Hand-crafted Bahamian rums have been showcased to the biggest rum market in the United States after John Watling’s Distillery took part in the Miami Rum Congress – with the team not only offering visitors the chance to savour both the taste and the history of Bahamian rum.
The Miami Rum Congress was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center from 6–8 February, bringing together rums from around the world – and John Watling’s was invited to represent The Bahamas at the event.
Visitors were able to sample three rums – known as expressions – thanks to the John Watling’s team: the Pale Rum, Amber Rum and Paradise Rum.
“South Florida is the biggest market for rum,” said Carmen Argamasilla. “We’re here to give everybody a taste of The Bahamas. People are loving the three expressions we’re presenting here at the Miami Rum Congress. The Congress invited John Watling’s to participate, and we are more than happy to be representing The Bahamas on this international stage of rum, joining more than 85 premium rum brands here.”
Joining the team in Miami was John Watling’s Master Blender, Guillermo Garcia-Lay, who has spent decades refining his craft and lived in The Bahamas in the 1990s.
“I think it’s super-critical for The Bahamas to be here at the Miami Rum Congress,” he said. “At John Watling’s, one of the things we focus on is bringing rum culture to life — educating people, deepening their understanding of our history and connecting them to the past. That’s exactly what we aim to do when guests visit us at the Buena Vista Estate, where JOHN WATLING’S rum is made.”
He described the response as overwhelmingly positive. “Some people had never heard of the product, others were already familiar with it, and many had actually visited Nassau and toured the John Watling’s Distillery. It’s fascinating to speak with people about how the rum is made. Experiences like this reaffirm that establishing rum production in The Bahamas was the right decision. We truly consider JOHN WATLING’S to be the flagship rum of The Bahamas. We’re proud of that — proud to be The Rum of The Bahamas and to represent The Bahamas here at the Miami Rum Congress.”
Attendee Alfredo J Gonzalez was one of those enjoying a taste at the John Watling’s booth, revisiting a favourite drink of his. “I was looking forward to coming to the tasting because John Watling’s was here,” he said. “I’ve been to Nassau, I’ve been to their tasting room, I’ve had their whole range of rums, and it’s one of my favourite rums. I enjoy them all the time with a good cigar or just with friends.”
Federico Hernandez, one of the organisers of TheRumLab.com, said: “We have rum from Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, and a lot from Colombia this year – and we have The Bahamas. I’ve been dying to try a rum from The Bahamas, so I am super excited by this.”
Master Blender Garcia-Lay also shared more about the JOHN WATLING’S rums available to taste, including his personal favourite.
“We’ve brought three expressions to the Miami Rum Congress,” he said. “The first is JOHN WATLING’S Pale Rum, which has been aged between two and three years. It has a light character and works great in cocktails like daiquiris, mojitos and all the tropical rum drinks you can think of.”
He added: “The next expression, which is one of my favourites, is JOHN WATLING’S Amber Rum, which is aged between three and four years. In this rum you can really detect the character coming through. It has a slight pungency to it but a smoothness as well. It’s very, very drinkable. You’ll find that people who like Scotch and bourbon really gravitate towards this one as well.
“The third one we’ve brought to the Congress is JOHN WATLING’S Paradise Rum, which was originally a rum that we made in Nassau for Atlantis Resort & Casino. It’s a blend of four- and six-year-old rums, and the primary difference in this rum is that we finish it in sherry barrels, so that sherry character comes through in the rum as well. It’s a really nice balance between rums that are typically matured in bourbon casks and those finished in sherry casks.”
The key to producing the rums, he says, is “the care that we take in sourcing the distillates that we use, the way that we age the rums, the way we filter them and the way we put them together”.
“We’ve been really careful and consistent in the way we’ve put the rums together, and quality is our number one concern. We want the rums to be of great quality and consistent from batch to batch.”
While John Watling’s is flying the flag in South Florida, you can also taste their rums and enjoy their experiences right here in The Bahamas.
You can experience The Rum of The Bahamas at the Buena Vista Estate and learn more about the history of the estate itself and the rums prepared there, and book personal rum tastings and mixology classes through their new ‘We B Learnin’ Rum Academy. For more information, visit johnwatlings.com.
