The America’s Cup World Series put wind in the sails of Bermuda business over the weekend.

And the following wind generated by the event has eased the recession doldrums the Island has suffered for several years.

Charles Gosling, managing director and vice-president of marketing at Gosling’s Rum, said the firm’s Moet & Chandon bar on Front Street shifted more than 210 bottles of champagne on Friday night alone.

Other sponsors also reported increased business as a result of the World Series races.

And restaurant group IRG, which is not an official sponsor, said the event had smashed previous weekend sales records.

Mr Gosling said: “The whole weekend went very well and there were lots of corporate events going on throughout the Island.

“And I’m sure a lot of the restaurants throughout Hamilton, particularly along Front Street, would have been totally booked out by companies.”

Gosling’s made an “extremely significant investment” together with its US partners to become the official rum and ginger suppliers to the America’s Cup and was also appointed by the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) to run the bars along Front Street over the weekend.

Mr Gosling said: “We’re in the process of doing all the calculations — but it looks like it was incredibly good.

“It’s a boost for us — this is just one piece of a big picture. We were there in Portsmouth and the crash barriers and signage we had was exactly the same. We had the rum bar above the America’s Cup clothing store as well.

And he added: “The impact here really wasn’t limited to over the weekend — we saw it for a good ten days prior to the event.

Mr Gosling said: “In terms of international exposure, it’s priceless.

“Even prior to the sailing in Gothenburg in Sweden, it had an impact on sales in that country we expect that to grow exponentially. We expect that everywhere we go, the response will be exceptional.”

Mr Gosling said that, although the investment was large, Gosling’s expected it would be “worth every penny”.

He added: “Certainly Black Seal Rum is doing extremely well in the States, but what is doing amazingly well is our Stormy ginger beer. That’s a brand we are seeing sell very well around the world.”

And he said: “We’re expecting to see the investment being repaid time and time again.”