The nominations for this year's Golden Rum Barrel Awards have finally been revealed and we're absolutely thrilled to announce that Refined Vices has been nominated second time in a row for Rum Blogger of the Year!

It is truly an honour being recognized this way and being part of all the nominees.

The third annual Golden Rum Barrel Awards recognizes the achievements of individuals and brands working in the Rum industry and is the first award ceremony of its kind dedicated solely for the rum category.

Being part of the UK RumFest the dinner and awards ceremony is considered the Oscars of the rum industry and it is an absolutely amazing experience to get to sit in the same room with all the big names of the rum industry.

We're really looking forward to the Golden Rum Barrel Awards this year and seeing you all there!

Check out the Nominations for 2012 at www.goldenrumbarrel.co.uk and the video for last year below.

For tickets, dates and times follow this link.

The UK RumFest 2012!

13th and 14th October 2012 ExCel Exhibition Centre

Back for its sixth successive year, RumFest is the world’s largest festival dedicated to the celebration of rum and rum culture and boasts two days of unmissable entertainment.

Rum lovers rejoice as London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre, set to host RumFest for the first time on Saturday 13thand Sunday 14th October 2012, will provide the location for an unrivalled combination of the rarest and most delicious rums from across the globe, the ultimate Carnival atmosphere thanks to live music and exotic rhythms, rum-infused delicacies alongside food from across the Carribbean in the Tropical Food Market, the opportunity to delve further into the fascinating history of rum, plus the chance to win a luxury Caribbean holiday for two.

Having sold out last year, RumFest is pleased to announce its expansion in 2012.

Visitors to the 2012 RumFest will be treated to not one, but two events in one, gaining entry to RumFestand the Tropical Food Market, plus the Boutique RumFest running alongside the two days will be open to members of the trade.

Tickets start from only £20 and are on sale now, along with full event information, from the RumFest website.

Kingston, Jamaica. J. Wray & Nephew Limited, on Wednesday September 19, held the barrelling ceremony for the Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum Prime Ministers’ Reserve – a very special and unique rum blend which will be used to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence.

The Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum Prime Ministers’ Reserve barrelling ceremony, held at J. Wray & Nephew Limited’s head office on Kingston’s Spanish Town Road, saw Independent Jamaica’s nine Prime Ministers or their representatives, led by current Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, ON, MP, pour a 750 ml bottle of the Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Rum Jamaica Rum – Jamaica Independence Reserve, which is a minimum age 50 year old rum that was created to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence, into a barrel containing rum from the 2012 crop year.

September 13, 2012; Kingston Jamaica. J. Wray & Nephew Limited’s Master Blender, Joy Spence OD, has been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Loughborough University in England.

Joy, who has the distinction of being the first female master blender in the spirits industry, was awarded the honorary degree in recognition of her contribution to the distilled spirits industry and the advancement of women in the field.

The ceremony took place today, Thursday September 13, at a ceremony at Loughborough University, one of the United Kingdom’s leading universities. Joy graduated with a Masters Degree in Analytical Chemistry (with honours) from Loughborough in 1978.

Joy joined J. Wray & Nephew Limited as Chief Chemist in 1981, and held a series of key positions before she was appointed General Manager, Technical and Quality Services in 1996, a position she still holds along with the position of Master Blender, which she took up in 1997.

WIN a bottle of El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum!

The Competition is now closed!

The Rum Club at the Golden Monkey seems to be getting better and better every time I go there and in fact, just before July they opened the doors to the Rum Club a little bit early as we had a very special guest come all the way from London to give us a presentation on some wonderful Guyanese rums called El Dorado Rum.

Stefanie Holt, the International Rum Ambassador for El Dorado Rum, had prepared us a presentation and a tasting of six different rums all the way from the Dark and Spiced rums to the 3 year old white rum to the superb 15 year old rum.

Of course the tasting included the stunning El Dorado 12 Year Old rum, kindly provided by Quittin' Time, which we are very excited to be giving away this month in our Rum of the Month competition!

Remember you can also buy El Dorado rum direct from Quittin' Time if you can't wait for the results of the competition!

Angostura has released for auction one of the most exclusive blends of rum in the world.

With only twenty 500ml bottles available worldwide, Legacy by Angostura is expected to go for AUD$25,000 within the next few days at the online auction by Langton's in Australia.

Legacy by Angostura is the result of six years of hard work, passion and 50 years of combined experience between the Master Blenders.

The blend consists of 7 of the distillerys most precious rums with the youngest of the rums in the blend being 17 years old.

“Legacy by Angostura is the ultimate expression of Angostura rum. We set out to create the greatest sipping rum ever produced and we believe we have achieved something that is both unique and unequalled” - John Georges, Master Distiller.

Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is proud to announce the release of a world first in Rum, the very rare Limited Edition

Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum - Jamaica Independence Reserve

In 1962 just before Jamaica received its independence, several barrels of rums from the Appleton Estate were set aside to age with the edict that these rums were to be used to create a very special blend of 50 Year Old Rum that would celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence.

These rums were placed in a special area in one of our ageing warehouses and for fifty years they were carefully monitored, first by Master Blender Owen Tulloch and then by current Master Blender, Joy Spence.   

As the rums rested in the oak barrels a transformation took place as rich, complex flavours and aromas were developed naturally from the interaction of the rum with the oak and the rums also became very smooth and mellow and developed a dark mahogany colour.