Colombian Rum - To Drink Or Not To Drink?

I was in Colombia again recently and bought a few rums in the supermarket. I know you might want to tell me “why do you keep doing this to yourself?!”. I’ve asked myself that question a few times and the answer is always “curiosity”. What if there is a decent Colombian rum out there that I’ve never tried before?! My focus has been more on Viche during my last couple of trips, which reminds me I have a massive follow up article to write about it, but it’s unavoidable to go to a supermarket….and once you are there….you can’t stop yourself from having a look at the rum aisle. Anyway, I think you get it…..rum obsessed.

One of the rums I bought is called “Comandante”. The label reminds me a bit of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. There seems to be a fetish in the rum world about using historic heroes, or made up heroes, on labels to sell the product. Sometimes it reminds me of a Marvell super hero movie. I don’t know where this fascination comes from, but I guess it works, as otherwise nobody would do it. In many cases I find the more elaborate the back story becomes, the worse the rum is. On the back label of Comandante it states “Hidratado y envasado por Vincorte S.A. en reogranizacion”. This means “diluted and packaged by Vincorte”, which suggests they didn’t distill this.

Vincorte is a family business since 1964. It’s labeled as a Ron Anejo, aged in white American oak with no age statement. However, on the supermarket websites it’s sold as 3 year old rum. On Vincorte’s site there is no ron Comandante to be found. They do have Ron Cubason. It uses the exact same bottle and, surprise surprise, is a 3 year rum. A possible explanation for this is that the Colombian alcohol market and production is highly regulated. Some companies aren’t allowed to widely distribute their products in certain “departments”. Perhaps the big grocery chain got an exclusive distribution deal with a re-labeled ron Cubason. I’m just guessing here, as one usually has to do with Colombian rum. Where is it distilled, where is it aged? You’d consider these basic questions, I’m sure. However, the answers to these two questions are frequently hard to find when it comes to Colombian rum.

Vincorte has a nice promotional video on their YouTube channel. It describes what they produce and where they sell it, amongst other things. I’ve watched it a couple of times and haven’t found a still yet. I do see lots of stainless steel storage tanks and a bottling line, but no still and no ageing warehouse. The production facility is in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca. When checking Google Streetview (look for VINCORTE S.A. Vinos & Licores Fábrica) you see a massive facility. However, it mostly houses Colombina it seems. This is a large Colombian candy producer, which is number 1 in the confectionery market in Colombia and Central America. Digging a little deeper, it turns out this production facility is a cookie and cake plant with a solar farm behind it. At that same side of the building there are structures that very much look like they could house a column still. A column still for cookies?? Looking at streetview again, the Colombina and Vincorte warehouses have a fence in between, so they might have absolutely nothing to do with each other. In that case, I don’t see where Vincorte could be housing a column still. I decided to waste my time a little more and do a bit more searching on Colombina. Turns out they produce drinks, and alcohol. Hhmmm. I give up. Vincorte is likely getting their alcohol from a plant in Cauca somewhere…..or from outside the country.

Ron Amuleto Blanco is the next one I’d never heard of. A white rum that isn’t entirely white. On their website they state “produced by hand in a panela sugar mill and aged in American white oak barrels at 1700 meters above sea level”. Cool! Where is it distilled? Where is it aged and for how long? Luckily there is more information on their site. “Virgin” cane honey is fermented and then distilled in copper stills and aged for 15 days before barreling. Then it states the rum is aged in ex bourbon barrels for a minimum of six months. Confused at all? My guess is the 15 days is how long it’s resting in stainless tanks.

The fact that I could send them a message on Instagram and get a response within hours gives an indication they want to be taken seriously as a brand. Very different from Comandante, which acts more like a generic label. They told me their fermentation lasts 3 to 4 days and that this is a molasses rum. I also asked what the name of their distillery is: “Licores Artesanales”. The distillery is housed at Hacienda La Carlina, a 200 year old farm. They use both cane juice and molasses for fermentation. Distillation is done with a 9 plate hybrid copper still. The following info is from the Artesanales website:”We cultivate our own organic sugar cane, protect our water sources, and use cane bagasse as our heating fuel, ensuring a sustainable and circular process.

We support local farmers in the Gualiva region by purchasing molasses and sugarcane with stable long term contracts, giving them future economic certainty. Among our collaborators, we prioritize the hiring of single mothers and victims of violence that need a second chance in life.”

It’s nice to see that the distiller (Nibia Mora) and distillery manager (Lucia Ruiz) are female. This is quite rare in an industry that’s traditionally been dominated by men. What’s even better is that we can conclude this is a Colombian rum. Not a Colombian brand with sourced rum from outside the country (Hechicera, Dictador). Not neutral alcohol from a massive plant somewhere in the country. Actual Colombian rum, produced and aged at a small distillery. Hallelujah.

