MANILA, Philippines — Bacolod will be bustling with merrymakers with the return of the Bacolod Rum Festival, happening from August 12 to 20.
After two years of absence since its first staging in 2019 by Bacolod and rum maker Tanduay, the Bacolod Rum Festival returns with a rock concert featuring popular musical acts Arthur Nery, Magnus Haven and Ethan Loukas, with appearance by actor Derek Ramsay.
The festival is a prelude to the highly anticipated annual Masskara Festival. The latter is a festival that has become a favorite destination for local and international tourists for its festive vibe that is highlighted with a street dance that features dancers in festive garbs and giant smiling masks.
Apart from an abundance of the favorite spirit, the festival will also showcase the craftsmanship, skill, and artistry of Bacolodnons through various events such as the Barrel Art, Bottle Design, and Street Art Competitions.
Bacolod’s famed culinary culture will also be under the spotlight through the Culinaria Competition. Food parks will be set up throughout the festival.
With good food comes good drinks and festival goers would not want to miss the Flairtending and Mixology contest.
Bacolod is considered the sugar capital of the Philippines. It reportedly has almost 200,000 hectares of sugarcane farms, with sugarcane as the primary source of rum production.
Meanwhile, Filipino rum brand Tanduay has been on a winning streak in the past years. Drinks International's The Millionaire's Club editor Shay Waterworth said that the brand was the number-one selling rum brand in the world in 2021.
“They have held the title of world’s number one rum for five consecutive years now. Overall, Tanduay was ranked the sixth best-selling spirit brand in the world across all categories,” Waterworth said.
Drinks International Magazine collected annual data on 154 million-case brands from public company reports and directly requested results.
As of this writing, the Filipino brand is now being marketed in 12 United States states and the territory of Guam, Singapore, China, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
It has also continued its partnerships with leading teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA), which include champions, the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks. Last year, it also started its partnership with the Phoenix Suns and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The brand recorded a P1.2 billion net income in 2021, with net revenues increasing by 6.7%. It enjoyed a 27% share of the Philippines’ overall spirits market.
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