Door to Door
Educating the Market Person to Person

Pam Aulisi, director of marketing for tequila and rum with Skyy Spirits, observes that whereas consumers understand the different tiers of price and quality within other spirit categories, most do not yet understand differences between rums.

Going Back
    “In rum, consumers haven’t quite learned the differences between the good, the better and the best,” she says. “However, that super-premium tier and the ultra-premium tier are the two tiers that are growing fastest in the United States. So, it’s just a matter of time as consumers start to understand that it’s okay to spend a little bit more.”
    Skyy Spirits’ Matusalem rum has set out to educate on-premise pros, to create a trickle-down effect to reach those consumers — not unlike the very trickle-down method by which Matusalem creates its rums.
    Introduced in Santiago de Cuba in 1872, Matusalem rum became known in Cuba for its exquisite taste and smoothness. At the onset of the Castro era, Matusalem moved to the Dominican Republic, producing in small quantities, until now.
Matusalem’s return includes three distinct rums, each crafted to the high standards brought to Cuba more than 130 years ago. These include Matusalem Gran Reserva, Matusalem Clasico and Matusalem Platino.
    The family still adheres to the original recipe and standards, which employ Solera techniques used to produce Europe’s finest wines, cognacs and sherries.

Moving Forward
    “Solera aging and blending is very labor- and time-intensive, but the family believes it imparts the best flavor and aroma for rum,” Aulisi says.
    “That’s really the key to our brand and the essence of our product.
    “It’s a pyramid-style barrel system. The youngest rums go in at the top and transfer layer to layer to layer, down to the bottom layer, and those are taken out each year and bottled. It makes us stand apart from the vast majority of premium rums on the market. When the pyramid structure is first constructed, we make them out of new French oak barrels. So over time, as the master blender checks every level for quality control, barrels are pulled out and new barrels are inserted.
    “From a production standpoint, that’s our heart and soul and our point of difference, and we truly believe we’re the quality leader in America today. And we’re a great value, because we don’t even compete at a higher price point level like a 10 Cane.”
    Educating the market about this point of difference is how Matusalem is building its brand.
    “We have focused on the on-premise, because that’s where a high-quality brand can be educated down to the consumer from those gatekeepers — those bartenders, who understand high-quality products,” Aulisi says. To make sure its message comes across clear, Matusalem is hitting key accounts in seven markets, “door to door” as Aulisia puts it. Highly trained specialists work with 100 accounts per market, educating accounts on how the different types of Matusalem play out into different cocktails.
    “Platino, which is our white rum, is actually aged white rum,” Aulisi says. “We extract the color out before bottling. Things like that can really only be conveyed from one human being to another. It’s hard to advertise and get that message across.”