2023 Rum Festival Schedule

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Dec 062022
 

ON THE SIDEBAR

While 2021 showed a scattering of timid rum festival openings after the ravages of COVID, it was 2022 that showed that the world had reopened with a bang. By the time the year drew to a close, my initial post for that year listed 60+ festivals around the world which either focused exclusively on rum, or had it as a major component of the show – and it’s a fair bet I was undercounting smaller regional festivals which only received local exposure and weren’t widely advertised.

These rum expos ranged from the cricket club party atmosphere with just a few brands of the Guyana Rum Festival, to the behemoths of Paris, UK and Berlin. Granted the whisky expos were bigger (Paris’s WhiskyLive was larger than anything I’d ever seen before) but the sheer amount of rum-based exhibitions, festivals, shows and fairs on display around the world was astounding. Australia had two, Africa debuted in the Ivory Coast, there were at least four I know of in France, the Caribbean had a few, I’m sure there were some in Latin America I never heard of, and the USA had at least ten. Canada is the odd man out in the Americas with none, though given the prevalence of maritimers and West Indians in the east of the country I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.

Below is the best listing I was able to put together, of all the rum festivals and associated trade fairs or other shows which feature rum in some significant way. The dates are as per any online postings or private messages people have provided. For those events which did not update their sources or respond to queries, I have placed their entries below the main body, with notes on the last time they were held for reference: I’ll be checking regularly to see if they have confirmed a show or not. Also, not all of them are true rum-only-specific, laser-focused festivals that are done on a weekend: some are weeklong cultural events where rum, food, music and other spirits feature, others are parties (of varying sizes) where rum is drunk – so ensure you know to which you are going, and why you’re attending (and if you want to know how to survive one, read this article on how).

So, then: for those who like to plan their attendances, save up the pesos, placate (or warn) the significant other, book travel tickets and make other rum-related plans as far in advance as possible, you have enough here to be going along with. Hope to see you all, in at least one of them. And, as always, if you see I missed one, or got a date wrong, by all means let me know.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Tours / Mutiples / Other

  • Gin & Rum Festival (around the UK, various dates)
  • WhiskyLive (around the world, various dates – not all have rums, but where this is known, an entry will be added above)
  • Aug 21 – Sep 30 Iyoshu Rum Cola Festival (formerly Japanese Craft Rum Cola Festival) Japan *No website or social media sites available; month-long events
  • Singapore Cocktail Festival is 5-21 March, 2023: rums are featured but not central.

Not Yet Scheduled

The events below have not been promoted or updated for 2023 in their online media pages, but may yet take place in the future. (Last checked for updates July 25, 2023)

Dormant / Cancelled / Discontinued

Older or non-recurring Festivals ; occasionally checked for updates, just in case

 


Footnotes

  1. Mostly wine but significant rum and spirits booths
  2. BRE is a one-week tour and educational symposium for Barbados rum promotion, plus events and participant parties; it is not, strictly speaking, a festival.
  3. This is part of the year long gin festivals program organized by the “Gin To My Tonic” people. The full 2023 schedule, mostly gin related, is here.

  6 Responses to “2023 Rum Festival Schedule”

  1. Rum Explorer says:
    December 6, 2022 at 8:48 am

    Thank you for this article. I just finished planning my calendar the moment you posted it.

    Have you already planned which festival you plan to visit?
    I would be honored to meet in person…

    Thank you,
    Chris – Rum Explorer

    Reply
    • Ruminsky says:
      December 6, 2022 at 6:11 pm

      Honestly have no idea yet, as I’m upending my life (again) in 2023, and will not be as close to Europe as formerly. If Canada ever gets one, I’ll definitely attend that; might try Seattle or Chicago because they’ll be closer. But if I can, I’ll be doing Berlin and Paris and hopefully TWE in UK. I’ve always had good times in all three.

      Reply
  2. Edriane lim says:
    January 26, 2023 at 10:24 pm

    Hello! Awesome list! I am working on Singapore Rum Fest right now for July 2023. Possible to add into the list? Would love to get that in the calendar.

    Reply
  3. Sandor says:
    February 23, 2023 at 1:08 am

    Hi Lance,
    Thank you for curating this list. The Whiskynet Rum Show in Budapest is planned for 9 September this year. There no communication about it yet.
    There is going to be a Budapest Bar show as well with some rum representation on 21 May 2023: http://bar-show.hu/
    Hope to see you somewhere in person 🙂

    Reply

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