Puerto Rican Rum
Rum is an exquisite distilled spirit made by the fermentation and mix of sugarcane, syrup, juice and molasses. It’s part of the tradition of Puerto Rico, sometimes known as the rum capital of the world, dating back centuries to the sugarcane productions in the 15th century.
There are different types of rum:
- White (or silver) rum: ideal for cocktails and mixed in drinks.
- Gold Rum: with a strong taste and a golden/brown hue, aged in wooden barrels.
- Spiced Rum: Gold rum mixed with different spices like caramel.
- Dark Rum: The variety with the strongest flavor, aged longer and with a lot of hint of spices.
Bacardi is the most famous puerto rican rum and the biggest distillery, however, there other options that although less popular, have an equal if not higher quality. Bacardi, Don Q and Ron del Barrilito are the biggest producers of the island, exporting more than the 70% of the rum that we drink in the US.
Don Q 2007
Don Q is one of the most famous rums of Puerto Rico, created in 1934 after the US alcohol prohibition ended.
Made by the Serralles Distillery, Don Q 2007 is one of the best selections of the brand, a smooth delicate rum, known among the locals more than to foreigners and very hard to find outside of the island. It is a single barrel run with a perfect blend of flavors, aged from one and half to five years in a white oak barrel.
Caliche
Caliche is a white (clear) aged rum, made from the blend of three to five year rums, with vanilla, oak and caramel notes, made by the Serralles Distillery, producing a third of the rum in Puerto Rico. Its color has been removed through charcoal filtration.
Founded in 1862, Bacardi is one of the most recognized rums in the world. The company was originally founded in Cuba, but due to the political problems that the country faced, its facilities were taken by the Cuban government in 1960.
Nowadays, Its most important facility is located in Cataño, Puerto Rico, across the bay from Old San Juan, presumed to be the world’s largest premium rum distillery.
It produces different rums such as Bacardi White, Bacardi Gold, Select, 8 and 151.
Bacardi 8 is one of their top selling, a good dark rum with an interesting mix of flavors.
Ron del Barrilito was created in 1871 by Pedro Fernandez on his father’s plantation, the older rum in Puerto Rico. Aged in barrels, this is one of the most iconic rums among locals,
really hard to find outside the island. It offers two presentations: Dos Estrellas (mainly for mixers) and Tres Estrellas, a smooth rum that is so good it can be enjoyed on its own or mixed into drinks, aged from 6 to 10 years in Spanish sherry barrel.
