Rum fever hits Hong Kong

The fourth annual rum festival is back in Hong Kong with a much bigger focus on consumers, says organiser, Max Traverse.

Infused rum shots at Mahalo Tiki Lounge

Spearheading Hong Kong’s biggest rum event, Max Traverse of cocktail bars Honi Honi and Mahalo said that this year’s ‘Rum Run’ will see 26 of Hong Kong’s bars creating unique cocktails with consumers armed with rum passports to collect all the cocktail stamps.

“Each cocktail at a participating bar earns one stamp,” he said. “Once the book is filled, rum ‘aficionados’ will hand it in to one of the bars before 27 May. The first 20 will win an invitation to a masterclass with our global rum ambassador, Ian Burrell and I, and one of these 20 will also win a prize of HK$2,000.”

Each cocktail is priced at HK$100 and participating bars include Bibo, Boujis, Ce La Vie, Duddell’s, Fishteria, Flint Grill & Bar, Ham & Sherry, Honi Honi, Lily & Bloom, Mahalo and Stockton. The full list can be found here.

The Rum Run culminates in the Rum Fest on 27-28 May with masterclasses and events hosted by Burrell, Traverse, the World Flair Motion champion Nicolas St. Jean, Don Q Rum’s European ambassador Alexx Mouzouris and Coco Reál’s European ambassador Georgi Radev of Mahiki in London.

New rums available this year include Black Magic Spiced Rum, Bumbu Spiced Rum, Rivieres Agricole Rhum, Nusa Caña Rum and Trois Rivières Agricole Rhum.

The choice to make this year’s rum fest more focused on consumers is a sure sign that Hong Kong is a hub for drinking and appreciating rum, said Traverse who spoke to the drinks business HK earlier in the year about his spirits trend predictions for 2016.

“Hong Kong is making great strides in securing its place as ‘the’ rum and Tiki destination in Asia and people are always looking for different ways to consume the spirit. This year, I think people’s familiarity will also ignite a rise in sipping rums for example,” he said.