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The Rum Trader

Bio

Who is The Rum Trader?

Scott French, The Rum Trader
Scott French, The Rum Trader

My name is Scott French. I am a Rum Reviewer, Brand Builder, Marketing Consultant, Brand Influencer, Judge, Presenter, Collector and Cocktail Enthusiast residing in Columbia, SC.

I have been sharing my rum passion via presentations, this website and through social media channels, as The Rum Trader, since 2008. 

With a collection of over 1100+ different rum expressions, I am a connoisseur of rum. In addition to traveling to Rum and Tiki events around the country, I spend my time hosting rum tastings, writing about, reviewing and researching rum. I visit rum distilleries, hunt for old stock rums, and share my knowledge about the rum industry with others insistently. 

In the new year (2024), I will be at in a number of events on the Rum, Tiki & Cocktail schedule. If you see me at an event please say hello. I love meeting fellow Rum and Tiki Lovers!

To learn even more about me please read an interview I did with TheRumLab.com

Past Travels

2021 Travels:

  • Covered The Hukilau, Fort Lauderdale, FL

2019 Travels:

  • Became a member, RumXP: The International Rum Expert Panel
  • Covered Tiki Week, Bourbon, Columbia, SC
  • Covered Ed Hamilton presentation, Caribbean Spirits, Columbia USBG
  • Covered Miami Rum Congress, Miami, FL
  • Covered the Chicago Rum Fest, Chicago, IL
  • Served as a RumXP Judge, 11th Anniversary Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, Miami, FL
  • Covered Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans, LA
  • Participated in an extended, vintage rum tasting with Stephen Remsberg, New Orleans, LA
  • Consulted with various rum distilleries on profile and marketing
  • Covered California Rum Fest, San Francisco, CA
  • Conducted major rum hunts around the Southeast USA
  • Conducted heavy research on vintage and historic rums

2018 Travels:

  • Toured Outer Banks Distilling, Manteo, NC
  • Served as a RumXP Judge at the 10th Anniversary Rum Renaissance Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Covered The Hukilau, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Toured Key West Distilling, Key West, FL
  • Toured Key West Legal Distillery, Key West, FL
  • Toured Hemingway Rum Company (Papa’s Pilar), Key West, FL
  • Covered the New York City Rum Festival, New York City, NY

2017 Travels:

  • Served as a RumXP Judge at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, Miami, FL
  • Covered the Midwest Rum Festival, Chicago, IL
  • Covered the Chicago Area Tiki Tour (CATT), Chicago, IL
  • Covered The Hukilau, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Toured Hampden Estates Rum Company (Rum Fire), Trelawny, Jamaica
  • “What one rum can’t do, three rums can” – The Importance of Tiki in the World of Rum , The Aiken Rum Club, Aiken, SC
  • Covered BevCon, Charleston, SC
  • Visited Cane Rhum Bar, Charleston, SC
  • Covered Charleston Rum Fest, Charleston, SC
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2016 Travels:

  • Served as a RumXP Judge at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, Miami, FL
  • Covered the Midwest Rum Festival, Chicago, IL
  • Covered The Hukilau, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Covered Rum Runners (Charleston Rum Fest), Charleston, SC
  • Covered BevCon, Charleston, SC
  • Rum presentation, From Rum Fan To Rum Judge – Evaluating and Judging Rum, The Aiken Rum Club, Aiken, SC
  • Covered presentations by Ed Hamilton (Hamilton Rum) and Tim “Swanky” Glazner (Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant), Cane Rhum Bar, Charleston, SC
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2015 Travels:

  • Served as a judge on the inaugural Rum XP Consumer Rum Jury, Rum Renaissance Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Covered The Hukilau, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Scott French
The Rum Trader
scott@therumtrader.com

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