Cacique (which means leader of the tribe in Spanish) is the top selling rum brand in its homeland Venezuela. This news may come as a surprise to those more familiar with Venezuelan rums such as Pampero and Diplomatico. What shouldn’t come as any surprise is that Cacique has the marketing power of Diageo behind it.
Tag Archives: Venezuela
I’m sure anyone with a decent appreciation of rum will be able to guess why this Santa Teresa 1796 is named so. Yes, got it in one this was the year the distillery first went into production.
This rum introduced in 1996 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the distillery. It is bottled by C.A Ron Santa Teresa and is distributed in the UK by Coe Vintners of Essex. The rum is bottled at 40% ABV and a 70cl bottle will set you back between £40-45.
Here we have the cream of the crop of the Pampero line. Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva. For those not familiar with Pampero the other rums in the line up are the Pampero Anejo Especial and the difficult to find Pampero Seleccion 1938. I have experience of the Anejo but I have yet to try the 1938. It is very much a bottle which if I see I will buy instantly, such is its rarity in the UK and online.
Ron Pampero is typically known by Venezuelan’s as “Caballito Frenao” (literal translation “The Restrained Horse”). Which is guess explains in part the man astride a white horse on it red label (though it shows no sign of restraints).For those unfamiliar with Venezuela it is sandwiched between Guyana and Venezuela. Venezuela’s coast line is on the Caribbean Sea.
This is the entry level rum in the Diplomatico range. If I’d been told a few years ago that one day I would be savouring one of Venezuela’s biggest exports I would have been gobsmacked (and worried about what exactly it might entail!).
As far as “entry level” rum is concerned this is a very good start on anyone’s rum journey. The rum is around the £22 mark, which is more expensive than other “entry level” rums such as Appleton Special, Mount Gay Eclipse, Cockspur 5 star and Brugal. However, I’m not sure what the cheapest Venezuelan rum is……
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva doesn’t it just roll of the tongue……. Well maybe the name might not but rum enthusiasts seem quite unanimous that the flavour of this rum is certainly something that your tongue will indeed savour. With such praise it was only a matter of time (or a bargain price) before I tried some. I eventually ordered a Gift Pack version from the Whisky Exchange which included a large decorative box and two very nice Diplomatico labelled glencairn style glasses (one is in picture). This came in at just under £50 which I felt was reasonable enough. Good glasses aren’t cheap!