SEMINAR AGENDA
9:00 - 11:00 | Registration + Cocktails
Brief: Morning Registration for Day 1 of the 2026 Miami Rum Congress.
Cocktails: The morning rum bar session with delicious cocktails will be hosted by (TBA).
10:00 - 10:45 | Menu Space & Digital Flow: Rum's Modern Route-to-Market (Powered by Park Street University)
Brief: This seminar provides a deep dive into the modern route-to-market with a focus on premium on-premise placement and digital marketplace conversion. Speakers will break down performance metrics, revealing what buyers prioritize when deciding between premium rum brands. We’ll also analyze how to optimize listings for conversion on e-commerce platforms and use digital tools to drive velocity.
11:00 - 11:45 | The Next Rum Consumer: Demystifying Gen Z, RTDs, and More (Powered by Park Street University)
Brief: The biggest shifts in beverage alcohol are being driven by new consumption habits: moderation, the rise of Gen Z, and the persistent growth of the Ready-to-Drink format. This session focuses on the intersection of these trends and the rum category. Panelists will discuss the profile and preferences of the Gen Z consumer, as well as the role of rum in the rapidly expanding premium RTD space. This is a necessary session for brands looking to future-proof their products by meeting the modern consumer where they are.
12:00 - 12:45 | Boom, Bust, and Rebirth: Cycles in Distilled Spirits
Brief: This session examines the ups, downs, and revivals of several major spirits categories, including rum. Our panel digs into the forces behind these swings, from tariffs and wellness trends to overproduction and shifting cultural tastes. In this context, we’ll see how today’s trends in pricing (bars and consumers), bottle sizes, and evolving cocktail culture are steering the next cycle.
13:00 - 13:45 | Positioning for Success: Costs, Compliance, and the Winning Pitch
Brief: This seminar examines the real-world challenges of launching and growing a rum brand in the U.S. market. From understanding true costs to navigating compliance requirements, the session highlights the financial and legal fundamentals that often determine success or failure. The conversation then turns to crafting a winning pitch—what U.S. distributors, buyers, and partners expect to hear. Attendees will gain practical insights to position their rum brand competitively and present a compelling case for long-term growth in the United States.
13:45 - 14:45 | Lunch + Cocktails | Bar Transition
Brief: Lunch Break for Day 1 of the 2026 Miami Rum Congress.
Cocktails: Maison Ferrand will be sponsoring the afternoon rum bar session with delicious cocktails.
15:00 - 15:45 | Fermentation: Where Rum Gets Its Personality
Brief: Fermentation is where rum’s flavor is truly born; distillation and aging merely refine what fermentation has already created. This panel explores how different rum traditions—from light, clean Spanish-heritage styles to intensely funky Jamaican rums and grassy rhum agricole—pursue radically different flavor outcomes at the fermentation stage. We’ll examine the raw materials and tools that shape those outcomes, including source material, yeast selection, and techniques like dunder use. Think of fermentation as the control panel of rum making: the place where producers set the dials that define their house style long before the still is ever fired.
16:00 - 16:45 | Beyond Tropical: New Rums Redefining the Category's Role In Cocktails
Brief: Rum has long been boxed into tropical and tiki cocktails—Daiquiris, Mai Tais, and beachside classics built on light Spanish-style rums or boldly flavored Jamaican and Demerara expressions. This session challenges that narrow framing by showing how newly available rum styles, including multi-region blends, reshape modern cocktail design. A panel of bartenders and brand ambassadors will show how these rums are finding their way into contemporary recipes and even classic cocktails once dominated by whiskey, gin, or agave spirits. The result is a new cocktail grammar for rum, one that breaks decisively from old patterns and expands where rum belongs behind the bar.
17:00 - 17:45 | Miami’s Next-Wave Rum Drink Trends
Brief: Miami has always spoken rum fluently, but what it’s saying is evolving. This session looks past the familiar classics and into how Miami bartenders are rethinking rum behind the bar. Expect unexpected pairings and new ways of approaching rum in both tropical and non-tropical contexts. Led by an all-star Miami-based panel deeply rooted in rum culture, the session focuses on local influence, experimentation, and how modern bar programs are reshaping rum cocktails for today’s drinkers.
17:45 - 18:30 | Break + Cocktails by Maison Ferrand
Brief: Conclusion to Rum Congress & intermediate break before The Ultimate Awards
Cocktails: Maison Ferrand will be sponsoring the Afternoon & Evening rum bar session with delicious cocktails.
