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Politics aside, it's the distilling process that I'm here to see. It's February, right in the middle of the sugarcane harvest, which means the processing plant and its employees are working 24 hours a day bringing the cane to be crushed. The fibrous stems are mashed, a machine extracts the sugar cane juice, and the crushed pulp waste is burned to generate power to crush the cane. Aside from obvious technological developments, things have been this way for almost a century, since Don José first embarked on his mission. The thinking is clear: why change the very things that made it so special in the first place?
The range is available in three variants that have been finished in European sherry, cognac and port casks: Napoleon, with ripe autumn fruit flavours; Oloroso, which has a balance of fruit sweetness and citrus notes; and Tawny, with layers of red fruits and summer berries. Abuelo means grandfather in Spanish, so naturally, Ron Abuelo is named after one. José Varela Blanco who came to Panama from Galicia in Spain in 1908. Every bottle bears this date though the family only began distilling in the 1930s and the rum named in his honour was launched in the 1950s. We are excited to collaborate in The Netherlands with De Kuyper who we feel will hit the mark on delivering and moving our brand towards the next phase of growth in the Netherlands. They are well positioned to introduce the innovation and craftsmanship of the Ron Abuelo range to Dutch consumers” states Daniel Fábrega, Vice President of International Business Development of Ron Abuelo. “We would also like to thank Ivo van der Valk and Quality Spirits who have played an integral part in the brand’s success in the Netherlands in the past years” adds Daniel Fábrega. The stunning campaign that Purple Creative has delivered perfectly expresses the beauty of the places, the great drinks they produce and the adventurous extra flavours they impart.” The taste is phenomenal: buttery and rich, with notes of vanilla and honey – it's my favourite from the Ron Abuelo stable.
Abuelo Centuria Details
The story began in 1908, when Spanish immigrant Don José Varela Blanco arrived in Pesé – a small town in Las Cabras, near to where the distillery is located. There he established the country's first sugar mill, and by 1936, he and his three sons began distilling alcohol from freshly pressed sugarcane juice.
To coincide with the launch, a new ad campaign called ‘a new adventure in rum’ has been created by Abuelo’s global agency Purple Creative. Purple Creative founding partner Andy Harding added: “Ron Abuelo is a company deeply rooted in tradition, but which also constantly looks to the future of rum-making – a philosophy reflected in The Finish Collection. Our ‘new adventure in rum’ campaign showcases the meeting of minds between Panama and France, Spain and Portugal. The town of Pesé, established in the middle of the 18th century, is located in a fertile valley in the middle of Panama, where the main commercial activity of its near 10,000 inhabitants is the cultivation of sugarcane. In 1936, agreeing to the wishes of his three eldest sons, José Manuel, Plinio and Julio, Don José began distilling rum from molasses processed from sugar cane grown on the distillery’s own estates. This versatility and finishing process is Ron Abuelo's hallmark, which it has recently applied to a new collection of three rums finished in a different casks: oloroso sherry, tawny port or cognac. Each of these serves is delicious, imbued with a unique flavour. To make it, five different varieties of sugarcane go into the rum which all comes from its 1600-hectare estate near the town of Pesé. Much of it is hand-harvested. Unusually for Latin American rum, both molasses and pure sugarcane juice are used with an 80/20 split between the former and the latter. The two different types of sugar are fermented, distilled, and aged separately. Abuelo uses a special in-house yeast derived from pineapple. Fermentation takes place over about 48 hours to produce a 7-8% low wine.
The Anejo 12 years is where things start to get interesting. It's Abuelo's flagship rum, designed to truly reflect the brand's precise production process and love of tradition. And it shows: the liquid is smooth and complex – ideal for sipping, like a whisky or cognac.
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