Rumpundit

Captain Morgan booted from NYC Puerto Rican parade (AP) – 15 hours ago NEW YORK — Captain Morgan rum is no longer welcome as a sponsor of the National Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City. Parade organizers say they’ve ended their relationship with the rum maker and U.K.-based parent company Diageo (dee-AH’-gee-oh) PLC [...]

Black Chamber urges Congress to stay out of battle over rum tax By Kevin Bogardus – 02/17/10 05:13 PM ET The National Black Chamber of Commerce is urging Congress not to interfere with a battle over a Caribbean rum distillery. In a Feb. 16 letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Black [...]

David Cid sends a video celebrating the bar tender and cocktail crafter, lonely but essential tasks to keep civilisation as we know it ticking over. Click for the link!

This is actually more about the political system in Washington than rum. Interesting headline – would the deal have been acceptable if this were a domestic rum company? Rumpundit Lobbyists Help Smooth the Way for a Tax Break for Foreign Rum Maker by Marcus Stern, ProPublica – February 3, 2010 Feb. 3: This post has [...]

Here is a dispassionate and accurate summary of the great Cap’n Morgan hijack. Rumpundit has consistently suggested other Caribbean islands should get dibs on this cash, and in these times of stress, it’s worth pointing out that $13-50 a gallon excise duty on spirits is minimal compared with other countries’ duties – almost as much [...]

Outages dim Chavez popularity Power failures, unpaid civil servants and falling oil revenue play havoc with support for the Venezuela leader. By Chris Kraul November 21, 2009 Reporting from El Consejo, Venezuela – Power outages are hitting Henrique Vollmer’s rum distillery several times a week, interrupting production, damaging equipment and jeopardizing the jobs of his [...]

Rum Rescue Calls Out to Captain Morgan TITAN Salvage’s and Crowley Maritime’s Herculean Efforts get Shipment to Safety Download image PENNSAUKEN, N.J., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ — Captain Morgan abandoned rehearsals for a very a special music awards event on the west coast to welcome to safety a barge containing 90,000 gallons of his finest rum [...]

Monday, November 16, 2009 Congressional Rum Fight Escalates By Rich Edson, Washington Correspondent FOXBusiness With tax revenue and local pride at stake, the U.S. Virgin Islands escalated its multibillion-dollar rum fight Monday, harshly responding to charges of “unreasonable and excessive” corporate subsidizing leveled by the Puerto Rico congressional delegation last week. “These disturbing attacks were [...]

Lawmakers lean on Pelosi and Rangel as rum squabble mounts By Susan Crabtree – 11/12/09 The Hill The tug-of-war between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands over rum taxes has grown more intense in the wake of House passage of the healthcare bill. Puerto Rico’s top supporters in the lower chamber this week fired [...]

Interview: Don Navarro, master rum-maker It was love at first sight when former professor of thermodynamics Don Navarro discovered rum-making – and it’s an enduring affair. He’s now the head master rum-maker for Havana Club. Here he tells Helen Ochyra about his passion for the spirit and why it’s an expression of Cuban culture * [...]