Rum Connoisseur Interview of the Week JAVIER HERRERA Director – Rumconsultant S.A
Rum Connoisseur
Interview of The Week:
JAVIER HERRERA
Director – Rumconsultant S.A
1. Who is Javier Herrera?
First, I am a rum lover who learns more and more about this world of rum on a technical and human level. I have also done it, getting to know other countries and different cultures.
I am one of the directors of Rumconsultant S.A., a rum consulting company, specialized in sugar cane. Here we work rum experts, engineers, chemists and other specialists.
I am the founder of the International Rum Conference that has been held since 2012, before in Madrid (Spain) and now in Miami (USA). In this event the professionals of the rum industry meet during 2 days of technical conferences and 2 days of rum festival.
2. What does the rum mean for you? What made you fall in love with rum and when did it happen?
It is a way of life, this life caught me, I changed the way I live and work. Now nobody notices it, but 15 years ago there was nothing in the world of rum, everything changed very quickly. Rum was positioned and had the same importance as other distillates. Rum allows me to meet other people and other cultures. Rum is the world, it exists in the 5 continents, it is joy, it is warmth, it is fraternity and it is the work of many people who are behind the industry, even of entire countries in some cases. Other spirits cannot say the same. Rum can be drunk in all shapes and forms. Who gives more?
I fell in love with rum without knowing it, I cannot define a date, because I always lived surrounded and without knowing it I got into the industry. My family is from the south of Spain, where the sugar cane for America started. There was always sugar cane and rum there. In 2006 the sugarcane was removed because it was not profitable. But I always remember as a child the cane fields of Motril (Granada), there was a small distillery with rum. Maybe without knowing it I got into it (I still visit Ron’s factory, last year I was with my son). My family is also from Malaga and there was a very large factory of a well-known brand, closed in 1997. Then the story continued in the Canary Islands, where I fell in love with the rum of the islands. At that time, flying to the Caribbean was very expensive, but even so I got to know distilleries in America and people from this beautiful world.
3. Three essential characteristics that define the rum according to your perspective.
– It is the most versatile distillate of all, it can be tasted in a thousand ways and there are many different varieties in its production.
– It has spread all over the world.
– The sugar cane and the various varieties that exist have allowed us to appreciate different flavors of rum.
4. What is the most important contribution you have made in the rum industry?
It should always be said by other people: perhaps, I have brought together rum lovers in the world, in one place, through the International Rum Conference.
I think that is a milestone in the world of distillates. Many people tried to do events with other spirits and it did not work, they even approached my company to find out more information. But at the end of it all, I am in the world of rum out of passion. If I had to go back I don’t know if I would do it again, because it has been a lot of work, but the effort has been rewarded by the moments lived.
5. Benefits that the rum industry has given you.
The most important is to know different cultures, countries and people. This experience has allowed me to enrich myself as a person and as a professional in the rum industry. It has also allowed me to work on what I like and this is a blessing.
6. What’s another thing you are passionate about, in addition to rum? Why?
Like rum, I like whiskey and wine. I am a lover of Garnacha wines. When you taste this type of wine, you fall in love.
My other passions are dogs and nature. I have always had dogs and I have always liked to enjoy nature.
7. What is your favorite place for drinking rum?
My favorite place is a beach bar on the sand, talking endlessly with friends about rum. And then with my friends anywhere, that’s always a privilege. I miss in this time of pandemic being able to exchange experiences with friends and professionals who love rum, in talks and events where we all meet to talk about rum.
8. Favorite drink + Recipe
I like the Old Fashioned rum and the other would be the Old Cuban. I make a version with aged rum, cava, pineapple juice, ground panela and a few drops of PX vinegar and mint leaves.
The normal thing is to add bitter and lime, not to add vinegar. But I like it that way, it’s different.
9. Why is it important to educate the rum consumer?
Because it allows them to fall in love with this distillate and meet other distillates. Rum is work and culture, there are other distillates that are colder. Once you make someone fall in love with rum, it is difficult for them to leave it, it is so diverse that it is easy to make the consumer fall in love.
10. Any tips to train the palate and taste good premium rum?
A good curved glass in a glass to retain aromas, without ice. You can cool a glass, bottle or put cubes of stainless steel and then gradually discover the aromas and then taste it little by little. The first sip should be to accustom your body to the alcoholic degree. That first sip is direct, the second you must immediately leave it in the mouth to move it and taste it in the mouth. The next drinks will be smoother.
11. How can the rum contribute to improve the crisis in some countries?
– In rum-producing countries, with the creation of companies.
– In other countries, with its extension in consumption, always with responsibility in consumption.
12. Is the commitment to sustainable development the key of success for the permanence of the rum industry in the world? Why?
Yes, and we are all already working in that direction. Not working in that direction would be a mistake. Respect for the environment and people must be the guide for the present and future in the world of rum. Respect for working people and nature is vital in our world, so should we all.
Why? The consumer knows more and more and wants products that are sustainable and that do not destroy the planet or the human being.
13. Who would like to meet in the rum industry? What would you say to him/her?
More than knowing, I would like to unite in the same place around 50 people, where we can discuss for a couple of days about the world of rum, legislation and classification. I know who these people are, all you need is a paying sponsor.
Today there are different views on rum, in some cases opposed, although we all love distillate. Perhaps from that meeting or congress, something good would be achieved for the industry. Prepare a memorandum that may one day be legislation on different continents, in order to guide the rum industry.
14. What are your next goals in the rum industry?
Continue working for different clients through Rumconsultant S.A. and try to hold the International Rum Conference in Miami in 2021, if the Covid allows it. This event would bring rum lovers together in one place again. We have broken the barriers with events and now the communication bridges are tighter.
15. Plans you have when you leave the rum industry.
I don’t think I will ever stop working in the world of rum, I also have my children who come behind and one of them will dedicate himself to this industry, he studies Oenology.
16. Why is the role of the bartender important in the rum industry?
The bartender and rummelier are ambassadors of our culture and are the first to contact the consumer, their function is to educate them and teach them its benefits.
