Rums of Puerto Rico, a division of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) was created in 1948 to promote the sale of all rums shipped from Puerto Rico to the mainland U.S. Rums of Puerto Rico sponsors events in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.

Karen Garnik, chief marketing officer for the Rums of Puerto Rico, gives us the details of the latest ad and public relations campaign, which often involves high-profile personalities and events.

Question #1
The Beverage Information Group (BIG): What is Rums of Puerto Rico doing these days to promote its product?

Karen Garnik : Last fall, Rums of Puerto Rico launched a $2.2 million marketing and advertising campaign in the U.S. entitled “Here.” It featured TV commercials with Puerto Rican celebrities speaking about a different aspect of Puerto Rican rum, including its history, tradition, quality and versatility. Featured celebrities included Wilo Benet, restaurateur and owner of Pikayo and Payá restaurants in San Juan; Latin Grammy Award-winners David Sanchez, saxophonist; and Nestor Torres, flutist.

In conjunction with the advertising launch, Rums of Puerto Rico hosted special events in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, including a Rum Academy for bartenders led by mixologists Steve Olson, partner in Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), for the New York event, and Tony Abou-Ganim, The Modern Mixologist, for Miami and Los Angeles. Rums of Puerto Rico has created 10 new recipes for rum infusions, where the spirit is mixed with sliced fruits, spices and chilis and is steeped for several days.

We have also established a "Drinks Team" of Rums of Puerto Rico (our rum "dream team") who create specialty cocktails for each event we sponsor and who make appearances on our behalf.

Other marketing efforts included the premiere parties for the film El Cantante starring Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony last summer. Rums of Puerto Rico sponsored the premiere parties in San Juan, New York and Los Angeles last summer. At each, we created rum cocktails named after the songs of the late salsa performer, Hector Lavoe, about whom the film was based.

Question #2
BIG: Are you focusing on both on- and off-premise, or is one area getting more attention?

Garnik: Rums of Puerto Rico, being a government subsidized agency, is geared toward promoting the overall image of all Puerto Rican rums over promoting one brand over the other. We provide marketing support and promotional opportunities to our brands but we, as an agency, are not focused on either on- or off-premise sales in the way that the brands would be inclined. The brands we support are Bacardi, Don Q, Captain Morgan and Ron Barrilito, which are all distributed nationally in the US.

Question #3
BIG: Rums are coming into the U.S. from more and more countries these days, and there are even some very small U.S. producers getting attention. How does Puerto Rican rum keep its high profile?

Garnik: Given that 70 percent of all the rum sold in the U.S. is from Puerto Rico, we are already ahead of the game in terms of sales. So, what we are concentrating on now is image building, which we do through focused marketing, advertising and public relations. What is important to reiterate is the quality message for our rums and the fact that, by law, all rums from Puerto Rico must be aged one year. Marketing our aged rums is important since this is a fast growing category. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, sales of high-end rums have increased 45 percent in the last three years to $287 million, according to the Distilled Spirits Council in Washington, DC.

Question #4
BIG: What sets Puerto Rican rum apart from other rums?

Garnik: All Puerto Rican rums are aged, from a minimum of one year for a white rum to 5 to 15 years for a dark añejo rum, which is more like a Cognac. This is a legal requirement for any rum in Puerto Rico. Aged rums are smoother and more balanced, which is ideal for mixing in cocktails. We also offer many flavored rums which is a category leader. Bacardi offers seven flavored rums, for example. So, you could say Puerto Rico rums offer both quality and variety.

Question #5
BIG: All the talk about growth these days focuses on the flavored rum sub-category, but aged Puerto Rican rum is making headway as well, correct?

Garnik: All Puerto Rican rum is aged. Most people do not realize this. That is the focus of our information campaign: to build awareness of the fine ages rums of Puerto Rico.

Question #6
BIG: How important has the Mojito been to the growth for Puerto Rican rum?

Garnik: Mojitos are a standard cocktail featured at countless bars and restaurants throughout the US, so its impact on rum sales has to be significant. Now, our challenge is to create the next Mojito success story with a cocktail from Puerto Rico. It would not be the first cocktail success story from Puerto Rico. In 1954, a bartender at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan created the Piña Colada.

Question #7
BIG: What's your favorite way to drink rum?

Garnik: That would depend on the occasion. For a simple cocktail, I would mix a white rum or amber rum with fresh fruit juice and a splash of soda for a light, refreshing cocktail. But, after dinner I would prefer a dark añejo sipped neat from a snifter.

That’s the great thing about rum over other types of spirits: There is a range from light to dark, offering more ways to enjoy it.