ve never heard of Amsterdam-based E&A Scheer, you’ve probably had rum that came from them. Or through them, rather. As rum blenders, they source rum in bulk from distilleries all over the world and create custom-made blends for customers who then sell it under their own brands. Walk down the rum aisle in your local liquor store and you’ll likely pass multiple brands who sourced their rum from E&A Scheer (Denizen is one of many examples you may be familiar with).On this episode, we sat down with CEO Carsten Vlierboom and CCO Niels Benschop to discuss what it takes to source massive volumes of rum, how they work with customers to create blends, their views on the evolving rum landscape, and much more. Carsten and Niels also guided us through the process of using their rum blending tool to create our very own Special Hypothetical Rum Blend for Rumcast listeners!Links:E&A ScheerE&A Scheer Blending ToolArticle: “The Most Important Rum Company You’ve Never Heard Of: E&A Scheer” by Matt PietrekArticle: “Liquid & Logistics: Inside E&A Scheer, Master Bulk Rum Blenders” by Matt PietrekArticle: “The Main Rum Company: Vintage Cask Valhalla” by Matt Pietrek

Known to many as the minister of rum, Ed Hamilton has spent decades helping rum drinkers explore the category on a deeper level, first through his books and website, MinistryOfRum.com, and eventually through his own line of imported rums. In this episode, Ed talks us through what it takes to grow a rum brand, figuring out the right rums to release, the state and future of the Ministry of Rum website, his opinions on various rums on the market, his 10 Rum Commandments, and more.

As the official rhum princess at Spiribam, Kiowa Bryan has a front row view into both Rhum Clément and Rhum J.M, two of the most iconic rhum agricole producers in Martinique. In this episode, she takes us beyond the surface of the category and into topics like the diversity of Martinique’s agricoles, demystifying the Martinique AOC, how to introduce people to rhum agricole, and more. Plus, stick around for a little bit of non-agricole talk on the rums of St. Lucia Distillers (Chairman’s Reserve, Admiral Rodney, Bounty Rum, all of which are part of the Spiribam portfolio) and what’s coming next.

Zan Kong, export sales manager for Worthy Park Estate, takes us inside the Jamaican distillery and sugar estate’s rum rebirth. Since reopening rum production in 2004, Worthy Park has put itself front and center on rum enthusiast radar by producing 100% pot still rum rich in the flavors and characteristics that are emblematic of Jamaican rum. Zan talks us through what it’s taken to get where they are today, the challenges of creating a brand versus selling bulk rum, the production process at Worthy Park, what releases might be coming down the pike, and more.

A listener writes in with a scenario we've all experienced: you buy (or are gifted) a bottle of rum that you open with eager anticipation...only to be utterly disappointed upon tasting it. So what happens next? Does the journey end there? Is it doomed to sit in the back of your liquor cabinet, never to be spoken of again? In this episode, we cover our seven go-to moves to make the most of a disappointing bottle.

As North American Market Manager for La Maison & Velier, Kate Perry has a front row seat for many of the rum world’s most sought-after releases from brands like Habitation Velier, Clairin the Spirit of Haiti, Transcontinental Rum Line, Hampden Estate, and more. On this episode, she dives into her own history with rum, opening Rumba in Seattle, traveling the Caribbean, what makes La Maison & Velier different from independent bottlers, working with Luca Gargano, upcoming releases, a new distillery in Haiti, her past rum predictions, and more.

Despite having a long history of rum production and sugarcane cultivation, Australia is a seldom-explored corner of the rum world. We invited Steve Magarry, production manager at Beenleigh Distillery, to pull back the curtain on Australia's rum history, the characteristics that define its rum, and what the modern landscape of Australian rum looks like.

Where do you go when you want to learn more about rum? What are the best rum websites, books, and other resources? In this episode, we share 9 (plus a few extra) of the rum resources we found to be most helpful throughout our rum journeys, from when we were first getting started to today.

Since 2015, Grander Rum has sourced and bottled a variety of aged, additive-free rums from Panama’s Las Cabras distillery. On this episode Dan DeHart, the company’s founder, takes us through the process of starting the brand, deciding on Panama and Las Cabras as the source for his rum, what collaborating with the distillery’s master blender, Don Pancho, looks like, the making of Grander’s limited rye barrel cask finish expression, what we can expect to see next from Grander, and more.

Richard Seale, owner and master distiller at Foursquare Rum Distillery, takes us behind the scenes of the Barbados distillery’s Exceptional Cask Selection series, what’s next for the Barbados rum GI, collaborating with Hampden Estate and Luca Gargano to create Probitas / Veritas, how the Seale family made the shift from blending and bottling rum to distilling rum, where names like Sagacity and Plenipotenziario come from, and more.

Maggie Campbell, head distiller and president at Privateer Rum, goes in depth on the Massachusetts distillery's journey to find the perfect molasses, getting feedback from Richard Seale, upcoming releases with Velier, barrel room terroir, being unstuck in time, the making of a new rum expression, the art of taking silly photos, and more.

Holmes Cay founder Eric Kaye discusses the work that went into the new brand's inaugural release: Holmes Cay Barbados 2005, a single cask bottling featuring rum sourced from the legendary Foursquare Rum Distillery.

Rumcast hosts Will Hoekenga and John Gulla give a quick overview of what you can expect from the Rumcast, how we got involved with the world of rum, and the rums that left the biggest impression on us in 2019.