Puerto Rico has made a name for itself in rum history, with brands that have placed the island on the map when it comes to the quality of the distilled spirit. Now a new batch of trailblazers are looking to add to the legacy by producing rums that take the experience to a next level.They are small-to-mid-sized operations that instead of concentrating of producing industrial quantities of the product, focus on developing rums that provide a unique tasting experience, where it is more than just an ingredient, it´s the protagonist in a feast for the senses.
The process is important in rum production, which is why they are considered handcrafted or artisanal rums.
“We are looking for the sublime,” said Jose Muñoz, CEO of Ron Artesano, which is distilled in the mountain town of Jayuya at La Destileria Craft Spirits. “We want to offer a product that aims to provide that uplifting experience to the person who tastes it.”
This dream was born after Muñoz, who has had vast experience working in the alcohol industry, met Javier Herrera, a world-renowned rum master with knowledge in everything from sugarcane cultivation to the distilling process and blending, both agreed that Puerto Rico still had untapped trends in the distilled spirits world.
“We identified two microtrends, one in aged rums (añejos, in Spanish), and the other in the artisanal distilled spirits,” said Muñoz. “Our goal was to create a rum that would be handcrafted, and produced in limited quantities so it could to stand out at an international level.”
Getting the project off the ground was quite the challenge, but Muñoz and his partners decided to reach out to potential investors to raise capital through Puerto Rico’s first equity crowd funding, where basically you could invest whatever amount in the company. And it worked, with investors chipping in anywhere from $100 to $10,000, and becoming a virtual stockholder in the company.
“They believed in the brand and vision and helped us make it happen,” said Muñoz, who highlighted the crafted aspect of the production of Ron Artesano, which is the use of alambiques (stills) for the distilling process, in contrast with large industrial rum producers that use large columns for this process.
Artesano Añejo’s rum is aged between 3 to 5 years in white oak barrels which are typically used to hold bourbon. The rums is described as having sweet notes of dried fruits such as raisins, figs or dates, and aromas of cane honey and toasted wood refined with vanilla and cocoa to round off all the taste notes, as well as compote and candied fruits.
The company also produces Artesano Pot Still, a white rum described as complex with a combination of strong flavors and aromas yet a smooth experience. Both rums have already garnered awards by the American Spirits Council of Tasters Awards and the American Distilling Institute (ADI), the largest trade association dedicated to craft distilling in the world.
“Puerto Rico is certainly known worldwide as a top producer of rum, but this has been mainly in the white rum category in the U.S. mainland, which is produced at an industrial scale,” said Muñoz. “We believe that besides the states, there is a great opportunity for Puerto Rican handcrafted dark, aged rums in Europe and Asia.”
While technically sugar is not grown commercially in large scale in Puerto Rico, rum distillers must import the molasses used for their product mostly from Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Yet, there is one rum operation that opted to grow its own sugar cane on local soil.
“We said to ourselves why not?” said Jose Alvarez, founder of San Juan Artisan Distillers, which produces Ron Pepon in the coastal town of Vega Baja and is the first and only Sugarcane Estate Distillery in Puerto Rico. “Why not grow our own sugar cane for our rum, and make it a truly farm to table artisanal craft rum.”
As he worked on the growth of San Juan Artisan Distillers, Alvarez headed west to Central Coloso in Aguada. While it had ceased operation as a sugar cane mill in the early 2000’s, it had nurtured a variety of sugar cane strands that had been grown in Puerto Rico. Alvarez drove back to San Juan with six-foot-long stalks of five varieties of sugar cane. From these, 25 pieces were planted in five rows on 2.9 acres of land, which eventually became close to 10 acres and then nearly 72.8 acres of sugar cane. To grind the sugar cane, the company acquired a sugar mill from Colombia and to distill the rum it purchased potstills that were previously used to produce French cognac.
The concept to produce an artisanal rum came to Alvarez from the experience of distillers in the French West Indies. In the 1970’s, these French islands saw their sugar cane commercial production decimate by competition from sugar cane growers in Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia, which had more land. He decided to find a niche in the rum industry with what became known as rohn agricole. This rum agricole differs from other rums because it’s produced from freshly squeezed sugar cane juice, instead of molasses, which is a by-product of the process of making sugar.
“The result is a rum that is very aromatic, with inimitable profiles and notes that make it a unique tasting experience,” said Álvarez. “We definitely concentrate on quality rather than quantity.”
While Ron Pepon Blanco Agricola is described as a well-balanced funky Agricola Rum with notes of subtle herbal aromas of freshly cut sugarcane, mineral and sugar honey, Ron Pepon Añejo, which is aged from 24 to 36 months in American Oak Whiskey Barrels, delivers aromas of vanilla, charred wood, whiskey and the herbal notes and funkiness of Ron Pepon Blanco Agricola. In 2021, Ron Pepon Blanco won a Fifty Best gold medal in the white rum category. All bottles are marked as limited editions by bottle, batch, and year of manufacture.
San Juan Artisan Distillers also delved into the production of what is known as ron caña or pitorro, a traditional Puerto Rican artisanal, or home-made rum, which is characterized by the of use fruit in its fermentation process. Thus, Tresclavos Ron Caña Agricola rum was born.
“We wanted to create a premium ron caña, that would take the characteristics of this type of rum to another level,” said Alvarez, adding that to achieve it San Juan Artisan Distillers use fresh locally produced fruits, like passion fruit and pineapple, among others. “We could save a lot by importing frozen fruit, but we wanted a fresh product with ingredients that have not been processed to give Tresclavos its own taste, and help promote local farmers.”
Meanwhile, out west in Puerto Rico there is also some distilling going on.
“We had been mulling over the idea as far back as 2006, but it wasn´t until Hurricane Maria in 2017 that we started the process, with the goal of creating a business to boost the economy of Rincon and help the community,” said Bret Pittman, founding Partner and Brand Director at Rincon Rum. Pittman added “we wanted it to be authentic to the original rums created in the west coast of the island. Porta Del Sol is the region where Puerto Rican rum was born – most people don’t know this.”
Pittman added, “I made myself familiar with various pitorros over the years, and essentially set out to create a high-end pitorro for this first product. One without the heat from being overproof, and as refined as we could make it.”
Rincon Rum Silver is a blend of rums – one rum is distilled from Grade A molasses and the second is distilled from Puerto Rican sugar cane, then both are blended.
“The rum made with molasses is fairly neutral in flavor, whereas the sugar cane-based rum gives the note of grassy sweetness in the nose and palette,” said Pittman. “We worked hard to balance the blend so that it would be authentic to its origin, while also being a crowd-pleaser.”
According to Pittman the advantage of being a small operation is that it is allows for greater creativity and quality control. The challenge is “having to do everything themselves.”
This is what probably allowed Rincon Rum to weather the COVID pandemic storm when the brand was launched in 2020, which posed challenges that ranged from bar and restaurant closures to supply chain shortages.
“We made it because we were doing everything ourselves and built the brand one step at a time,” said Pittman. We were even able to help many businesses in Rincon during this period by selling the rum at our own cost for about 18 months.”
The perseverance paid off, surprising Pittman with an overwhelming positive response to the rum.
“We had zero expectations going into this, so it’s been wild to see so many people embrace it,” said Pittman. “Rincon is not only a small town, but it’s a world-famous surf destination – two qualities that can make a place insular…so I’ve been particularly blown away with how the town has supported us and allowed us to be a representative of such a special place.”
Pittman is optimistic with what the future holds for Rincon Rum.
“We should have the first aged Rincon Rum called Ron Rincon Reserva ready in 2024,” said Pittman. “The rest, I’ll keep a secret for now…”
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