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Rum taking centre stage at Wray's Jamaican festival

Published:  01 August, 2016

Wray's Jerk Fest, a free, one-day event celebrating Jamaican culture is coming to Peckham on August 6 where it be hosted by Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum.

Wray's Jerk Fest, a free, one-day event celebrating Jamaican culture is coming to Peckham on August 6 where it be hosted by Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum.

Rum has been making impressive gains in the spirits market and Wray's Jerk Fest - part of Campari UK - is adding to its visibility in the capital.

Rum will be living up to its party reputation as it is enjoyed alongside food, music and games when it comes to Peckham's Bussey Rooftop Bar this weekend.

"Wray & Nephew is Jamaica's number-one rum and an iconic part of the fabric of Jamaican culture. Wray's Jerk Fest will bring Londoners a taste of the authentic Jamaican experience and show why the full-bodied white rum is so ingrained in everyday life on the island particularly when it comes to jerk BBQs and music," a spokesperson for the company said.

Rum is gaining in popularity and as a result is becoming more visible at festivals and events.

The category was recently valued by William Grant and Sons' at £583m, up 12% on the previous year (figures to April 2016.)

Rob Whitehead, senior sales and spirits buyer at Berry Bros. & Rudd said that as rum increases in popularity, it is both becoming more mainstream and more niche.

"While it is very gradually becoming more mainstream, comparatively rum will, almost certainly remain relatively niche. For example, in our shop in London we sell around 12bts of Scotch Whisky for every one bottle of rum," he said.

"I see rum increasing in popularity, albeit slowly and steadily. The category has been diversifying for a decade or more, and will continue to do so as spirits drinkers add rum to their drinks cabinets and rum drinkers spread their wings geographically - beyond the traditional heartlands of the Caribbean to Central and South American rums and onwards to rums from other corners of the globe such as the islands of the Indian and Pacific Ocean."

Wray & Nephew Overproof rum is still made just outside of Kingston at the Appleton Estate, which, when combined with the golden rum produced, makes up 90% of all rum sales in Jamaica.

Its origins go back to 1825 when John Wray began producing his own rums at The Shakespeare Tavern in Kingston.

One of the rums born out of the Tavern was known as 'Overproof rum'.

In 1860 John Wray brought in his nephew, Charles Ward, to help run the expanding business, and Wray & Nephew was born.

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