Rum For All - About Us

About Us

Rum For All is a joint independent project created and directed by F. Paul Pacult and Sean Ludford.

F. PAUL PACULT

F. Paul Pacult is publisher/editor of F. Paul Pacult's Spirit Journal; contributing editor for Beverage Dynamics; and creator of the groundbreaking iWhiskey App. Through Spirit Journal, Inc., he consults widely to the beverage alcohol industry. He is a founding partner of the award-winning educational company Beverage Alcohol Resource, LLC (BAR) and a founding partner in the acclaimed beverage competition company Ultimate Beverage Challenge LLC.

He is the author of five books: Kindred Spirits 2: 2,400 Reviews of Whiskey, Brandy, Vodka, Tequila, Rum, Gin, and Liqueurs from F. Paul Pacult's Spirit Journal 2000-2007 (Spirit Journal, Inc., 2008); A Double Scotch: How Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet Became Global Icons (Wiley, 2005), the best-selling American Still Life: The Jim Beam Story and the Making of the World’s #1 Bourbon (Wiley, 2003) as well as Kindred Spirits (Hyperion, 1997) and The Beer Essentials (Hyperion, 1997). From 1982 to 2009, he contributed to a wide array of publications, including Playboy, Wine & Spirits, Cheers, Connoisseur, MarketWatch. Travel & Leisure, Men's Journal, the New York Times Magazine, Delta Sky, and Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Paul won an award for wine journalism excellence in 2001 from The Academy of Wine Communications. He is the only journalist in the world to concurrently be a life member and Master of Keepers of the Quaich whisky society (Edinburgh, Scotland), a life member of Kentucky's Bourbon Hall of Fame, and a life member of France's Company of Armagnac Musketeers. This September, Paul is being honored in France as the Cognac Personality of the Year for 2011.

SEAN LUDFORD

Sean Ludford has been involved in the beverage industry for more than two decades. He has an eclectic resume including stints at restaurants, some of America's top wine & spirit retailers, as a writer & reviewer, importer/distributor, and was once even lured to the South Pacific to help open a micro brewery.

At the retail level Sean developed and launched a popular and successful wine club that boasts a nationwide membership. In the beginning of this millennium Sean was the Spirits Director at Sam's Wines & Spirits, the nation's top volume seller at the time. While there he was able to increase spirits sales while strengthening global visibility. After leaving Sam's Sean acted independently as an ambassador to a select group of handpicked import brands traveling the country educating and collaborating with wholesalers and key accounts. In this capacity Sean sought to elevate the recognition and understanding of unique, family owned brands that might otherwise be lost in the vast sea of products.

Today Sean focuses on writing and educating. In 2006 he created BevX.com (Beverage Experts) a lifestyle web publication with a weighty beverage focus. BevX is a unique and independent voice in the world of wine, beer, and spirits punditry. Sean is also a regular contributor/columnist for several print magazines including, Nightclub & Bar Magazine, Restaurant Hospitality, Malt Advocate, and several others.

Sean has judged at many of the world's most prestigious wine, beer, and spirits competitions. He is now the Assistant Chairman of Judging for The Ultimate Beverage Challenge. He speaks regularly on topics as diverse as Single Malts, Belgian Ales, Italian wines, and the vineyards of Bali (don't get him going on that one). In his coveted spare time Sean enjoys cooking, hiking, reading, watching rugby, and seeking the perfect pint. If you see him out, buy him one.