Manchester Rum Festival
It’s been a hectic 6 weeks of rum, write up and repeat and I’ve been having the time of my life drinking & chatting rum and this weekend was no exception… after missing the last few years due to schedule clashes I attended my first (and certainly not my last) Manchester Rum Festival.
The first thing I have to call out is how inclusive and diverse the crowd was! It was great to see so many different people all united by a common interest in rum and I had so many great conversations with both attendees and exhibitors. Exactly what rum should be about!
Another highlight of the show had to be the Rum Ramble I booked onto with Ian Burrell – “From grass to glass. How to make a premium rum brand“. I won’t post too many spoilers here as I’ve got another post in the works covering the session and rums!
There were 2 other sessions for attendees to book onto (I didn’t attend these sessions but heard good things about them ) – “The rum cocktail journey with Monin syrups” and “Make your own arranges with Rhum Damoiseau”
Standout rums!
Naturally it’s not a rum event without me calling out some of the standouts from the show!
As always it’s a pleasure to taste some of the offerings from Bristol Spirits (Fiji or Port Mourant anyone?) and it was awesome to see stands selling out of all their stock such as Anne Bonny and for the second show in a row Millions of peaches from Outlier.
Onto some of the brands and/or rums I’ve not tried before:
Rum Agricola da Madeira – 970 (madeira wine cask)
This one might come as a bit of a surprise to people that know me or have been following my journey for a while but I’ve been working to challenge myself and keep an open mind to trying rums outside of my comfort zone and this aged expression was a real treat.
Don Q Double Aged Zinfandel Cask Finish
I’ve had a few rums from Don Q but the Zinfandel isn’t one I’ve tried before and I found it to be a fun and interesting expression with some nice floral and fruity notes, definitely one I’d like to revisit with a fresh palate.
Revival Rum Pure Cane Spirit
This comes from a small British distillery based in Northampton and I really enjoyed chatting with them and tasting what they have been up to. The passion was really clear to see and I’ll be keeping an eye on them.
