Don Q continues to build on its already impressive range of premium rums. The Puerto Rican rum brand added two new bottles to its lineup as part of its continuing collection: one finished in port casks and the other in wine barrels.
At Destilería Serrallés Inc., the distillery behind Don Q Rum, Maestra Ronera Silvia Santiago and master blender Liza Cordero are the women behind the spirits, responsible for selecting and blending the single and multiple-column distilled rums for the new double-aged expressions. Santiago has been with the distillery for half a century and is Puerto Rico’s first female master blender.
Aging in Port and Zinfandel casks gives these rums very complex smells and tastes, which makes them perfect for spirit-forward cocktails. The Port Cask Finish was aged in American white oak barrels for five to eight years and then finished for over three years in European Old Tawny Port wine casks. That lengthy secondary maturation is where the “double aged” in the name comes from, as it is much longer than the usual finishing period. Official tasting notes describe some astringency on the palate, with complex, dry fruit notes and a touch of sweetness.
On the other hand, the Zinfandel Cask Finish followed a similar maturation trajectory. It is aged in American oak for five to eight years before being transferred to Zinfandel wine casks from California for another three years. It has citrus and dry wood notes, with some spice on the finish.
The brand’s goal with the double-aged cask-finished rums is to make elegant expressions that show off Don Q’s nearly 160 years of innovation in making rum. At present, Don Q is the best-selling brand in Puerto Rico and is highly regarded in the international market. A report from the market research company IRI showed that, in the 12 months to December 2022, Don Q was among the top three best-selling brands with a market value of USD 27,392,500.
According to the brand, these new spirits are the best examples of how the team crafts unique blends and rums that appeal to both the rum novice and the aficionado. Both rums are available in limited quantities at online retailers and stores around the island.
During the week of Puerto Rico’s National Rum Festival, Bryan Inman (The Rum Champion), Federico Hernandez (The Rum Lab), and Shane Conrad (Jet Set Conrad) had the opportunity to visit Destilería Serrallés to see firsthand how the rums are made. “We had the opportunity to see the famous Warehouse #20 at Destileria Serrallés, where most of the premium rums are aged. Tasting some of their expressions directly from the cask was simply mouth watering.” Inman said.
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