Spirited online seminars slated for 2021 Jamaica Rum Festival

The 2021 staging of the Jamaica Rum Festival will feature a series of interactive and educational online seminars from March 22 to March 26.

Dr Joy Spence, master blender of Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum, and the first woman to hold the title globally, will present the Appleton Estate Ultra-Premium Rum Experience on Wednesday, March 24. The seminar will teach participants about the brand’s unique history and manufacturing process, and give rum enthusiasts the chance to enjoy and appreciate the complex flavours of the Appleton Estate range of premium, award-winning expressions.

Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum’s seminar, ‘Wray & Nephew, Culture in a Cup’, will feature an engaging flair tending mixology session with Captain Kidd, and host Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley who will provide a brief history on the brand. Sharmon Hinds-Smith, industry expert and J Wray & Nephew (JWN) academy instructor, will be on hand to answer questions relating to the brand and the versatility of the spirit in cocktail-making. Patrons will be encouraged to follow along and make their own cocktails at home. ‘Wray & Nephew, Culture in a Cup’, will be hosted on Friday, March 26.

Kingston 62, the new-brand naming convention for Appleton Special, will present a seminar at the Jamaica Rum Festival for the first time, following its introduction to the market in 2020. Kingston 62 presents: ‘Dance a Yaad’, and invites participants to party like it’s 2019 from the comfort of their homes on Thursday, March 25. The seminar will feature popular disc jocks and well-known mixologists who will help viewers to recreate their preferred cocktails at home. Also on March 25, Worthy Park Estate will host ‘What the Funk?’, an exciting and interactive rum flight tasting. The brand, through this seminar, will demystify the unique funk of Worthy Park Estate’s pot-still Jamaica rums. The seminar will be led by Worthy Park Estate’s Commercial Manager – Spirits, Alexander Kong.

‘Hampden Estate: The past, present and future of authentic Trelawny Rum’ will be led by Christelle Harris, director, Hampden Estate, on Tuesday, March 23. The seminar will delve into the unique production methods still in practice today at Hampden Estate, and how this makes the liquid so highly sought after all over the world. Patrons can look forward to all things Monymusk with a multi-sensorial experience of the Monymusk Plantation line of expressions. ‘A Taste of Monymusk Rums … Distinctively Smooth … Authentically Jamaican’ will educate patrons about the rum process and what makes its expressions different.

Persons must be 18 years or older to participate. The seminars are currently available for purchase exclusively through Gustazos. After purchasing their tickets via Gustazos, persons will be provided with instructions and a link via email to complete seminar registration. Thereafter, seminar kits may be redeemed at the Gustazos Redemption Centre, from March 19 to March 21, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The Jamaica Rum Festival ends on Saturday, March 27, in a spirited celebration of Jamaica’s rich rum heritage, capped with a concert featuring Shaggy, Sizzla, and Shenseea. The festival is presented by Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Tourism Enhancement Fund.