Brugal finds itself in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. As you might've guessed, the large "1888" emblazoned on the bottle is the year the brand began producing its own rums. Born a Spaniard, Don Andres Brugal had set off for Cuba in search of starting a business. This is where the brand actually sets its mark as its birthplace in 1888. However, by 1897, Don Andres relocates from Cuba to the Dominican Republic, where the business has been ever since.

In the early days of Brugal's business, their value proposition was being the first Dominican rum to not feature the addition of Aguardiente - meaning it's purely molasses here. Passed from generation to generation, they eventually begin cask ageing their rums. And then by 2008, it's announced that Brugal is majority owned by spirits group Edrington - the same one that owns the Macallan Scotch distillery, amongst others. That said, the distillery continues to be operated by the fifth-generation of the Brugal family.

In 2010, Brugal launches the Brugal 1888, a Spanish-style rum that serves as the brand's mass premium offering, featuring a double ageing (doblemente anejado) in American ex-Bourbon and Spanish ex-Sherry oak casks. 

For the more technical aspects, Brugal uses Dominican Republic-sourced molasses (called melaza), with the distillery itself located in the southeastern part of the island, in close proximity to three sugar refineries. The distillery stipulates that the molasses it uses has to be 85% brix (or 60-65% sugar). Fermentation here lasts 40-48 hours, and the distillery says that the proprietary yeast strain it uses is more heat resistant and thus can work past conventional temperature thresholds. Distillation is then done twice in column stills - the distillery has three pairs of twin column stills.

For the Brugal 1888 expression, a blend of rums aged between 5 -14 years is used. It also comes in a really aesthetic packaging with gold stencilled labelling on the glass itself, and is covered in a netting.

Brugal 1888 - Review

Tasting Notes

Color: Amber

Aroma: Bright, lifted scents of brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla frosting, with a light woody note - it’s almost like a cinnabon really. A little bit more of cacao nibs.

Taste: Medium-bodied, classic Spanish style. Very flavour forward - big, strong notes of heaps of cacao nibs, chocolate sauce, cinnamon spice and brown sugar. Over time there’s a little bit more on oak tannins - that dryness and bitterness tightens into the finish. There is a slight mustiness of antique lacquered wood furniture.

Finish: Light herbal honey, manuka honey, Pei Pa Koa cough syrup, and then more on cinnamon sugar and anise spice, as well as light chocolate and toasted oak.

My Thoughts

It has all the brightness of typical Spanish style rums but here it packs so much flavour - really lovely baked pastry and confectionary notes. It’s incredibly approachable and quite the crowdpleaser. From the moment it hits the palate, it gets up and keeps piling on, building into the finish. That mustiness on the palate does serve quite well to give it a sort of added elegance of 80’s lacquered wood furniture and cigar boxes.

Entirely like a liquid cinnabon. Not complex by any means but damned is it tasty - and sometimes that’s all you need to get the job done.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot