Shortly after our World Spirits Championships Rum Awards show at the 2025 Chicago Rum Festival, I sat down with Federico J. Hernandez Founder of the Rum Lab, Miami Rum Congress, Chicago Rum Fest, and other national rum festivals and events, to get a pulse on what is going on in the rum industry.
Why did you start the RumLab?
The Rum Lab started back in 2007, when I was opening the 1st rum bar in Puerto Rico called Caña. Investigating how to attract tourists to enter the rum bar, TheRumLab was created as an experience where you could sit down with a Rummelier (I actually owned the website www.rummelier.com), which was my brother Miguel and I, for a rum tasting. My background was organizing events, and I also started organizing the Puerto Rico Rum Festival called Taste of Rum. The Rum Lab became the company responsible for organizing the Taste of Rum festival. Then we started organizing the Midwest Rum Fest, today the Chicago Rum Fest. Later, we organized the California Rum Fest, New York Rum Fest, Miami Rum Fest, and Texas Rum Fest. And most recently, the Spain Rum and Gin Expo.
Tell us about the rum events that you conduct. What are they, and what’s the focus of each?
The events have one core purpose: Promote Rum Premiumization and rum education. Puerto Rico’s event is somewhat unique because it also promotes entertainment, dancing, and our local culture. Rum education and premiumization are the heart of the event. This is the way we see the category of rum growing, in addition to the excellent white rum category that has been enjoyed for many years.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for the rum category? Is the lack of standards hurting rum?
The biggest challenge of rum: I see two.
– One would be brand transparency, meaning brands and rum bottles should explain what’s inside the bottle of rum that we are drinking. Is there a change? If so, what is it and how? Furthermore, what does the bottle’s # mean? Age, Party Celebration, Year Founded… This element is important to avoid confusion or what could be considered false information.
– Two would be Rum Purist. They are going to extremes, insulting anyone who doesn’t drink what they consider pure, pushing them away from the category. This is certainly not beneficial to anyone (brands, consumers, etc.). You should drink and enjoy rum according to your preferences.
What are some of the trends you are seeing in rum?
The latest trends I am seeing are rums from the Eastern Hemisphere: Asia Pacific, Africa, and Australia. I am also seeing a move in unaged rum from around the world called “Aguardiente,” which was actually one of the first names rum ever had. I am also thoroughly enjoying the rum from Spain. Another global movement is islands reconsidering harvesting sugarcane again and making rum using sugarcane juice.
This year, there was an emerging brands room at one of your events. Why did you create that, and will you continue this spotlight?
In Miami we started with an area called the Emerging Brand section as a way to showcase many brands that are new to the market in Florida. This will clearly simplify finding what new rum brands are at the event. This area was very, very popular.
