Ron de Guatemala and its Protected Designations of Origin

By Andrea Coletta

Guatemala has two Protected Designations of Origin (PDO): Ron de Guatemala and Café de Antigua Guatemala. The two brands of rum that have distinctive signs are Ron Botrán and Ron Zacapa.

According to Mercedes Sanchez, Denomination of Origin Manager for Ron de Guatemala, a denomination of origin is: “the know-how or know-how of producing a product where its geographical delimitation makes its quality a benchmark for having human and natural processes, which they determine and describe the essence of this geographical delimitation and makes its origin its main differentiation, although there are many products within the same category.”

This distinctive sign, she tells us, “was born as a legal concept and that allows the registration of a process or expertise of the entire production process.”

The PDO specifies the geographical limitation, the soils, the cane varieties, the virgin honey extraction process, its fermentation, distillation, and even the climatic conditions for aging under the Solera System.

The timeline

The process to get a designation of origin varies according to the country’s intellectual property laws in which it will be registered. In Guatemala, the process was:

2009: The application was submitted to the Guatemalan Intellectual Property Registry. Once the procedure was accepted, the publication was ordered in the official newspaper for the opposition period.

2010: Ron de Guatemala PDO application passed. The specifications for Ron de Guatemala were submitted to the EU.

2011: the Regulations and Rules of Use in Guatemala were presented

2012: the Regulations and Rules of Use were approved and published

2013: the first meeting of the Administrative Body was held

2014: the DOP seal was allowed by the European Union

One of the essential elements to gain a designation of origin is the existence of an association of producers in favor of a collective benefit.

PDO guaranties

The DOP certification guarantees the consumer the quality of the product, the commitment of the producers to the economic development of Guatemala, and the protection against dangerous practices such as usurpation, imitation or evocation.

 7 facts about Ron de Guatemala

• It is the first rum in America whose Protected Designation of Origin is recognized by the European Union.
• The Denomination of Origin region comprises 3,252 hectares of unique soils.

• The base of the Rums of Guatemala is the Virgin Money of Cane, a product of the pressing of the mature cane. Once the cane is ground, the juice is heated, clarified, and filtered, and then subjected to evaporation to concentrate the sugars.

    Only 3% of the world’s rums are made with pure sugarcane juice.

• They created their own yeast naturally, and with this, they carry out their fermentation process so that the Rums from Guatemala receive unique characteristics.
• An important part of its production process is aging at over 2,300 meters above sea level.
• Over 120 countries in the world enjoy Rums from Guatemala
• They are the first sustainable rums in the world in every aspect of their production chain