Taking into account the success of the first edition of the Madeira Rum Festival, the Regional Department for Agriculture and Fisheries, through the Institute of Wine, Embroidery and Handicrafts of Madeira, IP-RAM (IVBAM), organised its second edition from 19 to 22 April, at Largo da Restauração. This Festival enjoyed the presence of several Madeira Rum producers, in addition to the Madeira Bartenders’ Association and the Madeira Rum House, and was a unique opportunity for Madeirans and tourists alike to get to know and appreciate this noble product that has been growing in terms of quantity and quality in recent years.
The Festival opened every day at 3.00pm, ending at midnight on 19, 20 and 21 April, and at 8.00pm on 22 April.
In addition to tasting Madeira Rum from the various companies present at the event, there was a focus on a didactic and interactive component, with the delivery of several Masterclasses and activities whose prior registration was advised, via email: promoção.ivbam@madeira.gov.pt. The timetable was as follows:
-19 April from 7.00pm to 8.30pm – Madeira Rums, with sommelier Américo Pereira;
-19 April from 10.30 pm to midnight – Madeira rum and cigars, with sommelier Américo Pereira;
-20 April from 4.30pm to 5.30pm – Cocktails with Madeira Rum, by renowned national bartenders;
-20 April from 7.00pm to 8.00pm – Agricultural Rum, with Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell;
-21 April from 5.30pm to 6.30pm – Madeira Rum Cocktails Competition, by renowned regional bartenders;
-21 April from 5.30pm to 6.30pm – Cocktails with Madeira Rum, with the Madeira Bartenders’ Association;
The “Rum talk”, scheduled for 5.30pm on 19 April was also a unique opportunity for sharing experiences and knowledge with international and renowned influential personalities who were visiting the Region at the invitation of IVBAM: Ian Burrell, an internationally renowned name in the world of Agricultural Rum, known as the Global Rum Ambassador, was the founder of the UK RumFest, the first International Festival dedicated to Rum to be created, which influenced the emergence of other festivals all over the world. Ian Burrell has already been distinguished internationally with several awards, including: Gold medal in the Drinks International Bartender of the Year 2008 and Drinks International Cocktail Challenge 2008 contests; he was one of the 4 finalists nominated for International Ambassador of the Year 2011, 2012 and 2013 at the Tales of the cocktail Spirited Awards, and he holds the 2014 Guinness World Record for the biggest official rum tasting. In addition, he regularly contributes to reputable publications such as: CLASS Magazine, Drinks International, Imbibe, Drinks Business and On Trade Review; Peter Holland, writer, presenter, trainer and consultant for the Spirits Industry and 2011 winner of the Golden Barrel Awards European Rum Blogger of the Year; Alexandre Vingtier, international consultant for Spirits, co-founder and editor of the French magazine dedicated to Rum, Rumporter, also writes for Revue du Vin de France, among other publications. Author of several books on the theme of spirit drinks, with more than 100,000 copies sold in 7 languages, in addition to presiding over several juries of international spirits and cocktail contests, such as the Spirit Selection of the Brussels World Competition, Rhum Fest Awards, Salon du Rhum d’Haiti, etc., Nélson Bernardes, internal consultant for spirits for the Hilton Europa group, writes regularly for magazines such as Imbibe, Class, The Cocktail Lovers, Drinks Business, Time Out Shanghai, Nobless, Billionaire, among others. In addition to being Director of the magazine DrinksDiary®, he provides Bar Consultancy and Training services for Bartenders in Europe, with an emphasis on mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira; Daniel Carvalho, began his professional career as a Bartender, with stints at venues such as Classe Bar in Vila Nova de Famalicão and Forte S. João in Vila do Conde and The Gin House in Porto. Brand Ambassador in 2016 for Decanter, Lda (Valença), Portuguese Finalist in several competitions such as Putting Pen to Shaker 2014 by The Poshmakers, Portuguese Bartender of the Year 2014 by Bulldog, Magellan 2015, Diplomatico World tournament 2015 and 2017 (in this last one he won the honourable 2nd place), WorldClass Portugal 2015 and 2016. Iberian winner of the Mediterranean Inspiration 2017 by Gin Mare competition. Winner Bartender of the Year 2017 by Edições do Gosto. Top 5 of the best national Bartenders by the Drinks Diary Bar Awards 2018. Nominated for best cocktail (Esmeralda) in the Lisbon Bar Show 2018 awards, cocktail made with William Hinton Madeira Rum. He has been Head Bartender at The Royal Cocktail Club since its opening. Jorge Camilo, part of the founding team of chef Ljubomir Stanisic’s restaurant, Bistro 100 Maneiras (has been in the house since September 2010) and responsible for many of the bar’s original creations, referred to by the prestigious Monocle magazine as the ideal place to have a drink in Lisbon. He started out as a bartender, but quickly became a head barman. The same bar that, in 2017, won the title of Best Restaurant Bar in the national edition of the Diageo Coaster Awards, second place in the Barman Contest of the year and helped make Bistro 100 Maneiras the world number 1 in the list of Monocle Restaurant Awards 2017. Two years after starting work at the Bistro bar, he took first place in the national competition at Gin Mare. In 2014, the magazine Zest by Gin Lovers mentioned him as “probably the best bartender in Portugal”. He is the author of almost all the recipes for the first great Portuguese cocktail book, 100 Cocktails 100 Maneiras, published in November 2015 by Esfera dos Livros. Jaime Montgomery. Head Bartender at Bovino Steakhouse, in Quinta do Lago, has worked as a Bartender at Hilton Islington London, London, Conrad Algarve, among others. He won the Nikka Perfect Serve 2016 Portugal contest and represented Portugal at the world contest in Rome. He was also the winner of the 2016 Bartender of the Year contest. Fábio Gomes, bartender and owner of Pubblik- Gins, Cocktails & Food, a reference bar in Vila do Conde.
The Madeira Rum producing and bottling companies present at this Festival with a stand were: Engenho Novo da Madeira, Lda.; J. Faria & Filhos, Lda. (Engenhos do Norte); Sociedade dos Engenhos da Calheta, Lda. And finally, participating only in masterclasses, the company Florentino Izildo de Gouveia Ferreira (O Reizinho). In addition to these companies, the Madeira Bartenders’ Association and the Madeira Rum House also had a stand.
These promotional actions were co-financed at 85% by community funds, within the Madeira 14-20 Programme, the remainder being borne by the regional budget.
