What To Expect At The 2016 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival
Spring is here, and with it comes warmer temps, sunnier skies, blossoming flowers, and, of course…
RUM!
Yes, it’s that time again – The Miami Rum Renaissance Festival is going down this week, culminating, as always, with the Grand Tasting this weekend!
Long-time UC readers have seen us track the evolution of this celebration of all-things-rum virtually since its inception, watching (and enjoying) its progression from “World’s Sexiest Rum Party” to the more mature, connoisseurial experience of the 2015 edition.
So, what’s in store for 2016? Here are a couple hints we gleaned earlier today while catching up with festival organizer Rob Burr…
Worldly Wonders
The wide variety of rums on offer annually at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival never ceases to amaze me, particularly blends from foreign lands well outside the Caribbean. This year will be no exception.
Expect to see a Brazilian invasion… a lot of Cachaça, Wild Tiger made in India, which devotes some of its proceeds to saving wild tigers in Asia, and Puerto Angel from Oaxaca, Mexico, a bold pot still rum.
Dzama from Madagascar, Stroh from Austria, Gunroom Navy Rum from Sweden, and Koloa from Hawaii will all also be there further upping the global cachet.
VIP Tasting Bar
Burr, as you might expect, has amassed quite an amazing rum collection over the years. His private stash is jammed with more than 2,000 bottles, many of them of the rare and astronomically priced variety that few of us will ever have a chance to sample… until now.
For the first time this year, we’re doing a VIP Tasting Bar featuring a collection of luxury aspirational rums from my own personal collection.
There are some REAL fantastic and ultra-pricey rums on this list. Brugal Siglo de Oro, Barbancourt 150, Rhum Clement XO, Ron Abuelo Centuria, Don Pancho Origenes 30, the new Zafra 30 – you’d be hard pressed to find a more exalted lineup of fine rums on offer to sample anywhere.
Every year, the Miami Rum Renaissance converts the Doubletree at the Miami Airport Convention Center into the best rum bar in Miami. This year with the new VIP Tasting Bar, it will also become the most exclusive.
The fun is set for April 15–17 here in Miami. For tickets and more information, please visit the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival online.
Hope to see you there!