Seminar Agenda
12:00 - 12:30PM | Registration
Brief: Registration for the 2026 NY Rum Conference. Limited capacity.
12:30PM | Independent Bottlers | Small to large scale
Brief: Independent bottlers are the creative engine of the spirits world, acting as curators who unearth hidden gems and push stylistic boundaries. Whether operating as a boutique family passion project or a large-scale international house, these bottlers provide a unique lens through which to view established categories.
By sourcing rare single casks, experimenting with unconventional finishes, and prioritizing transparency, they offer expressions that mainstream distilleries simply cannot. This seminar explores how independent bottlers—regardless of size—drive innovation, preserve liquid history, and deliver the one-of-a-kind projects that keep the global spirits community evolving.
1:30PM | Full-body white rums become liquid gold
Brief: White rum is shedding its reputation as a mere “neutral mixer” and reclaiming its status as a premium sipping spirit. This seminar explores the category’s resurgence, driven by a consumer shift toward bold, ester-heavy profiles and traditional pot-still production.
We will examine the “Mezcal Effect”: has the global craze for smoky, artisanal agaves primed the modern palate for the funk and complexity of unaged rums?
2:30PM | Artemisia Private Barrel: The Art of Unifying Multiple Distilleries into One Blend (Barge 166 Selection)
Brief: In this talk, the audience will discover how Artemisia Private Barrel is built—a multi‑distillery blend that unites rums from different origins without losing their identity. They will see up close the technical process that allows such diverse profiles as Planteray Rum XO 20th Anniversary, Ron Abuelo Añejo 12 años, Ron Tepuy Destino, Ron Botran 18 años, Arehucas 12 años, Ron Barceló Imperial, Bacardí Gran Reserva Diez, and Ron Millonario XO to be integrated into a single expression that seeks harmony without sacrificing character. The session will show how each of these rums finds its exact place within the blend through precise proportions, patience, and iterative tasting.
The audience will also learn how dynamic ageing works aboard the Barge 166, a unique environment where extreme temperature variations and the constant movement of the water accelerate aromatic extraction and liquid integration. This process, carried out in 30‑liter Ferrand Cognac casks, transforms the blend in measurable ways and produces an evolution impossible to replicate in a static warehouse.
Finally, the talk will reveal how the collaboration between Women Leading Rum & Spirits and Maison Ferrand turns this diversity of origins into a coherent narrative. Artemisia is not just a technical exercise: it is a statement about unity, craft, and collective vision within the rum category. The audience will leave understanding not only how it is made, but why this project marks a turning point for the community.
3:30PM | Boom, Bust, and Rebirth: Cycles in Distilled Spirits
Brief: This seminar examines the ups, downs, and revivals of rum during the years. In this context, we’ll see how today’s trends in pricing (bars and consumers), bottle sizes, and evolving cocktail culture are steering the next cycle.
4:30PM | Planteray Extreme Series VI - The Legends of Rum
Brief: Alexandre Gabriel invites you into the world of rum taken to its absolute limits.
This masterclass explores Extreme Series VI – Legends of Rum, a collection of rums that are as rare as they are uncompromising.
Bottled straight from the cask at natural proof, each expression preserves the raw, unfiltered soul of a unicorn barrel from Alexandre’s personal stock.
Created only every two to three years, the Extreme Series celebrates flavour intensity, authenticity, and rarity.
This sixth edition is a tribute to the legendary distillers and blenders who have shaped Alexandre Gabriel’s 35-year journey through rum terroirs.
Through lifelong friendships and shared craftsmanship, these masters passed down techniques, stories, and vision.
During this session, guests will taste three exceptional expressions from the collection.
1:30pm | Rum Expert Registration
1:45PM | Drink Less, Drink Better
Brief: In a fast-paced world of heightened consumption, this seminar invites you to slow down and imbibe with intention. Together, we will explore a selection of curated, RARE library releases from the La Maison & Velier portfolio. In an era defined by overstimulation and excess, we invite you to step into a space of quiet focus and genuine connection. Drink Less, Drink Better is more than a tasting; it is a movement toward intentional imbibement, where we shift our focus from the volume of consumption to the depth of the experience. Led by Nicolas Palazzi, founder of PM Spirits, this seminar is a manifesto for artisanal integrity over industrial quantity. By showcasing unadulterated spirits with a soul, Palazzi highlights the profound value of raw materials, ancestral craftsmanship, and transparent production.
2:00pm | Trade Session Registration
2:45PM | Costa Rica Single Estate Rum: Combining pure juice, molasses & sugarcane honey
Brief:
Pierre Bardinet shares the story behind the creation of the first Costa Rican single-estate rum. From an uncompromising focus on raw material to the art of blending, he explores how three major rum traditions: pure cane juice, molasses, and sugar cane honey can be combined to build complexity, balance, and identity. A deep dive into terroir, technique, and the power of assemblage.
3:00pm Rum Enthusiastic Session Registration
3:45PM | The Unknown Frontier: Meet the First Angels — Become Part of the Angel’s Share
Brief: This talk is designed to take the audience into a sensory and conceptual territory that normally remains hidden: the moment when a rum, still unknown to the world, meets its first “angels.” The session invites attendees to step into that privileged space, becoming symbolically part of the Angel’s Share—the portion of the spirit that disappears during maturation and that, according to tradition, is “tasted by the angels.”
The audience will experience a journey that blends technical discovery with emotional storytelling. They will see how new rum expressions are born before they are released, how their initial profiles are defined, and what decisions a blender makes to guide a liquid from its youngest state to its final identity. The talk will reveal that intimate moment when an unreleased rum is presented for the first time to a small group of tasters—the “first angels” who taste it, interpret it, and accompany it through its evolution.
The purpose is not only to taste unreleased rums, but to understand what it means to stand at the frontier of the unknown: how the first aromatic impressions are built, how the potential of a liquid still in transition is evaluated, and how the audience can become an active part of that process. The talk turns the public into both witness and protagonist of an unrepeatable moment: the sensory birth of rums that have not yet reached the world, inviting them to take part in a privilege historically reserved for wood, time… and the angels.
4:00pm | Intro to Rum - General Admission Session Registration
4:45PM | Making Historical Rum for the Modern Era
Brief:
Join Mitch Wilson, Raymond Edwards and Adrienne Stoner as they crack open the archives to show how Black Tot and Planteray Rum have moved from secret recipes to open-source engineering. We’re tasting through the evolution of the category—comparing legacy blends against modern masterpieces.
5:45PM | Aguardiente: An Undiscovered Spirit
Brief: Aguardiente remains one of the most culturally rich yet globally undiscovered spirits. This segment explores its evolution beyond tradition—highlighting how modern production, premium positioning, and contemporary branding are reshaping its perception on the global stage.
