Thank you for your feedback, Jörg – I’d be happy to share our thoughts on how we set the framework for the Top Bottlers of 2024. The criteria were carefully chosen to ensure a fair reflection of both quality and consistency:
- At least 10 new rums released between Dec 1, 2023, and Nov 30, 2024 – to highlight bottlers who were particularly active and consistently present in the market.
- A minimum of 100 community ratings for these releases – to ensure meaningful and representative results.
- Average community ratings – because consistent quality across the entire range matters most.
Smaller bottlers like The Rum Cask or Wu Dram Clan undoubtedly produce excellent rums, such as the 30-year-old Guyana or Beast II. However, this time they didn’t meet the thresholds – either in the number of new releases or total ratings. That doesn’t diminish their quality, of course, but clear criteria are necessary for a fair comparison.
For Famille Ricci, it’s the consistency across a wide range of releases that stands out. Not every rum will be a highlight for everyone, but on average, their lineup performed very well based on the community’s reviews.
Regarding Velier: You make a valid point – the market is shifting, and the Caroni hype might eventually slow down. The Saint James series certainly wasn’t everyone’s favorite either. That said, Velier continues to set new trends with exciting releases like Nine Leaves or their innovative projects in Haiti. Personally, I’m particularly intrigued by the portable distillation project – we’re surely in for some fascinating experiments there. 
The RumX Awards reflect your ratings – an objective ranking shaped by the community. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome so we can continue to develop the awards and make them even better each year. 