The still at Licores Artesanales

Last rum in this lineup is ron Cierva Dorada. It’s labeled as a 12 year old and was the most expensive one of the three. The label states “a Colombian marvel” in English. On the background we see an image of an old galleon (usually not a good sign) which supposedly is the Golden Hind, an image of its captain Francis Drake and his signature. Finally, a vague story about turbulent waves of the vast deep sea…..the legend of Cierva Dorada….blah blah. It also states where it’s made: Industrias Quimicas Cartagena S.A.S. for America de Licores S.A.S. Industrias Quimicas means “chemical industries”. Not exactly a sexy name for the birthplace of something I’m supposed to drink to enjoy. How am I not going to wonder if it’s poisinous at all?! On the Quimicas website, which looks like it hasn’t been updated since 2021, it states they produce whisky, rum and aguardiente. Can’t really find anything else apart from them being mentioned as wholesalers of beverages and tobacco, located in Ternera Cartagena. Certainly doesn’t sound or look like a distillery. Perhaps just a bottling plant like Dictador? I asked them through Instagram, but never got an answer unfortunately.

On the Cierva Dorada website is a short description on how it’s made. They ferment sugar cane honey, no mention of how it’s distilled. Ageing is done in ex-bourbon or ex-Jack Daniels barrels. They finish it for one year in virgin oak barrels from Colombia’s coffee zone. Their address is the same as the one America Licores uses. Again, no distillery. No idea where this is produced therefore. The America de Licores site has another rum listed called La Mojana Ron Anejo. How is it made? Well, this is what it says: Ageing is done in ex-bourbon or ex-Jack Daniels barrels. They finish it for one year in virgin oak barrels from Colombia’s coffee zone. Sounds familiar? Lol. No age statement this time though.

I searched a little more and stumbled upon a sample bill of lading on the seair.co.in website. It shows Fabrica De Licores De America importing 2000 liters of 80.1% “alcohol mixture malt” from Licoram in Quito, Ecuador. I can’t verify the authenticity of this document, but it’s not the first time I’m hearing of alcohol being imported into Colombia to make “rum”. On a similar website, importgenius.com, one can see they are importing high volumes from both Ecuador and Venezuela. Question is, are America de Licores and Fabrica de Licores De America connected to one another? I’m not sure, they might have nothing to do with each other. But it remains interesting to see how much alcohol is imported into Colombia, despite having their own state distilleries and abundance of cane.   

Enough of all this, lets see how it smells and what it tastes like. Last thing to mention before I do that, Comandante is 35% abv, Amuleto and Cierva Dorada are a whopping 40%.

Nosing

Comandante

Boozy, some oak, something off: cotton candy baby vomit type of thing.

Amuleto

Grassy, cane juice vibe, floral, herbal, olives, creamy butter, light mushroom, light raspberry.

Cierva Dorada

Strong on caramel, vanilla, crayon, light oak, not much to it.

Tasting

Comandante

Rough alcohol, some oak, light vanilla. Flavoured alcohol.

Amuleto

Grassy, a little hot, peppery, strong olives, light menthol, herbal.

Cierva Dorada

Caramel flavoured rum? Vanilla, light oak. Fairly short finish with some actual wood spice showing up.  It’s not terrible, it is mediocre however. Not sure about the 12 years. Dictador?

Conclusion

The most interesting one here is Amuleto. I found it surprising to find out it’s a molasses rum after I had tasted it. I thought it might be cane juice, or have some cane juice element, as that comes through on the palate. Their fermentation is a bit longer than usual, maybe it comes from there. Is it a great rum? No. Could it be better at higher strength? Likely. Putting it in the perspective of it being a Colombian distilled and aged rum makes it exciting and puts it ahead of most other rums that call themselves Colombian (and usually aren’t). I tried making a daiquiri with it, as I feel the profile should work well for that. I had to play with the ratios a bit. More rum and slightly more sugar than I typically use. Turned into an ok daiquiri, not a great one unfortunately. This is definitely a brand and distillery to keep an eye on for the future.

Cierva Dorada provides a typical Colombian rum buying experience. You think you are purchasing a well aged rum from Colombia, but then after tasting it and doing some searches, you get the feeling it’s not aged for 12 years and it might not even be Colombian. I’m wondering if they have the same (foreign) supplier as Dictador, as the experience is similar, but without the anis. It’s easy drinking at 40%, but it’s unbalanced, not expressive and not complex. Not my thing.

I can be short about Comandante, although not as short as its finish. I bet this is flavoured alcohol. Neutral alcohol with some wood and vanilla flavouring. It’s dreadful. Calling this rum is a travesty. Calling it woody dishwater would be a compliment.

Scores

Comandante – 10

Amuleto Blanco – 69

Cierva Dorada – 50

Click here for info on the scoring method.

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