Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence, current chairman of the Spirits Pool Association and former chairman of J. Wray & Nephew, knows a thing or two about rums.

He has long championed Jamaican rums as a major export that could be a leader in the spirits world.

Giving the keynote address at the Lawrence F.C. Hussey Ageing Facility dedication and official opening at Hampden Estate in Trelawny, he outlined ‘seven, critical Ps’ needed to take Jamaican rums to new heights.

Below is his full address:

“The rum industry has had three momentous events over the last 14 days, and I have been privileged to be a participant.

First was the re-launch of Long Pond Distilleries, after a devastating fire in 2018 that could have easily put the distillery out of business.

Next is the Jamaica Rum Festival which was held under the patronage of the Minister of Culture [Olivia Grange] and was attended by the Minister of National Security and Deputy Prime Minister [Dr Horace Chang]. All the Jamaican distilleries participated in the event.

And now, I’m particularly privileged to take part in this, the third and very important event, the re-opening and dedication of Hampden Estate’s Lawrence F.C. Hussey Aging Warehouse Facility.

The Hampden Estate is one of Jamaica’s oldest rum distilleries, nestled in the Queen of Spain Valley in Trelawny. It has been in operation since 1753. Renowned throughout Jamaica’s rum history for its full, intensely flavourful copper pot-distilled rums, it continues today to be the quintessential heavy pot rum of choice throughout Europe and other parts of the world.

In 2018, Hampden Estate issued its first aged rum under its own brand name. The first official bottlings were launched commercially, creating a world premiere and opening a new era in the universe of high-quality, extraordinary rums.

Through a joint venture with French and Italian global distribution partners, La Maison & Velier, Hampden created its premium brand, Hampden Estate Single Rum. LM & V is a joint venture with the goal to be the global distributor of brands opening new perspectives in the world of spirits.

Hampden Estate also produces other main expressions including:

• Hampden Estate 8 YO
• Hampden Estate HCLF Classic
• Hampden Estate Pagos
• Hampden Estate Great House 2021
• Rum Fire (Overproof white rum)
• Hampden Estate Trelawny Endemic Bird Series (single casks)
• These as well as Hampden Estate ‘The Younger’ and Hampden Estate ‘LROK 2010’, are special releases.

Hampden Estate rums are produced under a unique combination of environmental factors, in tandem with the old-world copper pot distilling techniques that flavour the award-winning rum.

Rum Fire, the local white overproof rum is award-winning, gaining awards in Italy, Germany, France, and the USA.

Nonetheless, Hampden Estate’s bulk rum relationships still exist today, as the business model supports the growth and expansion.

The Jamaica rum industry produces between 19 and 21 million litres of absolute alcohol annually. This translates to approximately 40 to 45 million litres of rum. The industry generated an estimated US$55 million in revenues in 2021, despite the COVID lag effect which reduced demand for hotels, restaurants and events.

Prime Minister of Jamaica [Andrew Holness] recently challenged the rum industry to grow its revenues similar to other spirits categories, such as the cognac industry.

With transformation, the Jamaican rum industry has the potential to eclipse other categories over time, even including the Cognac industry, but this requires investment and the seven Critical P’s. I know that Christell and Andrew are the experts in this regard!

Provenance, the process that attributes the product to its origin.

Premiumisation, which speaks to the value proposition a smooth, well-balanced spirit offers the consumer.

The remaining five P’s include:

• Product: As in the unique rums that we produce.
• Promotion: Including media, Jamaica Rum Festival, and launches like this here today.
• Price: Premium positioning.
• Packaging: Exquisite conformations with sophisticated labelling.
• Placement: Availability in the appropriate channels

Surely, a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a first step, and the rum industry is unmistakably moving with urgency along that path.

Twenty years ago, the Jamaican rum industry was primarily a producer of bulk rum. The industry has evolved significantly away from being solely a producer of bulk rum for export to Europe and the United States, where it was warehoused aged and bottled to incorporate value-added activities. Today, there is an aggressive transformation of the local industry to become brand-driven.

The Lawrence F.C. Hussey Ageing Warehouse Facility here at Hampden Estate, and other similar facilities in our industry, demonstrate that the Jamaica rum industry is evolving towards branded products, where we age, bottle and market products originating here in Jamaica. This transformation requires capital investment in facilities, as well as investment in human resource, quality, and marketing. This facility is a clear demonstration of Hampden Estate’s commitment to invest in the future.

Hampden Estate Distillery occupies a very unique position in the Jamaican rum industry, as the only distillery that undertakes fermentation activities in infrastructure and processes that are time-honoured traditions dating perhaps three centuries ago.

