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Grand Tasting & Seminars 2025

Saturday, September 20th, 2025
South Boston Lithuanian Club — 368 W Broadway, South Boston, MA

A Full Day of Rum Discovery

Join us for the flagship event of Boston Rum Week—a day dedicated to exploration, education, and celebration of sugarcane spirits. Whether you’re a long-time collector, a casual cocktail lover, or just curious about the world of rum, this event is crafted to delight and inspire.

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Enjoy

  • 150+ Rums
  • 40+ Rum brands
  • 120+ attendees
  • 4 Seminars

🥃 The Grand Tasting

1:00 PM – 4:30 PM (VIP Hour: 1:00 – 2:00 PM) in the Emerald Room

Step into a vibrant tasting experience featuring:

  • 40+ carefully curated rum brands, each with their own table and team ready to pour and share stories

  • A dedicated cocktail bar area with featured drinks from participating brands

  • Live stage presentations—insider stories, new product launches, and behind-the-scenes insights

  • On-site bottle shop by Burlington Wine & Spirits so you can acquire your favorites

  • Cocktail bar takeover throughout the day

  • Dedicated seminar room with curated topic from expert speakers (check the schedule)

VIP ticket holders get exclusive early access and exclusive pours .

The following brands will be pouring rums:

👥 Who You’ll Meet

This is New England’s most passionate rum gathering. Attendees include:

  • Collectors & connoisseurs hunting unique pours

  • Curious newcomers exploring the category

  • Enthusiasts from the Boston Rum Social Club and beyond

  • Industry professionals, bartenders, and beverage directors

We expect over 120 attendees, with promotion running all summer long across email, social media, and our partner network.

🎓 The Seminars

(Baltic Room)

11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
For those looking to go deeper, our seminar series offers five seated sessions hosted by leading rum experts, bartenders, and producers.

Expect:

  • Guided tastings with rare or special expressions

  • Storytelling & education that spans distillation, history, and culture

  • A small-group format with table seating, perfect for note-taking, sipping, and discussion

Limited spots available—seminar tickets sold separately or as part of VIP passes.

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Schedule

12.15 PM

The Effect of Terroir on Agricole/Cane Juice Rums

👤Maggie Campbell, Jen Akin, Miriam Pacheco, Nic Stevens

Agricole & cane juice rums are perhaps the rums that most reveal the terroir of their area of origin. Factors such as sugarcane varietals, ambient yeast, soil, rainfall and other climate influences all affect the final final character of the spirit. Sample a variety of the world’s leading cane juice rums neat and in simple cocktails … you’ll literally taste the diversity of our planet of rum!

Lithuanian Club (Baltic Room)
1.45 PM

Distiller’s Round Table

👤Robyn Smith, Maggie Campbell, Brett Steigerwaldt, John Hsu, Graham Hamblett

Distillers are the wizardly architects crafting the magical liquids in our bottle of rum. Taste their creations while a distinguished panel of the industry’s most accomplished distillers discuss the techniques, raw materials, terroir … and challenges (!!) that went into every drop of rum.

Lithuanian Club (Baltic Room)
2.45 PM

Rums off the Beaten Path: Exploring Rums Beyond of the Caribbean

👤Adrienne Stoner, John Hsu, Eric Kaye

This session will definitively prove that rum is the world’s most diverse spirit! Take away the dozen-or-so most popular rum countries and there’s still a kaleidoscopic array of wildly varied rums. Taste through a selection of representatives from the hidden gems of the rum universe and fall in love with a stranger at first taste!

Lithuanian Club (Baltic Room)
4.00 PM

The Anatomy of Rum Cocktails: Choices, Trends and Culture in a Glass

👤Garnett Philip, Katie Stryjewski (Garnish girl), Frederic Yarm

The most common introduction to the rum category is through the universe of rum cocktails … but what determines which cocktails (and which rums) land on your favorite bar’s menu ? Culture, pricing, trends, brand influence, creativity, venue vibe, food pairing … the list of potential factors is endless.

Sip a selection of delicious rum cocktails while a colorful panel of mixologists, bar owners/managers, media influencers, authors and historians give you the inside scoop on the thought process that went into each glass!

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Lithuanian Club (Baltic Room)

Speakers

Adrienne Stoner

Rum Community Liaison @ Maison Ferrand

Brett Steigerwaldt

Head Distiller at Windon Distilling Company, LYON RUM, Rosalie Bay

Duncan Reiss

Vineyard Roads Spirit Specialist

Eric Kaye

Holmes Cay Rum Co-founder

Master bartender Fred Yarm

Frederic Yarm

Boston bartender, book author, blogger for CocktailVirgin

Garnett Phillips

The Rum Girl® – Bar Owner & Rum Expert

Graham Hamblett

Master Distiller at Three of Strong

Jen Akin

National Brand Advocacy Coordinator for Spiribam USA

John Hsu

Co-founder Raising Glasses

Katie Stryjewski (Garnish Girl)

Cocktail blogger, photographer, erstwhile scientist & Author

Maggie Campbell

American Cane CEO

Miriam P. Pacheco

Uruapan Charanda - General Manager

Nic Stevens

Independent Beverage Journalist DrinkingFolk.com

Robyn Smith

Founder and Distiller of rum et al.

💼 For Brands & Partners

Participation in the Grand Tasting & Seminars is reserved for Platinum Sponsors, offering unmatched access to a high-value, educated audience. Benefits include:

  • Tasting Table + Stage Presentation

  • Seminar participation

  • Branding across the venue and event promotions

  • Inclusion in full-summer campaign and on-site bottle sales

Interested in joining? Contact us →