The 3 Women Behind Botran
On November 10, 2021, a brief livestream event was held at ZAVVY, hosted by “The Rum Lab” in which a group of invited entrepreneurs participated, among them Fede J. Hernández, an entrepreneur specialising in sales and marketing, and the participation of the master blenders of the Botran rum brand, Magda López, master blender and chemical engineer with 30 years of experience in the world of rum, Yazmin Chapeton, master blender and responsible for manufacturing and blending, and Leslie Taracena, chemical engineer, master blender, researcher and blending coordinator, who will talk to us about their participation in the wide world of rum.
The Tree Women Behind Botran
This company has three master blenders, experts in the world of rum, these are:
Magda Lopez:
Expert with 30 years of experience in the field of rum. She started her career in 1991 in the quality control of the bottling facilities of a liquor company. She then moved to the development and research department, where she had the opportunity to participate in the development of different innovations for the company’s products. After that, López moved back to Quetzaltenango, where she worked in quality control and quality assurance. 25 years ago, she started learning about the rum ageing process. Since then, she has dedicated himself to the development and ageing of rum.
Leslie Taracena:
Leslie Taracena is a chemical engineer, mother and master rum blender. She began her work experience in quality control in the food industry. Seven years ago, she had the opportunity to apply for the position of apprentice, where she learned the whole process of making rum, from the sugar mills to fermentation, distillation, ageing and bottling. This helped her a lot to become a master rum blender. Today, her job is to evaluate and manage research and development, identify variations in the aromas and flavour of innovations and different blends to make rum. She also has to make different prototypes that will be evaluated together with the master blenders.
Yasmin Chapeton:
Food engineer and master rum blender. She started her experience in the rum industry almost ten years ago, working in quality control. Then, she had the opportunity to apply as an apprentice in the ageing process. After many years, she now leads the process monitoring and blending of rums, and has to take care of the evolution of the rums with his dynamic ageing system. She manages the manufacturing area in the ageing facility, and the part of his job she enjoys most is the sensory evaluation, discovering the complexity in each plant of his rums.
Women’s Involvement in the Rum Industry
Lately, there has been a trend to promote women in the spirits industry, for example, in the case of Botran, the unique and complex process of blending rums requires great attention to detail and sensory skills, which for years has given women the opportunity to demonstrate that they can contribute greatly to this industry.
The journey of a master blender begins with passion, curiosity and technical know-how. All three Botran master blenders have a background in chemistry, so university education is very important. But also the sensory skills of the women are very special, because they have the time, the detail and the passion to get to know the different characteristics of the products. This is important because on a daily basis they need to use their sensory skills and they also have training in the supply chain. In the last 2 or 3 years we have seen that most of the products have a master blender.
The Botran company and its owners had a vision to create a legacy of master blending rums. Pedro Alonso, the first master blender, taught others the art of blending rum in the 1970s. Master blenders have passed down this knowledge over the years, and they will continue to do so in the future.
Botran: A Brand in Constant Evolution
At Botran there is a large team with a technical team, a marketing team and people with the ability to perform different activities in the development of the brand. The company has had a variety of bottles and products since 1940. Many of its products have undergone different changes such as the “Botran Solera” in its presentation, however the liquid remains the same, as this is a rum with a long history, and seeks to respect and maintain the same profile, without ever changing it, this is one of the most important traces of the team in the company. Botran also launches a special edition of its brand for the Christmas season.
The brand has always sought to innovate and develop. At the beginning, the boxes and the presentation of the special edition Solera were different. The company initially used a different bottle for the special edition, but later changed it to a more elegant one. The company decided to change the entire product line to match the new bottle, as the special edition stood out too much from the other bottles. Botran has three different lines. The standard line, which are the rums you can always find in the shops, and the special edition. We also have a collection for Europe, with two different rums: Guatemalan Oak and Vintage Wine Special for Europe. We are currently developing two more products from the collection of four rums for Europe, Guatemala Oak and Vintage Wine Special for Europe. They also have a flavoured line, with an apple-infused rum and other products in development.
A Premium Rum with History and Tradition
Currently the company has different bottles, for example its Botran Solera bottle which has been changed again because it is considered a premium rum for the brand. This rum has the number “18” for the year of birth of Venancio Botran (1893), the eldest of the Botran brothers and founder of the brand. The number on the bottle of Botran rum is part of the name, but it has a reason, Botran rums are blends of rums of different ages, and the number indicates the age range of the rums used in the blend, in the case of Botran Reserva 18, the blend is composed of rums between 5 and 18 years old. Botran 1893 rum is a tribute to him.