Notwithstanding, they have invested in the quality of their stills, laboratories and human resources to reflect conformance to modern distillery operations.

Jamaican rum is sophisticated and comprises a wide variety of styles and presentations.

Increasingly, Jamaicans and global consumers have come to appreciate rum as a premium spirit. Our rum spirit is comparable with the finest, including scotch whiskey and cognac.

Today, consumers and spirits ambassadors, globally, prefer a sophisticated drink of rum. The Jamaican industry is on a mission to reinforce that perception. Hampden Estate Rums is committed to driving that change, aided by its team including blenders, fermentation specialists and laboratory technicians.

The facts are that many of the innovations in distillery technology and equipment that are used in Scotland, the US and France originated in Jamaica and Barbados. We are in good hands here at Hampden Estate!

As chairman of the Spirits Pool Association, which is the trade association and self-regulatory body for the Jamaica rum industry, we are committed to the Jamaica Rum geographical indications (GI) designation. This accreditation will add significant value to Jamaica rum, as it will telegraph to the world that Jamaica rum is not a free-for-all, with no rules, but is crafted with provenance and is premium.

In fact, Jamaica rum evolved from a long tradition of excellence with very talented craftsmen, who developed new technologies in the making of spirits and created the heavy rums for which Jamaica became world-renowned. There are several marks and products at Hampden Estate that were the stuff of legend in Europe for over three hundred years and command a premium price on the market for its Jamaica rums.

The Jamaica Rum GI is based upon the combination of art, science, and technology much of which was developed at Hampden Estate. The Jamaica Rum GI is therefore developed not solely on reputation as some persons believe but importantly incorporates process, science, and technology to ensure quality and consistency.

Christelle Harris, director of Hampden Estate is quoted as saying, “for a rum producer in the Caribbean not to have its own brands is a disservice to the rum-loving consumer”.

Hampden Estate Distillers is located here in the hills of Trelawny wrapped in a unique microclimate. This environment promotes the minerals found in the naturally filtered limestone water that makes its rums. It is impacted by the unique yeasts and bacteria cultures that are exclusive to this part of Jamaica. Therefore, the distinctive rums that are produced here cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.

The temperature, pressure and air quality also impact the flavour profile of the rums produced here, and I know this because it is said that distilleries in other parts of the island have tried to replicate some of the Hampden Estate rum marks unsuccessfully, after great effort.

Our proud Jamaican-owned distilleries are committed to the Jamaica Rum GI. They have begun the path to transform from the bulk rum model to a bottled and branded rum model. This is a rewarding venture and requires a huge investment in capital and talent wrapped with unrestrained passion!

The demand for Hampden Estate rum products has steadily increased over the past ten years. In response to this, the company has had to significantly expand the distillery to boost production.
In meeting increasing demand and higher projected volumes, a new ageing warehouse was built, with another currently being constructed and slated to be completed this year.

Spanning 16,000 square feet, the J$120-million facility which will house some 5,000 additional barrels, was specially designed in consultation with local contractors Tank Weld for optimum ageing at Hampden factoring temperature, humidity and wind. It also features a state-of-the-art fire detection and suppression system.

The building of the two warehouses will see Hampden’s storage capacity increase from approximately 2,700 barrels — that were scattered across the distillery grounds in small, tight, inefficient, older warehouses that did not allow for proper airflow and monitoring, which are integral in the ageing process — to up to 10,000 barrels.

I am advised that this will be the location for the estate’s new bottling plant. Once completed, it will eventually allow Hampden to meet its goal of bottling all Hampden Estate products on site. At present many of the expressions are bottled overseas, while Rum Fire and the annually released limited ‘Great House’ distillery editions are customarily bottled on the estate.

Key Hampden Estates investments include:

• A New 5,000-gallon copper pot stills
• New fermentation vessels
• Increased capacity for the handling of the rum waste “dunder”
• A crushing mill
• Conversion to LNG
• And a 200 kW Microturbine.

These investments, and others to come, signal a bright future for growth and profitability.

Businessman and former racehorse trainer Lawrence Hussey, patriarch of the Hussey family, passed away 11 years ago. This visionary allowed the world to enjoy 100 per cent authentic Hampden Estate Rum. It is with this in mind that Hampden Estate dedicates the commissioning of this state-of-the-art ageing facility in his memory.

I salute Hampden Estate today on this journey, demonstrating leadership within the Rum industry and particularly on the occasion of the dedication of this investment in the Lawrence F.C. Hussey Ageing Warehouse Facility, which is a clear physical demonstration of their commitment and intent.”