It may be nicknamed the sugarcane champagne or the bogan bear, but there’s more to Bundy rum than you think.

Queensland’s most famous distillery may be sneered at by its southern counterparts, but over the years it’s won top gongs at the World Drinks Awards in London and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Last year, it took out the Australian Distilled Spirits award for best rum.

While it’s seen as a top drop overseas, there’s still a solid cultural cringe at home. But the World Class Cocktail Festival is trying to change that.

The Queensland-based distillery will be setting up at the Harbour View Hotel in The Rocks for the duration of the festival and you can experience its unique Bundaberg Blend Your Own Rum workshop, which won best distillery experience at the Distillery Awards in London last year.

A master distiller will walk you through the process of identifying rum’s different flavour notes and tasting them straight from the barrel. Once you select your favourites, they’ll show you how to blend them to create something unique.

Not only will you take home two specially bottled bespoke blends, they’ll also save your personal recipe, so when you run out you can order another made to your specifications. 

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Bundaberg Rum’s distillery manager, Duncan Little, says it’s a chance for people to see that there’s more to rum than people think.

“Things are changing, with the explosion of gin and tequila we’ve really seen a spirits renaissance happen in Australia and that extends into the rum category,” he says.

“Spiced rum is growing twice as fast as dark rum, it’s a really exciting way for people to enter the world of rum because it’s a bit more approachable for younger drinkers.

“Spiced rum usually has some type of flavour added or infused post distillation. The options are broad, flavour notes can include citrus, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, burnt toffee and cloves.

“We’re also seeing light spirit drinkers try delicate white rum, which is a more herbaceous Agricole style rum made from sugarcane juice, even though Australia has traditionally been more about dark rum. Think flavour notes such as grassy, light citrus zest and vanilla.”

Dark rum flavour notes skew sweet and include fruitcake, molasses, chocolate, brown sugar and candied fruit.

Rum novices will be surprised that it also works with food.

Little suggests pairing a grilled, freshly caught reef fish with a delicate and perfectly balanced rum, such as Small Batch Reserve. A grilled aged steak works best with a complex aged rum such as Solera, while good ol’ fried chicken is best mates with UP Bundaberg Rum and cola for that sweet/salty hit.

And seeing as rum is made from sugarcane, it works beautifully with desserts too, like anything with dark chocolate or a sweet pineapple upside down cake.

Little believes Bundy’s inclusion in the World Class Cocktail Festival is a sign that Australian rum is coming of age.

“This is a global competition, more than 50 of the world’s best bartenders are coming to battle it out,” he says.

“It’s a great opportunity to put the global spotlight on Bundy and show everyone that the best rum in the world is blended here.”

The World Class Cocktail Festival will be held in Sydney from September 9-18. Event details and ticket information can be found at www.worldclasscocktailfestival.com.

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