Joseph's

[Hank Koestner]

I was not sure where to post this, so I put it here. For anyone looking for rum in Orlando, Joseph's Liqour store has the best and most diverse selection in town. You can find it easily on Sand Lake Road.( I will post the full address later) If you can catch Joseph there, he is knowledgable and enjoys rum quite a bit himself. I hope in the summer to hold a tasting there. I am beginning to think of an Orlando based rum club, and when I am ready to move forward, I will post it and ask advice, especially on holding tastings. Joseph has been kind enough to offer his large store as the venue. More at a later date........... :D

[RobertBurr]

partnering with an excellent liquor store is a great way to do tasting events. The concept of the rum club is a good one. Allow folks that find the tastings interesting to join the club, with some privileges in terms of the tastings.

Joseph can work with his distributors to get samples for the tasting events and you can do the research on the products in order to share that information with the tasters. The result will be increased familiarity with the brands for the consumers, increased sales for the store and a reputation for you as the local rum expert.

[JMac]

would Josephs be able to ship to Canada?

[Edward Hamilton]

would Josephs be able to ship to Canada?
Not legally.

[Hank Koestner]

His name is actually Kurt Joseph, So I will refer to him as Kurt. He did mention that he could get the rum samples for the tasting. As a matter of fact, he said I should give him a list so he can work on it.
I think I will start to plan this seriously next month. I will post it so I can pick eveyone's brain for info to start the club and host the tasting.

[RobertBurr]

Many liquor stores have mailing lists, or email lists of regular customers, especially if they do regular tastings or promote special products, such as fine wines. If Mr. Joseph has such a list, this will help you get a critical mass of rum enthusiasts to the event. If not, make some small flyers or postcards (they're relatively cheap) and hand them out to people you know. The store can give them to people that come in.

It takes time, but eventually you will have a list of people that find these events interesting and look forward to learning more about the products.

Make a list of rums, with descriptions written by you. Ask Mr. Joseph to give you his prices and include them on your list. Give a copy of the list to each attendee at your tasting events. Many people love to keep the info and further digest it later. Perhaps Mr Joseph will offer a 10 or 15 per cent discount to your rum club members.

The best time to have a tasting at a liquor store is Friday evening from 5 to 8pm, since a lot of people will be stopping by to get a bottle of liquor after work for the weekend. Get them to try some small samples while talking to them about the products based on your informed opinions and research -- then get their email addres so you can invite them to attend your next upcoming event.

If you're able to invest some time, you'll find yourself a valuable asset to the store, the rum brands and your new rum-loving friends.