Custom blends win triple gold

Rum specially produced by R.L. Seale & Company Limited under the Tommy Bahama brand name has taken three gold medals in the ultra-premium category at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The Golden Sun Rum, which is a blend of rums aged up to 10 years, was honoured with a double gold medal, while the White Sand Rum received a single gold medal. Both rums are blended and bottled at R.L. Seale’s Foursquare Rum Distillery and were launched in the United States market in 2008 by Sidney Frank Importing Company Inc., a New York-based importer and marketer of spirits.R.L. Seale chairman, Sir David Seale, said the awards, which were based on taste alone, validated the large investment of time and effort that went into making those rums.   “We worked very closely with the people at Tommy Bahama and Sidney Frank to get it just right,” he said. “We know rum, and they know the US market. The challenge was to combine that knowledge to produce rums that would be a hit and on which we would all be prepared to stake our reputation.”Sir David said the awards also justified R.L. Seale’s decision to custom-blend aged rums that were marketed under private labels outside of Barbados, which the family-owned company did for other clients. “Our own brands are selling well in Barbados and overseas, but a few years ago we recognised that we could also sell not only our rums but also our expertise in rum distilling and blending,” he said.“We are selling it to people who want to put their brands on products that are highly distinctive and which are aimed at sophisticated consumers.” (PR)