The Far East Rum Diary - Le Journal du Rhum d'Extrême-Orient 

January 2014 Web Edition

Past Issue(s) of The Far East Rum Diary

To find previous edition of our newsletter, simply visit our cellar and select what you need under the past issues section. 
For example September 2013 will take you to the first web edition of our newsletter.

 The Far East Rum Diary (TFERD) is a collection of "rum worthy" news and events taking in place and beyond Asia written by Philippe K.A. Buchle, French Rum Ambassador based in Hong Kong.

Cocktail Challenge - What happened? 
Sometimes things do not go as planned. This is exactly what happened. December is a busy month for bars so asking mixologists to create a cocktail from scratch with products they barely know at the busiest time of the year proved to be unrealistic.

We had several late entries and late submissions worsening the situation. As a result, the deadline was pushed to end of January and the jury will review the creations during the second half of February.   

If you find rum too strong try a (rum) Cocktail

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Air Mail Cocktail
If you stop by Common Room you may want to try the Air Mail, also if you feel a bit hungry give the mini burger a try. 
Some of you may enjoy sipping an oak aged Agricole rum perhaps with a Cuban cigar. Many people however do not like strong beverages. They are probably more into ice cream, chocolate and cocktails possibly all at the same time.

If you find yourself in the second group why not ask your bartender for a rum cocktail? Here are a few you may like to try: The Air Mail is made with rum, honey syrup and champagne and is available at Common Room (Central). If you are more into Tiki cocktails you may stop by Honi Honi (Central) and admire their impressive collection of rums while enjoying a cocktail of your choice. If you are adventurous, try to find a bar serving the Earl Grey Rum Punch (Earl Grey Martini variation).  
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Honi Honi Cocktail

2013 Hong Kong Rum Awards

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Philippe Buchle, French Rum Ambassador with Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador (Hong Kong Rum Festival May 2013)
As a Rum Ambassador my role is to promote rum as a category and "bring the King of spirits back into the limelights" which is easier said than done. Like other fellow Ambassadors, I attend rum and spirits events, visit distillers, write articles, conduct trainings and more. 

As French rums are less known than their Spanish and English counterparts I decided to become a spokesperson to promote French (style) rum  in and beyond Asia. 

Hong Kong is still a relatively small scene for the rum industry and the rum lovers. For this reason it is important to recognise and reward those who have helped the promotion of French rum and rum in general in Hong Kong.  

For 2013, the prices were divided in three categories: RumFest Award, Rum Tasting Award and Rhum Agricole Award. The first goes to Honi Honi for hosting the largest single rum event in Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Rum Festival. The second goes to the lovely couple who hosted a private Rum Pairing event last year (see November TFERD for details) and last goes to Les Boules Cafe Petanque for promoting and hosting several Rhum Agricole events during the year.  The awards will be given later this year.
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Hong Kong 2013 RumFest Award (unsigned)
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Hong Kong 2013 Rum Tasting Award (unsigned)
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Hong Kong 2013 Rhum Agricole Award (unsigned)

Hong Kong in numbers

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The Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia.


The Hong Kong population is relatively stable with 7 millions people and remains a tourist attraction with over 40 millions visitors per year.

Between January and November, Hong Kong imported over 300,000 litres of rum. Rhum De France remained the first importer of Mauritius rums (with 60% to 70% of total volume) and most likely Guadeloupe rums for 2013.

The amount of imported whisky was closed to 4 millions litres far behind brandy which was close to 7 millions litres. 

It would be interesting to compares these numbers to those of 2012 and later on those of 2014. In any case, the rum category does have a long way to go.

Coming up in February

Our next public rum event will take place on February 21st at Les Boules Cafe Petanque. 

As mentioned above the winners of the rum challenge will be also announced in late February.

During the first half of February we will be away to meet with distillers in Mauritius and Reunion, we shall come back with interesting news if not new products. 

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!

COMMUNITY - "That's The Spirit!"


"That's The Spirit!" is a Hong Kong lifestyle forum for amateurs, connoisseurs and professionals to meet, share knowledge, taste and experiment with the best distilled beverages currently available. 

To join visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thatsthespirithk/

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