There’s a new epicenter in the world of Caribbean rum: the island of St Barth. 

In a turbulent year around the world, the island played host to the ultimate rum experience of 2020: the Caribbean Rum Awards and St Barth Rum Festival, which concluded this weekend. 

This year’s third annual Caribbean Rum Awards drew a who’s who of the rum world for an unmatched lineup of high-level, socially-distanced rum experiences, rum competitions, cocktail pairing dinners and master classes, all hosted at Christopher Davis’ Rhum Room, the world’s leading Caribbean rum bar and the adjacent Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab. 

The week was punctuated by the Caribbean Rum Awards themselves, which put together a never-before-seen field of heavyweight expressions of both Molasses Rum and Rhum Agricole. 

“We are so pleased with the 2020 edition of our Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth, which truly celebrated the best of the world of rum,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awards. “This year’s competition set a new standard, with nearly 60 rums, including some sought-after expressions that have never before appeared in any rum competition.” 

Most importantly, the dates have already been set for next year’s Caribbean Rum Awards and St Barth Rum Festival, which will run from Nov. 2-7, 2021. 

“As we wind up a week filled with Master Distillers, Master Blenders and other Rum Industry experts, I find myself in awe of the knowledge and passion they have for this industry and their generosity in sharing with everyone who met them,” said Christopher Davis, international rum expert, proprietor of the Rhum Room and Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab and founder of the St Barth Rum Festival.

“This year’s addition of Master Classes from these experts was very well received and the feedback I received from literally everyone is ‘please next year bring them back and add more if you can.’ The first annual Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum Cocktail Contest was great and the contestants had as much fun as the crowd cheering them on. Expanding the Rum Cocktail Pairing Dinner to two nights this year was clearly well received and sold out so we will add a third night next year. And when I look at all of what we accomplished in a year of COVID, I think just wait until next year when we have more freedom for the events.”

So who were the winners? 

More than 100 rums were entered for judging, narrowed down to a competition field of nearly 60 rums across 8 categories, including Premium Molasses Rum (rums up to $450 per bottle), Uber-Premium Molasses Rum (rums $450 and over); Rhum Blanc – Martinique; Rhum Blanc – Guadeloupe; Rhum Agricole VSOP; Rhum Agricole XO; Rhum Agricole Hors d’Age and Uber-Premium Rhum Agricole (rum over $500 per bottle). 

In the Molasses field, it was a banner year for Puerto Rico’s Ron del Barrilito, which took home Double Gold in both the Premium and Uber-Premium categories for its Ron del Barrilito 4-Star and Ron del Barrilito Five-Star, respectively. 

Martinique’s Rhum Neisson dominated the Agricole category, with three Double Gold medals, highlighted by a win for its Cuvee Sacha in the Uber-Premium category. 

You can find the full list of winners below:

This year’s Caribbean Rum Awards was judged by the CRA panel of international judges in a blind tasting. Judges included Alexander Britell, editor-in-chief of Caribbean Journal and founder of Rum Journal; Guy Britton, EVP and Managing Editor of Caribbean Journal; Christopher Davis, global rum expert and proprietor of the Rhum Room in St Barth; Steven Shaw, spirits importer and vintner; Simons Chase, editor-in-chief of Cuba Journal and leading Cuban rum expert; Peter Berntsen, COO of Empire Social in Miami and founder of Miami Rum Month.

In the CRA’s People’s Choice category, Mount Gay Port Cask Expression took home the top honors in the Molasses category, while Rhum Neisson Cuvee Sacha won in the Agricole category. (The People’s Choice Jury included Steven Miller, Eddy Maddox; Benoit Lavigne and Ted Houseknect.)

This year’s Caribbean Rum Awards was made possible by WIMCO, Tradewind Aviation, Les Ilets de la Plage; Davidoff, Accutron, Empire Social and SC Capital. 

Judges’ accommodations by WIMCO included Villa ANG and Villa HSL; Tradewind Aviation was the official airline of the event.

“We are so excited for what’s in store for next year,” said Guy Britton, EVP and Managing Editor of Caribbean Journal and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awards. “What we were able to achieve in a challenging year speaks volumes of the direction of this event. This has quickly become the essential rum event in the Caribbean.”

