
Over the decades, Guyanese rum has made waves worldwide. This is largely due to the award-winning range of El Dorado rums produced by our very own Demerara Distillers. The Guyana Rum Festival was created to celebrate rum and the culture of rum in Guyana.
The events will allow visitors to enjoy rich steel pan, story telling, cultural performances, amazing cuisine and enticing music. Visitors of the festival will be able to team up to win prizes by playing traditional Guyanese games such as Saul Out and Dog and Bone, along with the more contemporary games such as flip cup and beer pong to create a real carnival vibe.
This really is an event not to be missed, and we have ensured that the price makes it accessible to all.
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Semi-Finals
When: Sunday, 4th September (3pm)
Where: Tribe Gastrolounge, Church Street, Georgetown
Final
When: Sunday, 11th September (5pm)
Where: Guyana Rum Festival, Everest Cricket Ground
The cocktail mix of celebrates the craft and creativity of Guyanese mixologists. Guyana’s top 12 mixologist from some of the best bars and restaurants, face off to see who would be crowned Mixologist of the Year. As well as the coveted trophy, this year’s winner will also win a trip to Kaieteur Falls, courtesy of 592Tours. The three judges will decide the winner based on a range of criteria but all the drinks must reflect aspects of Guyana and Guyanese culture.
The semi-finals will be held at Tribe Gastronomic Lounge on 4th September, where the 12 will be whittled down to just 4 competitors. The final 4 will then compete live at the Rum Festival on 11th September to see who will be champion.
GRF Exclusive Event
When: Fri 9th September, 7pm
Where: Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown
This exclusive event was a first for Guyana and it was not one you will want to have missed. The Rum Fest team partnered with Demerara Distillers to bring a glamourous & entertaining night of food, music and culture. The event was held at Herdmanston Lodge, a fitting venue as the Queenstown area was once a vast sugar cane field – something we learnt about during Dee George’s engaging and interesting speech. Dee is the co-owner of Herdmanston Lodge.
Guests were welcomed with a cocktail made with 5-year old El Dorado and there followed a 4-course dinner and a rum tasting. The menu for the evening was created by Pat Hinds (Founder of Pat & Pinky’s – a UK-based producer of authentic Guyanese sauces) and it goes without saying that the kitchen team produced a great meal.
The night was hosted by Adrian Barrow, and between dialogue, the guests were treated to live performances by Pan Jazz and an exclusive reading of a passage from Michael Jordan’s “Kamarang” by Atika Stephens. Michael was in the audience to sign copies of this book which were on sale on the night.
To close out the evening, there was a guided rum tasting experience led by DDL’s Distillery Operations Manager, Darryl Manichand. Mr Manichand talked about the history of DDL, the growth of rum globally and reminded us all about the quality and prestige of the award-winning El Dorado rum as he talked about the profile of the 8-year old, 15-year old and a single still “Enmore” edition. Plans for a repeat event are already afoot… so watch this space.
This really was an event like no other – a perfect night for rum-enthusiasts and food enthusiasts alike.
Check the gallery on the media page to see more about this experience.