“One of the main reasons for the past unpopularity of rum has been due to the lack of knowledge about the various types to be used, its various flavors and its proper use. No one bothers to explain that there is a rum for every purpose.”
The Rumbustion Society
To encourage exploration of its expansive collection, Smuggler’s Cove offers a rum club called The Rumbustion Society. The club is now hundreds strong, and members who are Guardian level and above enjoy access to private tasting events.
The Rumbustion Society is free to join, and consists of multiple levels:
LEVEL I: Disciple of The Cove
The first level of the club consists of taking a self-guided tour in which you taste and read about the main styles and flavor profiles of rum. You will be provided with background reading on rum history, raw materials and production methods, aging, and rum’s use in cocktails. You will be given a card to track your progress, which a bartender will sign off on as you drink your way through the rums of a given lesson (20 tastes in all). Upon finishing all the lessons, you will be given a quiz to demonstrate your newly gained rum knowledge. When you pass the quiz, you will become a Disciple of The Cove, and will receive a Rumbustion Society membership card and merit badge. Only Disciples can move on to Level II.
LEVEL II: Guardian of The Cove
Disciples of The Cove gain access to a secret online site where you can continue to sample and track rums of your choosing out of the vast Smuggler’s Cove collection. Enjoy 80 rums, including a few rare and vintage rums, and you will become a Guardian of The Cove. In an initiation ceremony, you will be awarded special prizes, a certificate of completion, merit badge, and your name will forever be emblazoned on the walls of Smuggler’s Cove for all to see. You will also earn future invitations to private tasting events and, should you dare, you can move on to Level III.
LEVEL III: Master of The Cove
The third level of the club is to sample 200 additional rums, including some additional rare and vintage rums. That’s right, by the time you complete Level III you will have tried 300 total rums! This is a remarkable achievement, and will be honored with the title Master of The Cove. There is but one fitting prize for such an accomplishment—to trace the spirit back to its birth. You will join owner Martin Cate and other Masters of The Cove on a private distillery visit.
To our surprise and amazement, several Masters have continued onward in their rum quest, such that we now have members who’ve had 400, 500, and even 600 rums, prompting the creation of additional levels and benefits!
While there is no way to erase rum’s tragic history, we can recognize that rum today is an integral part of Caribbean culture and celebration, and that by our own appreciation of the spirit, we help to support the people and economies of the Caribbean Islands.
