Winners of the Golden Rum Barrel Awards 2012 Announced
The winners of the prestigious Golden Rum Barrel Awards, which took place at the glamorous Grange Hotel Holborn on Saturday 13th October, are now revealed with gongs going to categories such as Rum Distillery of the Year, UK Rum Ambassador of the Year and International Rum Ambassador of the Year.
Celebrating its third successive year, the Golden Rum Barrel Awards is one of the only awards shows of its kind to recognise and pay tribute to the key figures working in the Rum trade.
The awards hosted an exclusive acoustic performance from the recent Mobo Award nominee, Delilah to a star studded guest list.
The annual awards are part of the UK RumFest celebrations, the largest rum and sugar cane festival in the world which took place at London's Olympic venue, the ExCeL Exhibition Centre on 13th and 14th October.
Full event information can be found at the RumFest website.
The Golden Rum Barrel Awards are now announced and reveal that women reign supreme with both the UK and International Rum Ambassador of the Year gongs being awarded to Bacardi's Shervene Shahbazkhani and El Dorado Rum's Stefanie Holte.
Winners at the glitzy award ceremony also included Barbados'' St. Nicholas Abbey whose production of high quality rum and service to the promotion of rum have resulted in the weekend's success of achieving Rum Distillery of the Year 2012.
Plus, Roberto Serralles wins Rum Distiller of the Year 2012 for his achievements in producing great spirits whilst also actively pushing the boundaries of the rum production and awareness in the industry.
Rum Blender of the Year was awarded to Alexandre Gabriel of Plantation Rum congratulating his creativity in promoting the rum category to the rum loving public, whilst Tatu Kaarlas of Refined Vices.com was honoured with Rum Blogger of the Year 2012 in what has become an accolade of great achievement and influence as the digital world grows year on year.
The evening's guests were treated to an exclusive live acoustic performance from the breathtaking Delilah who has recently been nominated for Best Newcomer at this year's Mobo Awards.
The star studded event saw the likes of industry favourite Peter Dorelli on hand to congratulate the winners, plus recent world record breaker for the world's most expensive cocktail, Salvatore Calabrese joined the four course sit-down dinner and entertainment.
International and ex-Manchester United footballer Mikael Silvestre also attended, representing his increasingly popular rum brand, Rhum St. Barth.
Nominations for this year awards were carefully selected by industry experts and the public, with the four final nominees from each category facing a panel of journalist and rum experts from around the world.
The winner from each category was announced at the awards ceremony and the full list is below: -
St. Nicholas Abbey (Barbados) Rum Distillery of the Year 2012
An award for the establishment that produce high quality rums, and has provided a service to the promotion of rum making including tours and education over the past year.
Roberto Seralles (Seralles Distillery, Puerto Rico) Rum Distiller of the Year 2012
An award for the person who embodies the rum category. They are not only in charge of producing great spirits but have been actively pushing the boundaries of rum production, and awareness in the industry.
Alexandre Gabriel (Plantation Rums, France) Rum Blender of the Year 2012
An award for the master blender who has achieved greatness in the art of rum blending and has been seen to promote this level of creativity to the rum loving public.
Refined (Vices.com) Rum Blogger of the Year 2012
The blogger or bloggers who have tirelessly been promoting the rum category to the highest level in the past year online.
Shervene Shahbazkhani (Bacardi) UK Rum Ambassador of the Year 2012
The ambassador of a rum brand who has devoted their life to promoting rum to the UK market.
Stefanie Holte (El Dorado Rum) International Rum Ambassador of the Year 2012
The ambassador of a rum brand who has devoted their life to promoting rum to the international market.
Appleton 50 Year old, Jamaica Best New Gold Rum 2012
The best new gold rum that has set the world alight with its taste, marketing and promotion in 2012.
Plantation 3 Stars, France Best New White Rum 2012
The best new white rum that has set the world alight with its taste, marketing and promotion in 2012
Appleton 50 Year Old, Jamaica Best Rum Package 2012
The award for the most exciting new rum package that raises the bar
St. Nicholas Abbey Best Boutique RumFest White Rum
Bristol Spirits Rockley Still 1986 Best Boutique RumFest Gold Rum
Roberto Serralles (Serralles Distillery) The Rum Experience Rum Pioneer
UK Rum Ambassador and UK RumFest founder, Ian Burrell comments: -
"We are thrilled to announce this year's winners of the third annual Golden Rum Barrel Awards and would like to congratulate all the winners and the nominees for their achievements and their invaluable contribution to the rum industry. Rum is increasingly becoming a force to be reckoned with within the drinks and bar industry, and we are proud to be able to recognise and honour the people and brands that are making this happen."