“Venezuela has been making rum for the last 200 years, so Venezuelan style has a long and very rich tradition,” JL Ballesteros tells Maxim. “When we talk about the characteristics of Venezuelan rum, we have to talk about the smoothness. It’s a style that is very smooth, it is very rich in flavor, and leans on the sweet side without being overly sweet.”
The ambassador for Venezuela’s top rum maker, Diplomático, explains the prime reason for this sweet and smooth characteristic is because in Venezuela by law, to qualify as sugar cane rum, it has to age a minimum of two years in white oak, either new or used barrels. Ballesteros continues to lay out exactly where Venezuela lies in the quite wide spectrum of rum flavor profiles, which vary greatly especially between French influenced Rhum Agricole, distilled from sugar cane juice, and those of the Spanish and British styles, which descend from molasses.
The British style Jamaican rum tends to be high-proof, full-bodied, and robust, with a heavy funk influence. Meanwhile the Spanish style dominant in Caribbean islands like Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic favor “sweet and spice kind of flavors.” Even Guyana has its own identity.
What makes Diplomático stand out beyond simply its nationality is the unique practice of utilizing a trio of different stills to produce its raw rum, which it then blends to perfection. While most rums, regardless of nation, utilize either a continuous column still or a pot still, Diplomático uses both — as well as a third hybrid batch kettle distillation that combines column and pot. Each one bears its own particular fruit.
“So, In the process of making Diplomatico, we have three very different styles of rum.
We have one funky and heavy (copper pot), one tropical and light (column), and one creamy and spiced (batch kettle),” Ballesteros explains. They then take each rum and age them separately for a minimum of two years. With all the different distillation methods and agings, Ballesteros reveals that Diplomático plays with over 60 different rum components to make their various expressions. “And that is our secret sauce,” the Ambassador says, smiling.
After at least two years in oak, but aging some barrels up to 12 years, Diplomático then blends those components in different proportions to create the family of superb Diplomatico rums — from the white Planas rum to their flagship Reserva Exclusiva—simply one of the best rums on the market.
“There are a few rums that do blend, but they source alcohol from different distilleries, they don’t distill it themselves from column and pot,” he adds. “We are the only brand that everything happens in the same distillery, and we have three different distillation methods making our rums… This is the process that is quite unique in the universe of rum.”
Which brings us to the Maxim Spirit Of The Week, Diplomático’s new Single Vintage 2013. Its unique twist, beyond the decade of aging, was that Diplomático’s team of blenders, including its Maestro Ronero at the time Tito Cordero, decided to blend the various rum versions before pouring them in the barrel for aging. The acclaimed Master Blender — recipient of the Golden Rum Barrel Award “Rum Blender of the year” at the UK Rum Fest in 2011 and 2013, and “World’s Best Master Blender” at the 2014 Madrid International Rum Conference — and his team created a unique blend never to be replicated, and then allowed the singular Venezuelan climate to do the rest.
“Venezuela is a very dynamic, non-stop breathing of that barrel,” Ballesteros notes of the torrid and humid equatorial climate. “It’s a three time more dynamic process than whiskey.” The Ambassador notes how their angel share averaged 6% to 8% every year, compared to just 2% and 3% in Scotland — meaning with the Single Vintage 2013 they lost around 60% of the original volume to evaporation. Sure a big hit to the wallet, but also a profound evolution in richness and complexity.
As we taste the Diplomático Single Vintage 2013, Ballesteros highlights strong notes of toasted almond, dark chocolate, cherries and raisins. The rum also boasts a luscious viscosity, the spirit gaining a weighty velvet structure from a decade of evaporating water into the hot Caribbean air. As much as we love Diplomático’s Reserva, this rum adds another level of complexity, with an added pinch of spice.
“Probably I shouldn’t say this, but honestly, the liquid that we have in this bottle I don’t see that we’re going to be able to replicate this flavor,” he says with a look of satisfaction. “I just want to highlight the uniqueness of the rum that we are tasting.”
The last time Diplomático released a Single Vintage in 2008 it sold only to Europe, while the back-to-back previous drop in 2007 went exclusively to America. This one will distribute all over (Diplomático sells to over 100 countries worldwide), meaning of the 18,000 units bottled the US will receive only around 6,000. Its approachable SRP of $120 makes Diplomático released a Single Vintage 2013 a bottle worth searching for.
Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.
