NZ Rum steals Double Gold at San Fran awards

New Zealand’s newest rum company steals Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition

New Zealand’s own Stolen Rum has been honored with a Double Gold medal for its Gold variant and a bronze medal for its White rum at the prestigious 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Judged on March 15, the competition attracts over 1,000 products from 57 countries and is judged by a panel of experts from some of the world’s top restaurants and bars, as well as influential media and alcohol critics.

Company founders and rum runners Jamie Duff and Roger Holmes said they were confident they had produced a first class product and this award has proven their rum is world class.

“We were pretty blown away to hear that both our Stolen Rum’s were awarded the medals in a line up of the world’s most premium spirits,” says Jamie.

“Stolen Rum had only been in the market for three weeks when we entered the competition. We couldn’t have hoped for a better start.”

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is widely regarded as the most influential and respected spirits competition in the world. This year, the competition celebrates its 10th year of awarding spirit excellence. Past medals in the rum category have gone to world leading rum labels such as Metusalem, Bacardi and Flora de Cana. Moet Hennessey's ‘10 Cane’ rum won a Double Gold medal last year.

Born in the Caribbean and raised in New Zealand, Stolen Rum was created after Kiwis Roger and Jamie, caught in the rum resurgence that was taking place worldwide, ditched their day jobs in favour of developing a world-class rum that is described by the pair as having a smoother finish, delicious taste, and a well-rounded landing.

Inspired by the rich stories of “rum running”, a booming business in the 1920’s where rum was smuggled from the Caribbean into the USA to circumvent the prohibition laws, the Stolen Rum boys have become rum runners in their own right – drawing parallels between the opportunistic nature of rum running and the spirit of the Kiwi DIY entrepreneur.

Their mission – to bring rum to a new audience, and give it the dues it deserves as the worlds greatest spirit. While exploring the Caribbean the pair stumbled upon an old distillery that had been producing rum since the early 1900’s, and they worked tirelessly with this distillery to produce rum to their requirements.

The result is a selection of premium rums based on century-old rum recipes. The gold variant is a medium-bodied rum that has more flavour and strength than its white counterpart and its Double Gold medal award comes before it has even been released to the market. The white variant has a subtle and delicate flavour, the perfect base for cocktails such as the Mojito or mixed simply with Ginger Beer.

As winners of a San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold award, Roger and Jamie are invited to participate in a tour around the United States with The Tasting Panel magazine, a nationally respected trade magazine for the wine and spirits industry.

Stolen Rum is so far available in top Auckland bars Racket, Suite, Corner Bar (De Bretts), Long Room, Soul Bar & Bistro, Cassette Number Nine and Mea Culpa. For more details, please visit:

www.stolenrum.com

ENDS

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