Tuesday, July 5, 2011

First Bottles of Panama Red Premium Rum Arrive in the US


Charlotte, North Carolina, Destin, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida - July 5, 2011 - Panamonte Brands announced today that their initial shipment of Premium Over Proof Panama Red Rum has made its way from Panama and has arrived safely at Liquor Group’s warehouses in Florida, USA.  This unique premium rum is a blend of aged rums that are distilled in small batches in Panama from locally harvested sugar cane grown in Las Cabras de Pese, the region where the Distillery is located. Panama Red is named after the legendary Panamanian entertainer & nightclub owner from the 1940’s whose image graces the bottle.
Panama Red is the brainchild of Jim Wasson and his partners at Panamonte Brands. Wasson, a Florida native, has nurtured his vision for a great premium rum since he was a young man, when he was introduced to the legendary Pre-Castro Cuban rums.  His quest took him to Panama where he met Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez, the Master blender for 21 year old Zafra Rum.  Don Pancho mentored Wasson in each step along the way to develop Panama Red and added his master touch to make this an incredibly smooth rum.
Wasson said, “I think our Panama Red Brand offers the consumer a unique, over proofed premium rum that is incredibly smooth for sipping or mixing your favorite cocktail. We intend to have tastings in various cities that will allow the consumer to choose for themselves."
Hemingway restaurants became the first chain to add Panama Red 108 to their bars. Two tastings are already scheduled for the Hemingway's Island Grills at Estero, Fla and Pensacola Beach, Fl. Dates are August 15,2011 for Estero and August 16 for Pensacola Beach.
Chip Dykstra, rum connoisseur of the Rum Howler Blog describes the taste of Panama Red as "Sweet flavors of caramel candy take the lead with more pungent flavors of tobacco and leather riding the coat-tails. After just a few sips, the rum has heated the mouth with orange peel spiciness, and then I began to notice the baking spices building. The longer I allowed the glass to decant, the richer and more complex the flavor became as the baking spices continued to build in the glass to the benefit of my palate."


Priced slightly below Premium, a bottle of Panama Red retails for around $25.00.  Liquor Group Wholesale, Inc. (Publicly Traded: LIQR) an emerging alcohol distribution/ brokerage organization representing thousands of brands with operations in 33 US States represents the new brand to the entire US market.

"We are excited about extending our rum offerings through the addition of Panama Red.” said C. J. Eiras, CEO of LIQR “Customers across the country will be excited to add this wonderful small batch premium rum to their shelves."