Birmingham, one of – if not the – rum capital of England, boasts multiple rum-dedicated bars and specialists, including The Cuban Embassy, where the event is being hosted July 1.

Rum-based operators in the city are reporting a growth in interest from consumers, particularly around spiced rums, which led to positive growth in the overall spirits sector last year, second only to gin, according to Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) figures for 2016.

Spirits specialists The Drinks Emporium, which stocks over 100 different varieties, reports 20% more sales of spiced rum than non-spiced.

“Spiced rums are really in vogue, appeal to a very large audience and can easily be adapted to a range of cocktails,” said retail manager, Mark Dent.

The Cuban Embassy, also reports an uplift in sales of premium and spiced rums.

“Last year a lot of people would request well-known Kraken for a spiced rum; now people are more often asking for recommendations, and we are selling a fair bit of Brugal Dry Spiced, and Red Leg,” said managing director Nick Rendall. There has been a marked increase in sales of spiced and flavored rums since 2014, with flavoured and spiced rums having increased its market share by 9% to 34% of the rum category since then.

According to the WSTA’s most recent market report, in Q1 2017 – as with Q4 2016 - flavored and spiced rum posted the best growth numbers in all areas of the rum category, with sales reaching 20,000hls and £40m quarterly sales for the first time. Putting the rise of spice into context, Peter Holland, sugarcane spirits professional at The Floating Rum Shack explained:

“There have always been two types of rum fan, those who don’t take it too seriously and just have some fun with the spirit category and ’the serious rummy’ - the person who knows just how good the category can be in terms of the tasting experience. Both fields are increasing at the moment, but I’d say that the rise in popularity of spiced rum is mostly why the former is camp is growing faster.” Rum has been touted as “the next big thing” for a while now, but while sales are on the rise, rum still has a way to go to rival vodka in terms of value sales (£1,13 in 2016) and gin in terms of growth.

Read more at Source: Harpers