Flor de Caña rums were among the first to be in my bar, since their entry-level products are still high quality & are generally not really expensive. After my years of drinking cheap spiced rums with coke, I switched to Flor de Caña 7 Years as my go-to in any occasion. Nowadays, I’m further in my rum adventure & I prefer trying new things, but there’s always a spot for one of their bottles on my shelves.
The History
The beginning of Flor de Caña is set in 1875, when Alfredo Francisco Pellas Canessa, from Genoa, Italy, leaves Europe to go to Nicaragua. There he started by investing in a steam-boat route during the California Gold Rush. When the Panama Canal & the coast-to-coast road line were in construction, he decided to embark on a new project. He grew a sugarcane plantation at the base of San Cristóbal Volcano, in Chichigalpa, in 1890. At the beginning there was no rum, the sugarcane only being used for its sweet juice. It’s only later that he founded the distillery, in 1937, precisely, by creating the Compania Licorera de Nicaragua. A few years down the road, the brand Flor de Caña was born & the rums were starting to be produced under that name. At the beginning there were only two rums released: Etiqueta Amarilla & Etiqueta Roja. The volcano was and still is the tallest & most active one in Nicaragua. The region around the it benefits from a warmer climate, enriched waters & fertile ground which promotes healthy & vigorous sugar canes. The first export was in 1959 & it was focused on other Central American countries, the bottle was Etiqueta Negra, a 5 Year rum. During the 80s, Flor de Caña had to store their barrels full of rum in Honduras due to the Nicaraguan Revolution. This steady flow of casks entering Honduras without ever being released has made them the number one leader in terms of rum reserve in the world. The industry is still a family business after five generations & they have gone through plenty of events from dictatorships to civil war, earthquakes to volcanic eruptions & even a plane crash. The quality of the rums, the modernization of the distillery & the expertise of the master distillers managed to make Flor de Caña one of the top leaders in premium rums globally. They are now distributed in over 46 countries & almost half of the production is destined for export.
The Agriculture
Fair Trade Certification
Flor de Caña has worked in a sustainable manner for many years, always trying to reduce their ecological footprint in their country & around the world. For the last decade they have been a rum distillery functioning with 100% renewable energy. Furthermore, they have been certified Fair Trade since mid-2018, making them one of the select few spirit business owning this certification. They work with a holistic approach, meaning that the environment as well as their community is at the center of their decision-making regarding rum production. They have built a free healthcare & education system made of a company school along with a company hospital. They’ve planted over 600,000 trees in the last years, they rely on clean & renewable energy, they reuse all of their CO2 emissions & they donate a lot of money for an organism helping child with burn injuries. Relentless in their quest for a greener industry, their next objective is to have packaging made from 100% recycled materials.
The Molasse
The sugarcane grows in soil with an abundance of nutrients, fertilized with the ashes of the San Cristóbal Volcano. This means a healthier & more productive plantation which in turn leads to richer cane juice. After being converted to molasses, it is stored in large tanks before being transferred to fermentation vessels where the yeasts transform the sugar into alcohol.
The Climate
The volcanic climate is responsible for a mineral-rich water, an incredibly fertile soil due to the ashes in the ground & a hotter temperature. This favours a higher evaporation rate as well as a more porous wood leading to an intense interaction between the barrel & the rum.
The Distillery
Philosophy
Although not explicitly mentioned, I have a strong feeling that Flor de Caña’s philosophy is about the well-being of its community, the sustainability of the environment & the quality of its rum.
The people
The people working at the distillery are the foundation of the quality in the rums. Pedro Uriarte was the master distiller of Flor de Caña before leaving the role to his son Fabricio Uriarte. He decided then to quit the Solera system in order to focus on real age statement rums. This was partly due to the fact that the barrels had the time to mature for many years in Honduras & had produced a magnificent spirit. The distillery also built a school in the early 20th century as well as a hospital a bit later on in 1958. Both of these are free for all the workers at the facilities.
Rum Production
The rum is distilled five times achieving a surprising 96%. This means that the spirit has been stripped from most of its base ingredient flavours, in this case molasses, making it pretty neutral. On the other hand, it means, that the result is incredibly smooth, practically free of any congeners from the molasses wine. Each rum is aged in ex-bourbon barrels, so charred white oak that are sealed using plantain leaves. Most of the flavours you will find in their rums comes from the casks & the plantain leaves, creating a nutty, woody, tropical & spicy aroma. Flor de Caña mentions that those barrels are the only one that gives the proper colour, tannins & flavours for their rums. All of their bottles are Single Estate, meaning the sugarcane is grown on the company's plantation, then the spirit is distilled, aged & bottled on the estate. All warehouses have controlled temperature in order to keep it between 27 and 30C. This reduces the evaporation process, although it is still high enough to maintain a strong & dynamic relationship between the spirit & the barrel. The rum is unadulterated, meaning there are no spices, sugar or anything else added to the finish product.
Popular Products
Their most sought after bottles are the three older rums which are the 12 Year, the 18 Year & the 25 Year. The staple products are the 7 Year Gran Reserva & their Blanco which is aged a minimum of 4 years. They propose a few cocktails depending on the type of rum like the Flor Fashioned, the Flor Ginger & the Flor Tonic.
The Series
The distillery doesn’t really possess any particular series since they only got one line of rums. However they split their core range into two categories, the Slow-Aged Collection which includes the 4, 5 & 7 years rums, and the Centenario Collection comprised of the 12, 18 & 25 years rums. They also have a coffee liqueur, Spresso, which I would consider out of their core range.
The Reference
More information @flordeCaña.com
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