Ratu Spiced named 2018 Rum of the Year

Rum Co. of Fiji’s Ratu Spiced 5 Year Old Rum has been named 2018 Rum of the Year at the inaugural London Spirit Competition.

Ratu 8 Year Old Signature Premium Rum Liqueur also picked up a silver medal. It follows Ratu 8 Year Old Signature Premium Rum Liqueur winning a double gold medal at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC), and Ratu Spiced Rum 5 Year Old earning silver at 2017 London International Wine and Spirits competition.

Rum Co. of Fiji’s Senior Brand Manager Blake Vanderfield Kramer said: “We are extremely proud to be named rum of the year, it is an amazing accolade that gives recognition to our entire team in Fiji and in Australia who have worked together to bring to life the Rum Co of Fiji portfolio.

“Over the past five years, the team have been developing the brand and refining the rum we have on oak at our Lautoka distillery, Fiji, selecting different barrels from different locations in the distillery, combining different ratios of our pot and column distillates and finding unique ways to macerate and spice our rums.

“This award is a recognition to the excellent work our Rum Development Manager Liam Costello and the Rum Co of Fiji distillery team have done over the year shaping this amazing liquid. There are exciting times ahead for Rum Co of Fiji trademark with the brands gaining great traction within the Australian market and acute interest from international markets, which we plan to launch into in the not so distant future.”

The first-ever London Spirits Competition was contested by prestigious spirits from around the world, with entrants judged on the basis of three primary criteria – quality, value, and packaging – and scored on a 100-point scale.

In total, 20 brands were awarded gold medals for topping 90+ points, with silver medals handed out to those scoring between 76 to 89 points. The top scoring spirit, The Irishman Single Malt from Walsh Whiskey Distillery, was named the Spirit of the Year.

According to the London Spirits Competition organiser Beverage Trade Network, which runs alcohol beverage industry events all over the world, the new competition aims to judge spirits the way consumers judge them.

Unlike other spirits competitions, where technical expertise sometimes receives primary consideration at the expense of drinkability, Beverage Trade Network uses three criteria to evaluate the overall drinkability of each spirit, ranked spirits not just by how they taste, but also their overall presentation and appearance in the bottle. Further information on the competition is available here.

Both the Ratu Signature Rum Liqueur 8 Year Old and Ratu Spiced Rum 5 Year Old are available nationwide in Australia, following their recent launch in Dan Murphy’s. Both products have a shelf price of $61.99 and are being supported by an in-store tasting program to drive trial. Full details can be found on the Dan Murphy’s website. The full Ratu range (which also includes the 2017 SFWS gold medal-winning Ratu Dark Rum 5 Year Old) is also available at First Choice and leading independents stores across the country.