We took our inspiration from some of our favourite spirits and places in the world, to create expressions for both serious rum enthusiasts and new fans alike. The range is available in three variants that have been finished in European sherry, cognac and port casks: Napoleon, with ripe autumn fruit flavours; Oloroso, which has a balance of fruit sweetness and citrus notes; and Tawny, with layers of red fruits and summer berries. We are excited to collaborate in The Netherlands with De Kuyper who we feel will hit the mark on delivering and moving our brand towards the next phase of growth in the Netherlands. They are well positioned to introduce the innovation and craftsmanship of the Ron Abuelo range to Dutch consumers” states Daniel Fábrega, Vice President of International Business Development of Ron Abuelo. “We would also like to thank Ivo van der Valk and Quality Spirits who have played an integral part in the brand’s success in the Netherlands in the past years” adds Daniel Fábrega.

Schiedam, 5 th of January 2023. De Kuyper Royal Distillers, the owner and producer of several world-famous liqueurs, will be responsible for marketing and distributing Ron Abuelo Rum in the Dutch market effective 1 January 2023. The new collaboration with the spirits company from Panama covers the whole product range and applies to on and off-trade. It is the first time for the two family-owned companies to collaborate. Ron Abuelo is produced in Pesé, Panama by Varela Hermanos, in a small fertile valley in the Azuero Peninsula. In 1908, the company’s founder, Don José Varela Blanco, arrived in the recently formed Republic of Panama from Spain and established the country’s first sugar mill. Today, the brand unites nine different rum expressions from Añejo, the youngest rum both in age and spirit that it all started with, to Centuria, the celebration of a century of craftmanship. The Abuelo rum range is rounded up by the Three Angels, soon to be introduced to the Dutch market. The innovative, super premium rum is the pinnacle of Ron Abuelo’s matured 12-aged-rums, showcasing their expertise in the category and taking intensity to new heights.The town of Pesé, established in the middle of the 18th century, is located in a fertile valley in the middle of Panama, where the main commercial activity of its near 10,000 inhabitants is the cultivation of sugarcane. In 1936, agreeing to the wishes of his three eldest sons, José Manuel, Plinio and Julio, Don José began distilling rum from molasses processed from sugar cane grown on the distillery’s own estates. To make it, five different varieties of sugarcane go into the rum which all comes from its 1600-hectare estate near the town of Pesé. Much of it is hand-harvested. Unusually for Latin American rum, both molasses and pure sugarcane juice are used with an 80/20 split between the former and the latter. The two different types of sugar are fermented, distilled, and aged separately. Abuelo uses a special in-house yeast derived from pineapple. Fermentation takes place over about 48 hours to produce a 7-8% low wine. We pass underneath a picturesque arch, the path becomes a paved road, and my old-world reverie begins to fade as we come to rest outside a modern building overlooking the fields. Ron Abuelo president Luis Varela said: “These are rums with a Panamanian heart and a pioneering soul. Our Finish Collection features our most treasured reserves, which have been carefully aged for at least 15 years in American oak barrels, then finished in sherry, cognac and port casks. The story began in 1908, when Spanish immigrant Don José Varela Blanco arrived in Pesé – a small town in Las Cabras, near to where the distillery is located. There he established the country's first sugar mill, and by 1936, he and his three sons began distilling alcohol from freshly pressed sugarcane juice.

The Anejo 12 years is where things start to get interesting. It's Abuelo's flagship rum, designed to truly reflect the brand's precise production process and love of tradition. And it shows: the liquid is smooth and complex – ideal for sipping, like a whisky or cognac. This versatility and finishing process is Ron Abuelo's hallmark, which it has recently applied to a new collection of three rums finished in a different casks: oloroso sherry, tawny port or cognac. Each of these serves is delicious, imbued with a unique flavour. Purple Creative founding partner Andy Harding added: “Ron Abuelo is a company deeply rooted in tradition, but which also constantly looks to the future of rum-making – a philosophy reflected in The Finish Collection. Our ‘new adventure in rum’ campaign showcases the meeting of minds between Panama and France, Spain and Portugal. Politics aside, it's the distilling process that I'm here to see. It's February, right in the middle of the sugarcane harvest, which means the processing plant and its employees are working 24 hours a day bringing the cane to be crushed. The fibrous stems are mashed, a machine extracts the sugar cane juice, and the crushed pulp waste is burned to generate power to crush the cane. Aside from obvious technological developments, things have been this way for almost a century, since Don José first embarked on his mission. The thinking is clear: why change the very things that made it so special in the first place?

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While Caribbean countries tend to have the monopoly on rum in the UK, there's a reason why Panamanian rums deserve to be recognised. Panama, long and narrow in shape, has distinct weather patterns, particularly around Pesé, which is located in a fertile valley in the Azuero peninsula, giving the rum a unique terroir. This is what makes Ron Abuelo so special: its cache of oak-aged rums, ranging from the seven-year-old to the centurian, which is made up of rums aged for a total of 100 years altogether. Abuelo means 'grandfather' in Spanish: a nod to the brand's history as Panama's oldest rum producer. Ron Abuelo said The Finish Collection was successfully tested in France and the US for a year prior to its introduction.