As well as regulating rum, Burrell talked to DI at the Bacardi Legacy cocktail competition in Berlin about why he believes that rum has an ‘old man stigma’ and why it is important for brands to host such events.
Burrell said: “Rum has an old man stigma, a pirate’s drink which can only be drunk with coke. But some of the rum cocktails produced here have been amazing and that can only be good for the category.
“There is no regulated classification of rum, even though some areas do have their own rules and regulations on the spirit. So there are lots of different interpretations of what rum is.
“There is however a movement to try and create one and make it easier for bartenders and consumers to understand what they have in their bottle.”
Dickie Cullimore, Bacardi global brand ambassador, also joined DI in Berlin to discuss the current trends in the rum sector.
Cullimore believes that Bacardi needs to guide the rum category and be involved with Burrell’s ideology of regulating the liquid.
Cullimore added: “One thing that blew my melon when I first joined Bacardi was that there is no recipe. I said ‘how the hell can that be’.
“Because we have stock in different countries around the world it’s important for our guys to add maybe a younger rum for example, depending on what happens in the barrels.”
“We should be heavily involved in driving rum and giving it the respect it deserves. There are some people around the world doing great things, people like Ian Burrell.
“I think we need to be part of those conversations, lead those conversations and ask tough questions about our category. We as a brand shouldn’t be here to change everything but just to improve it.”
