Clement Lawrence | Jamaica can’t risk short-term commercial convenience at expense of authenticity

The opinion article by Howard Mitchell titled ‘Why Jamaica Must Defend Its Rum Heritage and Its Future’ presents a passionate defence of National Rums of Jamaica’s (NRJ’s) position in challenging the strict provisions of the Jamaica Rum Geographical Indication (GI). However, the article inadvertently downplays the core purpose of GI protection, distorts the international context of rum regulation, and omits critical facts, particularly the role NRJ itself played in the establishment of the very GI standards it now contests.

As the body that once chaired the Spirits Pool Association of Jamaica (SPA) during the drafting and registration of the Jamaica Rum GI, NRJ helped to craft and endorse the local ageing requirement. It was under NRJ’s leadership that the GI was registered with the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO). It is therefore ironic that NRJ now appears to disavow this framework, arguing that rum distilled and fermented in Jamaica but aged elsewhere should still carry the ‘Jamaica Rum’ designation.

GIs REQUIRE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

The article suggests that the ageing of rum overseas is “neither new nor unpatriotic” and is part of “Jamaica’s rum heritage”. But the point of a GI is not to memorialise historical commerce, it is to define and protect the product’s identity, based on its geography and method of production.

This includes the ageing process.

To compare, Scotch whisky must be aged in Scotland. Cognac must be aged in the Cognac region of France. Tequila must be aged in Mexico. The integrity of those GIs would not permit ageing in foreign countries, not because they oppose trade, but because they protect terroir, used to describe the unique combination of geographical, climatic, soil, and cultural factors that influence the character and quality of an agricultural product, especially in wine, coffee, tea, and spirits.

In the context of rum, terroir refers to how Jamaica’s specific environment, its tropical climate, humidity, soil conditions, and traditional methods affect the fermentation, distillation, and, especially the ageing of the rum. This is why rum aged in Jamaica develops a different flavour profile than the same rum aged in, say, Europe or North America.

So, when we say, “Jamaica Rum is a product of its terroir”, we mean it reflects the essence of Jamaica itself, its weather, water, air, traditions, and people.

If Jamaica’s rum were French, the word “rum” itself would be protected, like Champagne or Cognac. Jamaican rum deserves no less respect.

AGEING IS TRANSFORMATIVE

The article relies heavily on the assertion that fermentation and distillation define a rum’s character, while ageing is secondary. This is technically misleading. In tropical climates like Jamaica, ageing occurs at 2–3 times the rate of temperate regions. The interaction between spirit, wood, humidity, and temperature uniquely shapes the rum’s chemical composition, its colour, body, and aroma. Ageing in Jamaica is not incidental, it is defining.

Permitting foreign ageing under the ‘Jamaica Rum’ label would erode this distinctiveness. It would invite competitors to manipulate Jamaican-distilled bulk rum into products with different profiles that do not represent Jamaican craft or conditions. Ultimately, they would or could claim superiority.

COMMERCIAL STRATEGY SHOULD NOT TRUMP INTEGRITY

The article rightly highlights flat global growth in the Jamaican rum category and the need for strategic innovation. But loosening GI standards is not innovation, it’s dilution. Sacrificing local ageing in the name of flexibility weakens the brand and opens the door to commodification.

Rather than relaxing standards, the focus should be on premiumisation, branding, and sustainable value-added production in Jamaica. That means keeping as much of the value chain, especially ageing and bottling, at home, where jobs, skills, and revenue can multiply.

EXPLOITATION, NOT NATIONALISM, IS THE ENEMY

The author warns against “xenophobic undertones”, implying that critics of offshore ageing are driven by anti-foreign sentiment. This is a straw man. The SPA, and many stakeholders in this debate, is not vilifying international partners. In fact, the industry already includes international players, like Campari and Demerara Distillers, working within the GI framework.

The issue is not about nationality, it’s about compliance. GI rules exist to prevent exploitation, regardless of who the investor is. A standard that allows some to age abroad while others must age locally is not only unjust, it’s anti-competitive.

GI IS PLATFORM FOR GROWTH

Finally, the claim that GI standards risk turning heritage into a relic mischaracterises their purpose. GI protections elevate products to premium status on the world stage. Jamaican rum, when produced, aged, and bottled according to strict standards, can command higher prices, wider recognition, and legal safeguards against imitation.

Instead of eroding the GI, we should be enforcing and leveraging it to gain more access to high-value markets, just like Scotch, Cognac, and Tequila have done with enormous success.

Additionally, it is worth noting that the SPA was professionally advised to strengthen the rules governing the Jamaica Rum GI to support its successful registration in the European Union, where intellectual property protections are held to exceptionally high standards.

Importantly, under Jamaican excise law, the ageing process must occur under the supervision of domestic regulatory authorities, including Customs and Tax Administration. Such supervision cannot be exercised outside of Jamaica, making offshore ageing incompatible with the statutory framework that governs excise-controlled goods. This further underscore the necessity of maintaining local ageing as both a regulatory and quality-assurance safeguard.

Jamaica’s rum industry is at a crossroads. It can preserve and promote a gold-standard GI that defines our identity and boosts long-term value, or it can risk short-term commercial convenience at the expense of authenticity.

The SPA supports the GI, not out of nostalgia or nationalism, but out of a clear vision for Jamaica Rum as a world-class product, deserving of the same protections and reverence as its global peers.

Let us not forget, it was NRJ itself that helped build this house. It must not now burn it down.

Clement Lawrence is chairman of Spirits Pool Association. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com