4 months ago
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Spirits Pool Association Limited, which represents most of Jamaica’s rum distilleries, has pushed back against lawyer and rum consultant Howard Mitchell’s support for ageing Jamaican rum abroad.
It comes amid an industry dispute centred on whether rum made in Jamaica, but aged elsewhere may be called ‘Jamaican’ in its branding and marketing. The debate has divided the spirits industry, which exports more than US$200 million worth of rum, annually.
“Permitting foreign ageing under the ‘Jamaica Rum’ label would erode this distinctiveness. It would invite competitors to manipulate Jamaican-distilled bulk rum into products with different profiles that do not represent Jamaican craft or conditions,” said Spirits Pool Chairman Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence in response to Mitchell’s statements on the weekend.
In 2016, Jamaica’s spirits businesses collaborated to establish a geographical indicator or GI for rum, outlining the specific steps needed to label it as Jamaican. The GI was recently updated by the country’s IP body, the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, JIPO, to include specify that ageing can occur “only” in Jamaica.
National Rums of Jamaica Limited, NRJ, a medium-sized player, objected to this outcome and is seeking to overturn the decision via legal proceedings in the Supreme Court. National Rums, which has three owners, has also filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission over possible anti-competitive practices.
Spirits Pool remains supportive of local ageing.
“Sacrificing local ageing in the name of flexibility weakens the brand and opens the door to commodification. Rather than relaxing standards, the focus should be on premiumisation, branding, and sustainable value-added production in Jamaica. That means keeping as much of the value chain—especially ageing and bottling—at home, where jobs, skills, and revenue can multiply,” the association said.
Prior to his chairmanship of Spirits Pool Association Limited, Lawrence was once managing director and later chairman of J. Wray & Nephew Limited, Jamaica’s largest rum-maker, which is owned by Campari Group of Italy. He no longer works with the rum company.
Spirits Pool also noted that tropical ageing, which occurs two to three times faster in Jamaica than in temperate climates in Europe, plays a key role in shaping rum’s smooth flavour. This means that a rum aged for five years in the Caribbean aligns with a similar rum aged for 10 to 15 years in Europe.
The pool maintains that loosening the GI standards for short-term gains would undermine long-term premium value. The focus, they argue, should remain on preserving local value rather than offshoring production.
“To compare, Scotch whisky must be aged in Scotland. Cognac must be aged in the Cognac region of France. Tequila must be aged in Mexico. The integrity of those GIs would not permit ageing in foreign countries, not because they oppose trade, but because they protect terroir,” said Lawrence. Terroir is a reference to the natural environment.
“If Jamaica’s rum were French, the word ‘rum’ itself would be protected like Champagne or Cognac. Jamaican rum deserves no less respect,” he asserted.
Greater threat
Mitchell, a businessman and former consultant for National Rum of Jamaica, expressed his views in an opinion column published by The Sunday Gleaner, titled ‘Why Jamaica Must Defend Its Rum Heritage and Its Future’.
“NRJ has been clear in its position: Rum genuinely fermented and distilled in Jamaica, even if aged elsewhere, remains authentically Jamaican,” Mitchell wrote.
He added that ageing outside of Jamaica has occurred for more than a century, although prior to the GI certification. He argued that fermentation and distillation outside Jamaica pose a greater threat to the country’s rum heritage.
Mitchell said that the discussions in media imply that a foreign actor seeking to benefit from outside ageing, because of the ownership structure of NRJ. National Rums’ shareholders are the Jamaican Government, Guyana-based Demerara Distilleries and Maison Ferrand of France.
“To characterise NRJ’s approach as somehow unpatriotic is both unfair and unhelpful,” said Mitchell.
Meanwhile, in the court case initiated by National Rums of Jamaica, the Supreme Court will hold a hearing next Tuesday to address key legal issues before the trial begins.
National Rums is appealing the JIPO ruling that blocks overseas ageing of Jamaican rum, and will present its case against four defendants: the Registrar of Industrial Properties, Shantal English, Spirits Pool Association Limited, and J. Wray & Nephew Limited.
The Registrar of Industrial Properties, which operates under JIPO, manages industrial designs, patents, and GIs, ensuring compliance with intellectual property laws.
Shantal English was included as a defendant as the ‘hearing officer’ in the panel that led JIPO to adjust the rum GI to disallow overseas ageing.
English (US) ·