What Went Down at the Renaissance Rum Fest

On October 25th we hosted the 2nd annual Rum Festival at the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel, in the Cartier Ballroom. If you missed the action, here’s your chance to catch up on the night’s highlights.

Righand Distillery

Diony Distillery

Proximo

Vendors

Our attending vendors: Diony, Doege, Pivot Spirits, Proximo, Righand Distillery, and Rocky Mountain Big Horn Distillery set up their tasting tables and prepared for an evening of curious rum-goers. Each booth brought its own style, stories, and samples to explore.

Dreams Take Flight

This year, we had the privilege of partnering with Dreams Take Flight, a volunteer-driven organization that sends deserving children to Disneyland or Disney World. A portion of ticket sales, 50/50 proceeds, and 100 percent of silent auction earnings were donated to support their work. It added a meaningful spark to the evening, knowing every sip and bid helped make a child’s dream trip possible.

Main Event

Guests sampled a range of rums and cocktails while chatting with vendors about their spirits, craft, and techniques. And since the festival landed on the same day as the Jays game, we streamed the game live so no one had to choose between cheering and tasting.

Pop-Up Shop

A pop-up shop gave guests the chance to purchase their favourite bottles on the spot, making it easy to bring home a new discovery or stock up on a tried-and-true favourite.

Bites

One of the most-loved parts of our festivals is the food, and this year was no exception. Our culinary team prepared three live-action stations along with a selection of passed hors d’oeuvres, adding plenty of flavour to the night.

Pivot Spirits

Cocktail Contest

A festival favourite, the Rum Cocktail Contest invited each vendor to submit a signature cocktail made with their rum. Guests sampled, compared, and voted for their top pick.

Congratulations to Pivot Spirits, who took home this year’s title with their Spiced Harvest cocktail. Their winning drink will be featured at Halo Bar & Lounge, so stop by and taste why it captured the crowd.

We would like to take the time to give a heartfelt thank you to every guest and vendor who joined us. Thanks to your support, we raised over $1,000 for Dreams Take Flight. If you missed Rum Fest, don’t worry, Gin Fest is coming up soon. Keep an eye out for details!

Not ready to wait until then? Discover our other events here