18:30 - 20:00 | The Ultimate Awards
Brief: The Ultimate Awards recognizes the best of the best in the rum industry.
For 2026, The Ultimate Awards is excited to announce and launch its very second blind tasting competition. WSET Level III Spirits Judges will participate & determine the best of the best in this fantastic competition at the 2026 Miami Rum Congress.
10:25 - 10:55 | Registro: Congreso de Ron
Brief: Registration for Congreso de Ron presentado por Women Leading Rum & Spirits, y Unidos por el Ron
10:55 | Adaptarse sin perder el alma: el futuro de los espirituosos
Brief: La industria de los espirituosos avanza hacia nuevas técnicas, nuevos consumidores y nuevas exigencias, pero su esencia sigue anclada en el tiempo, la tierra y la tradición. Este seminario explora cómo las marcas pueden innovar sin renunciar a su identidad, equilibrando modernidad y herencia para construir un futuro donde la autenticidad siga siendo el mayor valor.
11:55 | El Nuevo Consumidor de Spirits: Datos, Cultura y Comportamientos que están Redefiniendo la Industria
Brief: El consumidor actual es muy distinto al de hace una década. La Generación Z está impulsando este cambio: prioriza experiencias sobre bebidas, conexiones auténticas y marcas con propósito y valores claros. Nuevas motivaciones, códigos culturales y hábitos de compra están redefiniendo la relación entre los spirits y su audiencia. Este seminario aborda las tendencias que marcarán el 2026, desde los datos que explican cómo el público elige hasta los comportamientos que están moldeando el futuro de las marcas y las experiencias.
12:55 | Innovación en Barrica: Tendencias del Añejamiento del Ron 2026
Brief: La categoría del ron enfrenta un escenario de transformación impulsado por nuevos perfiles de consumo y mayores exigencias en calidad, sostenibilidad y diferenciación sensorial. En este seminario analizaremos cómo la innovación en barrica —incluyendo metodologías experimentales, optimización de procesos y enfoques responsables— está redefiniendo los estándares del añejamiento. Una visión estratégica para comprender hacia dónde evoluciona el mercado y qué prácticas marcarán la competitividad en 2026.
1:30 - 7:00 | VIP Rum Experts Session
Brief: Registration and Session for VIP Rum Experts
2:00 - 3:30 | Industry Trade Session
Brief: Registration and Session for Industry Trade Professionals
3:00 - 7:00 | VIP Rum Enthusiastic Session
Brief: Registration and Session for VIP Rum Enthusiastics
4:00 - 7:00 | Intro to Rum - General Admission Session
Brief: Registration and Session for Intro to Rum – General Admission
3:30 | Planteray Extreme Series VI - The Legends of Rum
Brief: Brief: At the Miami Rum Congress, Alexandre Gabriel invites you into the world of rum taken to its absolute limits.
This masterclass explores Extreme Series VI – Legends of Rum, a collection of rums that are as rare as they are uncompromising.
Bottled straight from the cask at natural proof, each expression preserves the raw, unfiltered soul of a unicorn barrel from Alexandre’s personal stock.
Created only every two to three years, the Extreme Series celebrates flavour intensity, authenticity, and rarity.
This sixth edition is a tribute to the legendary distillers and blenders who have shaped Alexandre Gabriel’s 35-year journey through rum terroirs.
Through lifelong friendships and shared craftsmanship, these masters passed down techniques, stories, and vision.
During this session, guests will taste three exceptional expressions from the collection.
Planteray D.A.S.H. Rum, Planteray Saint Lucia 2009, and Planteray Haiti 2005.
4:30 | Costa Rica Single Estate Rum: Combining pure juice, molasses & sugar cane honey.
Brief: Pierre Bardinet shares the story behind the creation of the first Costa Rican single-estate rum. From an uncompromising focus on raw material to the art of blending, he explores how three major rum traditions: pure cane juice, molasses, and sugar cane honey can be combined to build complexity, balance, and identity. A deep dive into terroir, technique, and the power of assemblage.
5:30 | The Future of Aguardiente as an Undiscovered Spirit
Brief: Aguardiente remains one of the most culturally rich yet globally undiscovered spirits. This segment explores its evolution beyond tradition—highlighting how modern production, premium positioning, and contemporary branding are reshaping its perception on the global stage. We will discuss the opportunity for aguardiente to follow a similar path to tequila and mezcal, expanding into new markets while preserving its heritage, identity, and cultural roots.
