FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Presentation introduces the framework for the American Brandy & Rum Trail, connecting American spirits heritage, craft distilling, tourism, and economic development.
EAST ELLIJAY, GA — August 26, 2026 — “AMBRu Campaign: Building America’s Next Great Spirits Movement,” presented by Caroline Porsiel, Co-Founder of the AMBRu Campaign and creator and architect of the American Brandy & Rum Trail initiative, is now available on YouTube.
Porsiel originally delivered the presentation live at the American Distilling Institute (ADI) Rum Summit in Miami Beach on August 17, 2026. The newly released video is a recorded repeat of the presentation, made on August 24 following the Miami Beach event.
The presentation outlines a national framework to elevate American Brandy and American Rum—two spirits deeply rooted in American distilling history that have yet to achieve the category recognition, consumer awareness, and national identity enjoyed by other American spirits.
Drawing on her research into American distilling history and her work with the AMBRu Campaign, Porsiel presents a vision that connects spirits heritage, modern craft distilleries, tourism, and economic development through the proposed American Brandy & Rum Trail.
The Trail is envisioned as a national network linking working American brandy and rum distilleries with historic sites, tourism organizations, industry partners, and communities across the United States. By connecting the places where these spirits are made today with the historic places and stories that shaped them, the initiative seeks to transform centuries of American brandy and rum heritage into a living national spirits story—creating new opportunities for consumer discovery, distillery visitation, regional tourism, and economic activity.
The presentation also examines the broader opportunity to build stronger national identities for American Brandy and American Rum as distinctly American spirits categories and explores how collaboration among distillers, historic sites, tourism organizations, and industry partners can bring these traditions to a wider national and international audience.
The Miami Beach presentation builds on Porsiel’s earlier ADI presentation on the history of American Brandy and American Rum, moving from the historical foundation of the two spirits to a proposed framework for their future recognition, visibility, and development.
The YouTube release makes the framework presented at the ADI Rum Summit accessible to distillers, industry organizations, tourism leaders, historians, economic-development organizations, and others interested in the future of American Brandy and American Rum.
About Caroline Porsiel
Caroline Porsiel is Co-Founder of the AMBRu Campaign and creator and architect of the American Brandy & Rum Trail initiative. Her work brings together research into American distilling history, category development, industry advocacy, and new approaches to connecting spirits heritage with contemporary distilling, tourism, and economic development.
About the AMBRu Campaign
The AMBRu Campaign advances recognition and awareness of American Brandy and American Rum and their place in American spirits history and culture. The proposed American Brandy & Rum Trail extends that mission through a national framework designed to connect producers, historic sites, tourism organizations, industry partners, and communities around America’s brandy and rum heritage.
Watch the Presentations
AMBRu Campaign: Building America’s Next Great Spirits Movement | Miami Beach 2026
Presented at the ADI Rum Summit in Miami Beach on August 17, 2026; recorded repeat made August 24, 2026.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvoN-kbmpVQ
Part 1 — Before Bourbon: The History of American Brandy & Rum
ADI presentation exploring the historical foundation of American Brandy and American Rum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWDonS-Rvf4
Download the presentation slides (PDF):
[PDF link]
Learn more about the AMBRu Campaign at AMBRu.org.
Media Contact
Caroline Porsiel
Co-Founder, AMBRu Campaign
Creator & Architect, American Brandy & Rum Trail Initiative
House Of Applejay, Inc.
East Ellijay, Georgia