Don Q and other Serrallés products

The fifth and last major standard style, the lighter Cuban rums pioneered by Bacardi, who left their facilities and quality, but not their politics, behind when Fidel lit up. Por Cuba Libre!
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Hassouni
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Don Q and other Serrallés products

Post by Hassouni »

Disclaimer, before I start: I have ZERO affiliation with this distillery, I just very much support what they do.

I haven't seen much talk here of the Serrallés distillery, from Ponce, PR, but I thought I'd drop a few words in their favor, especially given that we love to hate Puerto Rico's Big Bat. To my knowledge, the owner as well as master distiller do not believe in additives, be it flavoring or sweetening, and question why other distilleries alter their rum. So bonus points off the bat.

They're most famous for Don Q, the best-selling rum on Peurto Rico, and also produce the Palo Viejo and Caliche brands. Not sure if they make anything else for the non-island market.

These aren't proper reviews, just my impressions of their rums that I've tried.

Don Q cristal is pretty boring. Not terrible like Bacardi, but not that interesting. If you want a mojito or something and it comes down to this, or Bacardi, Castillo, or even worse, then it's fine, but otherwise, pass.

Don Q gold (I suspect, could be wrong) is simply the cristal with some E150. I don't have much experience with it but from what I remember it's nothing special at all.

Don Q Añejo is quite good, full flavored; a worthy, cheap-priced option for recipes calling for "gold/aged Puerto Rican/Spanish rum" (like, lots of tiki drinks)

The Gran Añejo, which is not cheap, is a very good well-aged rum. There's no age statement but it reminds me of Havana Club 7, but much drier. To be honest, the cheapest I've seen it is $60, which is a lot, but it's a good example of the unadulterated "Spanish" style, which seems hard to find. It was given to me as a gift and I like it, but not sure i'd buy it personally.

Don Q 151 - Really good. Beats the pants off Bacardi 151. I have no idea if this is the case, but it tastes like the Añejo just much more intense (I usually don't water down to 40% with overproofs, I like less dilution). Not as molassesy and "rummy" as Lemon Hart (or Hamilton) 151, but probably worth having, also for tiki stuff.

Now, Palo Viejo - I love this stuff. Best reasonably priced substitute for genuine Cuban white rum I can find - I did a side by side with Havana Club 3, Caña Brava, Palo Viejo, Flor de Caña, Don Q Cristal, and Palo Viejo, at something like $10 a bottle, came in on top. I have no idea if it's similar to pre-embargo Bacardi, or indeed the modern 1909 bottling, but it is relatively heavy bodied and fruity compared to other Spanish-style whites, with strongly detectable molasses notes - very, very similar to the younger Havana Club. I believe it's a different distillate, or a blend of different distillates, than Don Q, and I vastly prefer it. Sadly it's not very easy to find, at least in the DC area, but it does have national distribution in the US.

Caliche is allegedly its own distillate, but tastes similar to Palo Viejo, just aged a few years more and then filtered back to clear. Serrallés is positioning this in the emergent "premium white rum" market - it's in the low $20s for a bottle. Excellent stuff, but for mixing, not worth double the price of Palo Viejo. However, it is easier to find, and again, it's a high quality "Cuban style" white rum without any additives.

Once I got my hydrometer setup I'll test the Serrallés rums that I have, but I have it on very, very good faith that they don't add anything. For my money, the Don Q Añejo and 151, as well as the Palo Viejo white are the real standouts, at least as far as value for money is concerned. I'm just happy there's another relatively large producer that's committed to purity.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Look forward to your tests...


In the meanwhile, you are right that Don Q has not been officially reviewed here, although I have a bottle of Caliche which I think I'll review now, thanks to you Hass. I will say that at a particular tasting, the Don Q rep gave Sue Sea and I a nice pour of the Gran Anejo and at that time we felt it was among the best rums we'd tasted up until that time. We were very impressed.

However there is one thread on Q and Caliche, here...
http://rumproject.com/rumforum//viewtop ... ht=caliche
The Fat Rum Pirate
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Post by The Fat Rum Pirate »

They are currently in discussion with an importer for sale in the UK. I've spoken with a John Eason who seems to be the man in charge. He is adamant that there no additives in the rum and seems very passionate about the practice being used by other distillers.

He said he would get in touch as soon as he knows who is stocking them in the UK and I will give a couple of them a whirl.

All in the interests of the added sugar tests of course....... :lol:
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