These 5 Rum Companies Are Winning Shelf Space in the U.S.’s Most Influential Bars

According to the Menu Analysis Report of the 2022 Spirited Awards made by the company Overproof, rum is the second most popular product category based on the number of products mentioned (Bourbon is in first place), third in the total number of mentions, and fourth in venues with a mention.

The company analyzed 119 venues, 673 brands, 244 suppliers, 5,693 products, and 2,646 cocktails from menus of bars, restaurants, and hotels based in the United States that were nominated for a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in 2022. This was possible through artificial intelligence and machine learning to read and extract insights from beverage menus at scale. 

In this sense, the report includes insights on the top suppliers and brands, aiming at the leading product categories on menus and the suppliers and brands that win in each category.

Among the top 5 rum brands leading across these menus are:

1. Plantation (7 unique product mentions)
2. Appleton Estate (6 unique product mentions)
3. Bacardí (5 unique product mentions)
4. Brugal (5 unique product mentions)
5. Hamilton (5 unique product mentions)

In addition, Plantation’s top position is driven by Plantation Pineapple Rum, which makes up most of its venue mentions. 

That being said, the top 4 rum suppliers winning are:

1. Campari America
2. Bacardi Limited
3. Edrington Group
4. Caribbean Spirits Inc

On the other hand, Campari America leads across the country by the number of venue mentions. Bacardi Limited takes second in the east and central regions and third in the west, while Diageo USA takes third in the east but drops down to the sixth and seventh spot in the west and central regions, respectively.

This is the first-ever 100% AI-driven menu analysis of Spirited Awards nominees, an innovative tool to assess which suppliers and brands are winning on the industry’s most influential menus.

Overproof consider the bars nominated for Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards as they have a remarkable impact on the market; they set the trends that help brands, suppliers, and product categories grow in the national industry. (You can read the complete report here!)

What Is Overproof?

Overproof is an American data company that assists beverage alcohol brands leverage predictive market intelligence, access account-level insights, and, most importantly, identify microtrends to outsmart the competition in the industry, on the bar, in liquor stores, and consumer homes. Today, their platform is the most powerful for fast-growing alcohol brands, as they provide on-going basis updates on the mentioned aspects.

Furthermore, the Overproof App provides Artificial Intelligence-powered and real-time insight into the DNA of any bar, including menu profile, suppliers, portfolio of brands, and beverage programs, components that drive commercial planning and field execution optimization.

Summing up, menu analysis is a revolutionary technology that can enrich monthly sales data from restaurants and bars to provide beverage alcohol brands with full access to in-venue cocktail sales performance and trends.

***Products mentioned is the total number of unique products mentioned; total product mentions is the total amount of times a product is mentioned; and venue mentions is the total number of venues that mention the supplier, brand, or product category.