Bermúdez 1852 Aniversario

Christopher Columbus made history by implementing a plan that didn't work out. The Spanish Crown backed up a bold expedition tempted by the promise to discover a new route to the lucrative markets of East Asia, but the Genoese navigator had landed somewhere else. Alternatively, Columbus got where he intended to get because he knew the Earth is round and he was using Portuguese maps. Either way, the 'discovery' of America begins the early modern period.

Columbus' second expedition consisted of seventeen ships with a crew of a thousand persons. The mission was to explore and colonize. Many settlements were established. In Hispaniola (near Santo Domingo) sugarcane was planted. By the way, the Dominicans claim that the sugarcane seedlings were brought by a Columbus companion named Diego Bermudez, and many distributors misinterpret the origin of the brand name. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Spain appointed Columbus viceroy of the 'newly discovered' lands, but he looted and appropriated the majority of the profits. Finally, he fell out with his subordinates to such an extent that he left the Caribbean in chains.

The Dominican Republic boasts on creating the first New World sugarcane plantation. The success couldn't be sustained - until the mid-nineteenth century, cattle breeding remained the dominant economic activity of the Dominican part of the island.

So let's rewind the story to 1852, when the Venezuelan pharmacist Erasmo Bermúdez founds the Unrivaled Liquors Manufacture in Santiago De Los Caballeros. He created the formula of 'Amargo Panacea' - a molasses-based aperitif that rapidly gained in popularity. Eleven years later, the distillery burned down during the 'Guerra de la Restauración' while the Spaniards tried to colonize the Dominican Republic once again. However, the owners managed to obtain compensation from the invaders and resumed activity. In 1927 José Armando Bermúdez Rochet, son of the owner, transformed the business into a joint stock company under the name J. Armando Bermúdez & Co.  CXA. In turn, his son, Domingo Octavio Bermúdez Ramos, retrofitted the distillery with innovative - for the time (1928) - Egrot & Grange equipment. The successor - José Armando Bermúdez Pippa (founder's great grandson) - founded the first color television channel in the Dominican Republic (1968). Then came the fourth generation in the person of Carlos Alberto Bermúdez Pippa and recently the company has been led by a fifth generation with the duo Norka Iris Bermudez and Juan OsWaldo Cayetano Jr. Quite a story, with big money and family tensions in the background.

Dominican Republic is part of the Greater Antilles and the second largest island nation in the Caribbean basin. Bermúdez runs the country's oldest distillery, located in the north at Santiago De Los Caballeros. The producer also produces vodka, gin and whiskey. The design of Bermúdez rum suggests a premium spirit, although not reflected in the pricing policy.

Bermúdez is not a member of ADOPRON, nor is it a member of WIRSPA. The leading domestic competitors, namely Brugal and Barceló, are. It means that Bermúdez doesn't need to declare the factual aging age (which should be the youngest rum inside the blend). On the other hand, Bermúdez complies with the Dominican obligation to include all the information on the label in Spanish.

Molasses-based Bermúdez is distilled in four-column stills. The blend is aged for up to twelve years in oak barrels (as the label says, to take with a grain of salt). Sugar tests show an addition of up to 5 g/L. The product is colored with caramel.