Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles from Puerto Rico won the main award at the largest event in the rum world. At the end of this event, the Caribbean Rum Awards, now in its sixth year, is held, where the most outstanding bottles and producers of the year are honored.
Every year, the rum community meets in the Caribbean for Caribbean Rum Week, a celebration of both molasses-based spirits and premium rhums agricoles.
The best bottle of 2023 is Don Q Reserva de la Familia Serralles. This rare bottle was first created in 1994 when the Serralles family aged a special rum in charred American white oak barrels. The best samples from the 36 barrels were chosen to make this exceptional batch.
The runners-up include Neisson Zwetol (gold), which is named after the Creole word for star and packaged in wood from Jura; Mount Gay Single Estate (silver), which highlights sugar cane harvested from specific fields; and Papa’s Pilar Ernest (bronze), a tribute to Ernest Hemingway.
“This year’s Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth was an amazing success,” stated Alexander Britell, the editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth. “The impressive line-up served as a reminder of the extraordinary diversity and quality of rums that the Caribbean offers.”
The event concluded a week long celebration filled with parties, tastings, educational master classes, and dinner events located around the island of St Baths. The closing competition was hosted at the luxurious Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth resort.
The highly renowned Rhum Neisson from Martinique was the most awarded brand of the year, triumphantly winning double gold in three various categories. A rum from Trinidad, named Island Company Rum, received high praise as the Best Gold Rum of the year, and Flor de Cana was recognized for best branding. The accolade of rum maker of the year was bestowed upon Yves Assier de Pompignan of Martinique.
In an exciting new development, the Caribbean Rum Awards has added a novel category to their competition: cane rum. This category shines a spotlight on rums that are produced from cane juice. Grenada’s Renegade Rum Single Farm Origin Dunfermline was honored to be the first recipient of a double gold award in this new category.
“The Caribbean rum world has never been more exciting, particularly in rhum agricole” said Guy Britton, managing editor of Caribbean Journal.
In the Rhum Blanc Guadalupe category: Rhum Karukera 50 won double gold, Reimonenq Coeur de Chauffe won gold, Rhum St Barth 50 won silver, and Damoiseau 69 won bronze.
In the Rhum Blanc Martinique category, Rhum A1710 La Perle won double gold, Neisson Dekolaj won gold, Baie de Tresor won silver, and Rhum JM 50 won bronze. Over in Vieux Agricole, Rhum Neisson Vieux Bio won double gold, Rhum Karukera L’insolite won gold, Longueteau Vieux won silver, and Damoiseau Vieux won bronze.
In the Premium Molasses Rum category, La Marielita won double gold, Mount Gay XO was awarded gold, and John Watling’s Paradise rum and Worthy Park Single Estate won silver and bronze, respectively. Full results can be viewed here.
“We had some exceptional rums and up-and-coming distilleries showcase their distinctive blends, along with the continued support from our agricole creators,” expressed Christopher Davis, the mind behind Rhum Room St Barth, and a key figure in the inception of the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth. “It was a truly memorable week and we’re already brimming with novel concepts for our 2024 edition.”
The panel of judges was composed of an array of professionals in the field, including Alexander Britell, co-creator of the Caribbean Rum Awards and the man at the helm of the Caribbean Journal; Guy Britton, who holds the reins as the managing editor of Caribbean Journal; Christopher Davis, a respected authority on rum and the driving force behind the Rhum Room St Barth; Peter Berntsen championing as COO of the Empire Social Lounge situated in Miami; Myssi Davis, the originator of Rum Traveler; Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, holding the mantle as the president of the Miami chapter of the International Wine and Food Association; esteemed rum connoisseur Ivan Jivkov; Simons Chase, who oversees the Cuba Journal as its editor; and the globally celebrated Chef Guy Ferdinand.
Leave a Reply