The post Martinique, Puerto Rico Top Winners at 2020 Caribbean Rum Awards in St Barth appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Spirit Airlines is set to relaunch a host of routes from Orlando to the wider Caribbean Basin in December. 

The low-cost carrier will be relaunching flights from Orlando to Caribbean destinations including Cartagena, Cancun and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, among others. 

Orlando-Cartagena flights will launch Dec. 16 and operate three times each week; Orlando-Cancun flights will run six times per week and also launch Dec. 16. 

Daily Aguadilla service is slated to relaunch Jan. 6, 2021, pending the reopening of that city’s airport (for now all flights on all carriers to Puerto Rico are running through San Juan). 

“End of the year vacations are the perfect time to visit family and friends, and we are excited to provide so many direct flight options to international destinations from Central Florida,” said Matt Klein, Chief Commercial Officer at Spirit Airlines. “Orlando is one of our largest markets and where many of our domestic and international flights originate. We know how valuable it is for our Passengers to be able to get on a plane and fly directly to their destination, without having to connect to other airports.”

Spirit is already operating service to Caribbean destinations including San Juan (with up to five flights per day) and St Thomas, USVI (with four flights each week). 

— CJ

The post Spirit Airlines Relaunching More Caribbean Flights From Orlando appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Since the beginning of June, when the first Caribbean destinations began to reopen their borders for tourism, there’s been a continued wave of hotel re-openings.

So it was major news in Punta Cana this weekend when a full-fledged new resort actually opened its doors — for the first time.

Indeed, the first new resort to open in Punta Cana since the beginning of the pandemic just began welcoming guests: The Radisson Blu Resort and Residence Punta Cana. 

The property, the only Radisson Blu in the Caribbean, officially launched operations on Nov. 15. 

It’s one of just a handful of new resorts that have opened since the beginning of the pandemic, and the first in the Dominican Republic.  

The 164-suite resort, which is set on Cabeza de Toro beach in greater Punta Cana, is one of the only all-inclusive Radisson Blu resorts in the world. 

“The opening of Radisson Blu in Punta Cana marks an important milestone in our corporate history and is a testament to our confidence in the reactivation of tourism in the Dominican Republic,” said Francisco Jorge, Vice President of ACH Hoteles & Resorts, which owns the resort. “We are proud to expand Radisson’s footprint in the Caribbean, offering our guests the quality of service that has made the brand a staple in the tourism industry, combined with the idyllic natural charm of one of the best Dominican beaches.”

The new-build property’s 164 suites are set across 12 buildings on the beach, with amenities including six a la carte restaurants, five bars and lounges and a large lagoon-style pool, among others. 

It’s the second Radisson in the Dominican Republic, joining a Radisson-branded hotel in the country’s capital of Santo Domingo. 

“We are delighted to welcome guests to Radisson Blu Resort and Residence Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. As with all Radisson Blu properties, we are committed to providing an unparalleled guest experience in the idyllic setting of Cabeza de Toro, a blue flag beach in close proximity to all the attractions Punta Cana has to offer. Our guests can travel with the peace of mind that we have them completely covered, from safety protocols, to all-inclusive offering, to personalized attention, Radisson Blu Punta Cana will redefine the upscale beach vacation”

The Dominican Republic has been open for tourism since this summer. 

For more, visit Radisson Blu Punta Cana. 

The post A New Resort Just Opened Its Doors in Punta Cana appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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RIU Hotels and Resorts has reopened its Riu Playa Blanca in Panama, Caribbean Journal has learned. 

The reopening of the 573-room resort, which is set in Panama’s “Arco Seco” region, means the company has now reopened all of its hotel properties on the Pacific Ocean, Riu said in a statement. 

That includes 10 hotels across Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. 

The Panama property has reopened under Riu’s set of 17 new health and safety protocols which the company said would be “followed meticulously on a global basis so that we can offer our guests and staff the highest levels of safety and hygiene.”

“Since restarting operations, our objective has been clear: to offer a quality stay, as we have always done at RIU, with the highest standards of safety and well-being for our guests and personnel,” Riu said. 

For more, visit Riu Playa Blanca. 

The post Riu Reopens Panama Resort appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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