Cheers

Cheers

The Beverage Business Magazine for Full-Service Restaurants and Bars

  • Beverage Trends
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Spirits
    • Wine Reviews
    • Marketing
    • Operations
  • Operators
    • What I’m Drinking Now
    • eRNDC Login
    • SG Proof Login
  • Recipes
    • Submit a Drink Recipe
  • Events & Awards
    • Cheers Beverage Summit
    • Growth Brands
    • BevX Awards
    • Supplier Awards
  • Podcasts
  • E-News
    • E-News Subscribe
  • Digital Issues
  • Cheers@Home

Brand Spotlight: Diplomático, and Venezuelan’s Strict Rum Rules

07/01/2016

by: Kyle Swartz

Rum production operates under different rules depending on the country. Unfortunately, some are laxer than others. Not Venezuelan. Quite the opposite, explains Gilberto Briceño, Master Distiller for Rum Diplomático, which lies at the foot of the Andes Mountains.

Government agents oversee firsthand much of the production in Venezuelan. They are very present in the distilleries. After rum is set down to age, these barrels are sealed with government labels. Law requires two years before the seal can be broken, and only after distillers receive government approval to sample from their own barrel stock.

It can be a bit much, admits Briceño. But this also goes a long way towards solidifying consumer trust towards Venezuelan rum. And the premium rum category overall requires this trust to lure more Americans away from whiskey and other sippers.

Advertisement

Briceño believes that the current craft boom will help expand Americans’ trust, knowledge and palate for genuine, premium rum. “Once there are more rum brands in the market, it’ll be easier for consumers to differentiate between what is real versus what is nice packaging,” he during a recent Rum Diplomático tasting held in Manhattan.

_MG_7184

Gilberto Briceño, Master Distiller for Rum Diplomático.

The Diplomático Lineup

Diplomático’s line of premium rums is the stuff of craft cocktails and top-shelf sippers.

The company makes rum with three stills, each installed decades ago by Seagram’s, which founded and once owned the distillery. This production line includes 150-year-old, three-part copper pot stills, formerly of a scotch distillery. Diplomático uses these for more-complex rums, rather than the traditional alembic still.

The distillery also runs a continuous column for light rums, and a batch kettle for medium-bodied rums.

All Diplomático rums are aged for four years minimum, twice Venezuelan’s legal minimum. (The country also mandates that its rum originate from Venezuelan sugar cane, and go into bottles between 40-50% ABV.) All Diplomático products are also blended.

Some Americans think of “blended” as a pejorative, meaning “cheaper” or “less pure.” Thankfully, this attitude seems to be on the decline as the craft movement grows.

“Blended means that we are not one-dimensional,” explains Briceño. “With our different stills we have a big pallet of colors and elements with which to paint. Blending from our standpoint is an advantage.”

Diplomático makes six rums. Their white Blanco Reserva (SRP: $29 per 750-ml. bottle) is a 50/50 blend of light and heavy rums aged 6 years on average. Filtration and charcoal-treatment creates the bright transparency, plus softness upon the palate.

The standard Diplomático is the Añejo ($15), golden in color, containing rums an average of four years old. Next is the Reserva ($24), rich, smooth and sweet, an average of 8 years old.

The Reserva Exclusiva ($39.99) is even thicker and more liqueur-like. It’s a savory sipper well balanced between sweet and fruit flavors. Diplomático’s flagship, Exclusiva contains rums up to 12 years old, and comprises 80% of the company’s sales.

Diplomatico%20Perfect%20Serve-2

Diplomático’s Reserva Exclusiva

The Diplomático Prestige line includes two limited-edition selections.

The latest from their Single Vintage line is the 2002 ($85), a 100%-pot still spirit, with rums aged up to 12 years and finished in sherry casks. Only 45,000 bottles are produced each year. Besides the expected thick sweet fruity flavors, there’s a pleasant brininess that almost masks the alcohol.

Diplomático Ambassador ($200) is also 100% pot still, aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Only 5,000 bottles are made annually. It boasts a big, rich, fruity bouquet of flavors — raisins, bananas, caramel, and cinnamon spice — more than enough for any connoisseur to explore.

Briceño believes more will, as whiskey drinkers increasingly gain interest towards rum.

“We want people to be educated about the whole category, to learn about the sweetness of sugar cane and the evolution of the alcohol,” Briceño says. “And the whiskey drinker should check out the price of rum. There’s a big different in the price-per-quality.”

Kyle Swartz is associate editor of Cheers Magazine. Reach him at kswartz@epgmediallc.com

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Diplomático Diplomático Ambassador Diplomático Añejo Diplomático Blanco Reserva Diplomático cost Diplomático Prestige Diplomático price Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Diplomático rums Diplomático single vintage Diplomático single vintage 2002 Gilberto Briceño Gilberto Briceño Diplomático Gilberto Briceño master distiller ost price Reserva Exclusiva Rum Diplomático

Last modified: 07/05/2016

Previous Story:
Johnnie Walker Red Adds Nutritional Info, Alcohol Content To Packaging
Next Story:
6 Trends in Cocktail Culture for 2016

About the Author: Kyle Swartz

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




In The News

  • Dogfish Head Releases Nonalcoholic Wheat Brew, Lemon Quest
  • Diageo Buys RTD Brand Loyal 9 Cocktails
  • Podcast: Pandemic Alcohol Trends — and Rum
  • What I’m Drinking Now: Tanya Saxena and the Promise at Dawn
  • Stranahan’s Original Single Malt Receives Rebranding, New Recipe
  • Dallas Celebrates 50 Years of Frozen Margaritas
More News >>

Follow Us

Facebook
Twitter

Featured Drink

  • Around The Corner
    Around The Corner tequila cocktail

Drink Recipes

  • Around The Corner
  • Bohemian Remedy
  • An Easter Parade of Spring Cocktails
  • April Fools
  • Bulette

Current Issue

Cheers Current Issue

Cheers Magazine

  • About Cheers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Market Research

Events & Awards

  • Beverage Excellence Awards
  • Cheers Beverage Summit
  • Growth Brands Awards

Magazines

  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Handbooks (research)

E-Newsletters

  • Better Bartending
  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Universe
  • Cannabis Regulator
  • About EPG Media
  • Send File
  • Privacy Policy
Powered by WordPress and Versal.