My getaway weekend in Miami Beach at the 2022 Miami Rum Congress was interrupted by a wild windstorm this afternoon. As a cold front pushed a line of storms through Florida, already intense winds were whipped into a frenzy and bowled through the big tasting event at the Hilton Cabana in Miami Beach.
The rum tasting was split between two locations, one at the semi-outdoors bar adjacent to the pool and the other under a big tent on the deck on the third floor. The canopy of the tent acted like a sail, flapping wildly in the high winds as brave rum folk and hotel employees attempted to secure it.
The distillers shut down amazingly quickly and, with teamwork, eventually got the canopy off the tent frame, as you can see in this video. They reset, and the tasting resumed in a ballroom indoors. What a crazy afternoon!