Botran ages many of its rums using dynamic ageing, an adaptive process of the solera system. This means that the company blends rums of different ages and from different casks to create different blends. Botran produces its rums only from virgin sugar cane honey, and the production process is more complex because the sugar is not obtained directly from the sugar cane, but from the sugar cane juice, which is then concentrated. The production process of Botran rum is more complex than that of other rums. Instead of obtaining the sugar directly from the sugar cane, Botran concentrates, ferments, distills, and ages the sugar cane juice to produce its rums.
Rom Botran from Guatemala. Family reserve No. 18, 700 ml
A Journey Through the Process of Making Botran Rum
Guatemalan rum has an appellation of origin, which means that its characteristics are clearly regulated. Two of the best known brands of Guatemalan rum are Zacapa and Botran.
Botran uses two types of sugar cane: Preciosa and Chapina. These canes are harvested at the end of the season, from March to April. The primary characteristics, flavours and aromas of the rum come from the sugar cane. The fermentation of Botran rum is a slow process and a specific distillation column is used. The ageing process is similar to that of other rums, but not identical, as Botran uses different types of casks, such as American whisky, sherry and port casks.
Other types of casks are used for special editions. Botran initially ages the rum in American whisky barrels and then transfers the barrels to medium toasted American oak barrels after several years. The toasting of the barrel is important, as it can be light, medium, or high, depending on the type of rum Botran wants to produce. For Botran, medium toast is ideal, as it provides the right amount of vanilla, caramel, fruit and dried fruit aromas.
For this reason, the ageing facility and the process are very important. And require experienced people to monitor and evaluate them at every step, as it is not a mathematical formula. It is necessary to taste and evaluate the rum to know how the process is evolving.
Different Expressions of the Master Blenders
Each Botran master blender has a bottle with different expressions and flavour profiles:
Yasmin Chapeton: Botran Reserva 15 Years Old:
This is a product made from sugar cane. Like all Botran rums, and with a dynamic ageing process adapted to the Solera system. It is a blend of 5 to 15 year old rums. Aged in four different types of casks: American whisky, medium toast American whisky, sherry and port wine. The colour of the rum is Polish mahogany with bright highlights and the body is dense, with slowly falling tears. The rum’s aromas are fruity and complex, with notes of vanilla, ripe fruits, orange peel, dried fruits and spices. On the palate, presents the same fruity and complex aromas as on the nose. With notes of ripe fruits, orange, spices and wood. The rum has a balanced taste and a long, persistent finish with notes of wood and spices.
Magda Lopez: Botran 18 Years Old:
Botran Reserva 18 rum has the denomination of origin seal and the sustainable certification seal. As all Botran rums are certified. This certification is due to good environmental practices, care for the people and the process. This product is made from virgin sugar cane juice concentrate. And is a blend of 5 to 18 year old rums aged in four different types of casks: American whiskey, medium toast American whiskey, sherry and port wine. The colour of the rum is dark mahogany with reddish highlights, due to the use of port wine casks. The aroma reveals notes of red fruits, maple syrup, and chocolate or cocoa.
Leslie Taracena: Botran Cobre
Botran Cobra rum owes its name to its distillation in a copper still, which gives it a coppery colour. This rum is a blend of rums between 5 and 20 years old. Aged in different types of casks: medium toasted American whisky and port wine. The dynamic solera ageing system used in Botran Cobra rum gives it a great complexity of aromas and flavours. Botran Cobra rum is a very spicy rum. The distillers introduce a basket full of spices into the copper still during the distillation process. This gives the rum a very characteristic spicy flavour and aroma. Botrán ages the distilled rum in its facilities.
Botran Cobra rum is a very special rum. Right from the start, it has all the complexity and character of the raw material. The master blenders blend this rum with other Botran rums to create the final blend. The colour of the rum is Polish copper, in keeping with its name. On the nose, the first thing you notice is cardamom. As Guatemala is a major producer and exporter of this spice. The taste of Botran Cobra rum on the palate is very explosive. The rum taster can perceive all the different spices, but they are very smooth and balanced. There are also fruity, cinnamon and ginger notes. You can drink this rum neat or on the rock.
There are several programmes, subscriptions and forums available that we are part of. For example, The Rum Lab is a very interesting site where you can learn a lot about rum every week. Every day is an opportunity to learn. As we have to try different things to maintain and awaken our olfactory memory. We always say that curiosity is key to maintain and increase our knowledge.
