News

The First-Ever Caribbean Rum Awards

By: Caribbean Journal Staff - January 13, 2018

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The first-ever Caribbean Rum Awards was held in Saint Lucia this weekend, and the winners have been selected.

The awards, curated by Caribbean Journal and a team of nine judges, covered six categories, including white rum, white rhum agricole, best rum, best rhum agricole, spiced rum and gold rum, all judged in a blind tasting held at The Landings resort.

So who won?

Guyana’s El Dorado 12 took home the crown as the Best Rum, while Martinique’s Rhum JM VO took home the top honors for Best Rhum Agricole.

Barbados’ Doorly’s Macaw won best white rum, while Florida’s Siesta Key won for best spiced rum and St. Lucia’s own Bounty Premium Gold won the award for best gold rum.

“It was an incredibly competitive field of 32 rums for this first annual Caribbean Rum Awards,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal. “The rums were a remarkably diverse portfolio, and just about every category was neck and neck. We can’t wait for next year’s field.”

The Caribbean Rum Awards were produced in partnership with the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority as part of the Saint Lucia Food and Rum Festival headlined by world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson.

Special thanks to the international judges, who included St Barth’s Christopher Davis, the Bahamas’ Toby Tyler, the United States’ Steven Shaw and Martinique’s Guy Ferdinand.

See the full lists of winners and medalists below:

White Rum

Best White Rum: Doorly’s Macaw (Barbados)

Double Gold: Bounty Premium White Rum (Saint Lucia)

Gold: Brugal Special Extra Dry (Dominican Republic)

Best Rum 

Best Rum: El Dorado 12 (Guyana)

Double Gold: 1931 by St Lucia Distillers (Saint Lucia)

Gold: Chairman’s Reserve The Forgotten Casks (Saint Lucia)

Best White Rhum Agricole

Best: Rhum Neisson Bio 52.5 (Martinique)

Double Gold: Rhum Dillon Ti’ Fle’ Ble’ (Martinique)

Gold: Rhum Clement Canne Bleue (Martinique)

Best Rhum Agricole

Best: Rhum JM VO

Double Gold: Rhum Depaz XO

Gold: Rhum Clement 10 Ans

Best Spiced Rum

Best: Siesta Key Spiced Rum (Florida)

Double Gold: Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum (Saint Lucia)

Gold: Clifton Estate Rum (Nevis)

Best Gold Rum

Best: Bounty Premium Gold (Saint Lucia)

Double Gold: Island Company Rum (Trinidad)

Gold: Siesta Key Gold (Florida)

Popular Posts

A.R. Carnegie, 74, Caribbean Legal Legend

A Caribbean Journal Editorial He was never a judge, never a Queen’s Counsel. His robes were never silk. But A. Ralph Carnegie was a Caribbean John Marshall if there ever was one. Ralph Carnegie, A.R. in scholarly texts, passed away […]


Robinson: Manatt Approached Government

Lackston Robinson, Jamaica’s Deputy Solicitor General, testified that it was the law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, and not the Jamaican Government/Jamaica Labour Party, that made the first move to solicit a contract to lobby the White House, he told […]


IMF Back in Antigua on Performance Review

The International Monetary Fund has sent a team to Antigua for a third review of the nation’s performance on a stand-by arrangement with the IMF. According to the Ministry of Finance, the IMF team began the review Monday and will […]


Related Posts pepe margo

A Rum Movement Is Growing in Aruba 

Down a quiet street in an industrial quarter of downtown Oranjestad sits a century-old home with brown wooden shutters and a barrel out front.  It’s an area that has become an increasingly hip corner of Aruba, home to a growing […]


More Cruise Ships Are Coming to Trinidad

trinidad cruise ship

Trinidad is projecting a significant jump in cruise passenger traffic this season.  The island’s tourism officials say “all signs point” to major gains in traffic, with the season set to begin in October and run through April of 2024.  The […]


Fortress' $425 Million Hotel Rebuild in St Thomas

the peninsula

The iconic Frenchman’s Reef resort complex in the U.S. Virgin Islands was built in 1973 and was a beloved Caribbean resort before it was shuttered in 2017 due to the massive devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria. After years […]


SUBSCRIBE!

Sign up for Caribbean Journal's free newsletter for a daily dose of beaches, hotels, rum and the best Caribbean travel information on the net.


No. Thank You