64: The Rumcast Guide to Puerto Rican Rum (Part 1): Destilería Serrallés, Bacardí, Havana Club (?), Ron del Barrilito

The Rumcast

This is the first of two episodes exploring a category that has much more than meets the eye: Puerto Rican rum. In Part 1, we jump into a quick stylistic overview of the category before exploring its three most well-known distilleries and brands: Destilería Serrallés (Don Q and more), Bacardí, and Ron del Barrilito (Hacienda Santa Ana). Along the way, we also untangle the whole Havana Club thing, offer recommendations, and debate the merits of the "is Ron del Barrilito a spiced rum?" question.

In Part 2, which will arrive next week, we continue the conversation with the island's new wave of craft distillers and how they are evolving the category.

If you'd like to join The Rumcast in donating to Hurricane Fiona relief, here is a link to the Hispanic Federation's hurricane relief fund: https://www.hispanicfederation.org/fionahelp/

Other relevant links mentioned during the episode:

Cocktail Wonk's deep dive into Destilería Serrallés and Don Q

Paul Senft's article on the Havana Club trademark war

Havana Club nutritional information

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