The Rum Diaries Parts XXIX and XXX- LIVE from the Flor de Caña Distillery, Chichigalpa

Happy birthday Martijn!!!! His present might have been a month late but judging by his happy face, it was worth the wait.

We had been hoping to arrange a visit to the Flor de Caña distillery and luckily for us, it opened its doors to the public just one month ago!! Oh fortune!! Martijn woke up on Thursday like a kid on Christmas morning : )

The Pellas family who owns the distillery is the richest in Nicaragua and they have poured a lot of money into designing the tour. Since they only opened recently, everything is still brand spanking new and gleaming- a sharp contrast to the generally non-shiny world outside the gate. A little electric train zipped us around while an audio-set equipped guide talked us through the history of the company and the process of turning sugar-cane into rum.



 

Molasses- the basis of all tasty rum

The first distillery was built at the San Antontio Sugarmill in 1890 and rum was produced to celebrate the harvest. The rum became famous and in 1937, the Flor de Caña brand was created and began to be distributed commercially.

The Pellas family owns huge tracts of land all around the Chinandega region and still grows all the sugarcane used to create Flor de Caña products. From raw sugarcane they produce molasses which is then distilled up to five times, barrelled and aged in their warehouses for anywhere from 4 to 25 years.

Interestingly, it was the revolution, and subsequent difficulties in Nicaragua which contributed to the present day success of the Flor de Caña brand. The company's land was appropriated in the early 80's but they retained the distillery. The Pellas family made the decision to begin storing huge quantities of rum, in secret locations, and they now posses one of the greatest stockpiles of aged rum in the world.

The company is eager to highlight its eco-friendly credentials- "With every sip of Flor de Caña Rum, you can take pleasure in knowing that great care has been taken to protect the environment for generations to come". They are also involved in education & health, having built probably the best hospital in the country and providing free health care for their employees.

Never has drinking rum felt so socially and environmentally responsible : )

After the initial spiel from our guide, and a high production value video, we got to the good bit. The tasting.

The tasting room was appropriately dimly lit and aesthetically pleasing. We were asked not to take photos but I managed to snap a sneaky one!

Classy snifter glasses for the Centenario Gold 18 Year

The Master Taster was on hand to lead us through the look, smell, touch and taste test for their Centenario Gold, 18 Año Rum. Amber hued, with a nose of nuts & caramel and a long smooth finish...man, if only all the Rum Diary entries could sound so knowledgeable!!

 The tour ended in the gift shop, where English speaking shop assistants hovered over us, encouraging us to buy rum-flavoured jam and a Disney-esque range of Flor de Caña bathrobes, t-shirts, hats, hipflasks and glasses.

We ignored all the crap and went straight for the rum. Martijn spent his birthday money wisely on a bottle of the Centenario Gold 18 year, which we sent back to Holland with Peter and Leontien...and a Centenario 12 Year, which we promptly cracked open and drank as soon as we got back to the hostel.

After our classy snifter experience we even sought out proper glasses and bought ice & soda water for the 12 year. Unfortunately we didn't have the Master Taster on hand to help us with tasting notes, but I've pinched these from the Flor de Caña website...

Palate: Stately and semisweet; nougat, almond butter, molasses and sherry abound. Finishes with a peppery spice, dark caramel, and charred oak fade.

We are now looking forward to the Havana Club tour in Havana for our next high-end rum experience....but until then its back to the old swigging from the bottle, tightass Rum Diaries.