Brugal 1888 Ron Gran Reserva Familiar Rum

During the latter half of the 19th century, Andrs Brugal Montaner a Spanish expatriate who had emigrated to Cuba uprooted his family and decided to take up permanent residence in the Dominican Republic. While in Cuba, Brugal had begun experimenting with the distillation of sugar cane, and upon his arrival in the Dominican Republic in 1888, Brugal opened the doors to Brugal and Co. Distillery.Today, the fourth and fifth generations of Brugals direct descendants continue to honor the memory of their ancestors by acting as personal guardians of the entire rum-making process at Brugal and Co. Brugal 1888 Rum pays homage to the year that Andrs Brugal moved to the Dominican Republic and brought the craft of making exquisite rum to the country.Brugal 1888 Rum is made from fresh, raw sugar cane, which is hand-cut from plantations across the Dominican Republics countryside. Once the cane has been harvested, it is pressed and the remaining juice is turned into molasses. The molasses is then fermented for approximately 48 hours before it is twice distilled through Brugals copper stills.Following distillation, the rum is aged for up to eight years in ex-bourbon white American oak casks before being double-barreled, or finished, for up to six years in casks that were previously used to mature Oloroso sherry (each sherry cask used in the maturation process is hand-selected by George Espie, Edringtons Master of Wood, and is the same type used to mature the worlds bestsingle malt Scotch whisky). "The big challenge was using a different kind of wood," said Juan Campos, Brugals brand ambassador in the United States, when discussing how Brugal is differentiated from other rums. The sherry casks contribute notes of dark cherries, blackberries and dried fruits, and complement the notes of cinnamon, sugar cane and candied oranges inherent in the rum. "We call it the son of the marriage," Campos says of the rum. "It combines the heritage and knowledge of making rum with knowledge of the wood."Brugal 1888 Rum has a dark, amber hue, along with an aroma of milk chocolate, roasted coffee and dried apricots. The aroma opens up to a full-bodied rum with notes of lush cherries, raisins, cinnamon, strawberries, caramelized apples and candied oranges, and leads to a toffeed finish. Brugal 1888 earned a score of 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, which said to "enjoy the elongated flavors of toffee dusted with Mexican-spiced chocolate while you can."Brugal 1888 earned a score of 93 points at the Ultimate Spirits Competition and won a Gold medal at the Global Rum Masters in 2017 in the Gold Rum Ultra Premium category.Pick up a bottle of Brugal 1888 today!