Ask a Puerto Rican what their preferred rum brand is, they will probably tell you: Don Q
Named after the famous, fictional hidalgo Don Quixote – protagonist of the family’s favorite novel – the island’s signature spirit, Don Q, lives up to the legend behind its name.
At its core, Don Q is a brand about custom. It is made traditionally, all the while, having maintained long-term family ownership, a rare feat. Drinking Don Q is a pleasure like other spirits in the industry, but to experience Don Q is to experience Puerto Rican tradition.
The distiller has been using the original rum recipe throughout its legacy, dating back to the 19th century. The original distillery used to produce it, Serrallés Rum Distillery, was founded in 1865 and remains in use today. Although the name of the brand was presented officially in 1936, the spirit has always been the same and is the oldest one from the island.
Puerto Rican law states that all rum must be aged for a minimum of one year in a barrel, and that legislation has also shaped the production and identity of Don Q.
“One of the trends you see in the rum industry right now is other brands make these sweeter rums … That makes it a smoother rum and more attractive to a broader clientele, but in Don Q we don’t do it like that,” Roberto Serrallés explained to Ark Republic.
While he emphasized his appreciation both for the sweeter drinks and the people behind them, he noted that keeping the traditional set–unsweetened–is part of what maintains Don Q’s identity both in terms of taste and looks.
The Caribbean rum’s standard version, Don Q Cristal, is a clear rum aged between a year and a half to five years. It’s a light and crisp spirit that can easily be incorporated into cocktails. The flavor is non-intrusive and non-combative as a result of the multiple distillation process it’s made in, making it notably smoother than other kinds of rum. Cristal works with what it’s mixed into and can be drunk on its own with ease. The company website even wagers that, if you substitute vodka for Cristal in a drink, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
The little spirit that could
It was only in 2006 that the beloved brand expanded outside of the island, in search of a greater audience. Whereas Bacardí, a Cuban rum, can be found in a majority of liquor stores around North America, Don Q often requires a more expansive search. Even with a substantial Boricua population in places like NYC, reported at around 660,000 in 2020, most liquor stores do not offer more than one variant of Don Q. Within that, it is often limited to its traditional range of unsweetened rums without additional flavoring. For areas without enough islanders to generate demand, it can be a Don Q desert for miles.
“You have this situation where the rum market is controlled by three brands, around 60% of the market. … They have a force in the market that’s much larger than a small company from Puerto Rico trying to sell rum there. They’ll put all sorts of obstacles in the way,” explained Serrallés.
While Serrallés spoke favorably of one of those companies, Captain Morgan, thanks to having a distillery on the island, he also emphasized the challenge in getting customers to try a new rum due to factors such as brand loyalty.
Convincing other Boricuas to choose their nation’s premier rum isn’t a challenge, but convincing people unfamiliar with the spirit and its cultural significance – especially when they’re already committed to brands like Bacardí – is substantially more difficult. Familiarity is the name of the game, and piecing that barrier with people who are not acquainted with the spirit is the key to growing the brand in other circles. That importance that familiarity carries pervades within the company’s management.
Ancestral Work
The first words you read in the back of any Don Q bottle are “A family tradition.” In front of it, the words “Crafted by Familia Serrallés” and “The Joyful Spirit of Tradition” are on each side of the logo. These are leading principles that have defined the brand.
Serrallés was the latest of his pedigree to own the business, having now retired from his position as Vice President of Business Development. Although a family owned business, it is professionally managed–a shift which was ultimately a familial decision that shortly preceded Serrallés’ retirement. His ownership marked the sixth generation of Serrallés to inherit the company.
“Family businesses are excellent but they’re also complicated,” Serrallés shared. “We have to make the decisions to help the family business grow in an organized way and establish ourselves so we can keep going for six more generations.”
In that respect, it is more in line with the norm as several major rum producers across the globe have stayed lineage-owned. The reason for this goes back to the American Prohibition era, also around the time Puerto Rico went from Spanish control to the U.S. control. Many spirit suppliers in the time were simply families with the resources and knowledge to make quality products.
Since it was a legal and social liability to outsource much of the work and management aspects, families relied on those they knew they could trust the most: each other. To this day, families like the Serrallés continue the tradition.
It’s not just a tradition recognized within families but among a network of them. When Ron del Barrilito, a Puerto Rican rum brand founded in 1880, was at risk of passing away, it was the late Joaquín Bacardí, part of the family behind the international rum titan Bacardí Limited, who came in and assisted in reviving the company. His work is now continued by Eduardo Bacardí, his son, who is Director of Sales and Marketing for Ron del Barrilito Rum.
While these brands and family legacies may usually be competitors in the market, this is not the only instance of cooperation between them.
Millennials and Gen Z show increasing preference of rum and rum-based drinks which contributes to the growth of the premium rum market. Photo credit: Pexels/ CottonbroFor family, for the environment
Originally, Serrallés had no intention of inheriting the ancestral business, his sights were set on being a professor. However, he found his calling when his father sought help with an obstacle his son had gotten his Ph.D. in: environmental science.
Rum making generates a substantial amount of waste water. Although not filthy or toxic, the wastewater contains biological matter from the yeast used for distilling. With increasing production, so too did the necessity for a solution increase. Serrallés was the man for the job and, like that, he officially began his work with the brand as a consultant.
“The yeast drowns in its own waste, it’s a bit of a cautionary tale for humans. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing,” Serrallés joked.
For each liter of rum produced, around 8-15 liters of wastewater is generated. Part of the challenge is that the byproduct, also referred to as stillage, is hard to treat as well as to meet legal standards for clean water. In small doses, it can be a healthy booster for dry-land plants thanks to its nutritional content; but in excess, can be harmful to soil and plant growth; not unlike rum itself in a sense.
No matter how big or small, many rum distilleries have a personal stake in the matter. Given the familial aspect and how a majority of rum is produced in the Caribbean – a region with threatened ecosystems and biodiversity – protecting the birthplace of the rum, the brands and the family history is just as important as producing the rum itself.
That’s why environmental protection innovations are routinely shared amongst otherwise competing companies. In a small, tropical island like Puerto Rico, which is one of few biodiversity hotspots across the globe, those safety measures carry a special kind of meaning.
“We share a lot of information in that part of the industry, he explained” “This is normal in the back end…One solution that helps me and helps you–we’ll share, and you create this system of protection.”
La Isla del Encanto
Puerto Rico is an outlier for many things in the U.S., among those is the legal drinking age, which is 18 rather than the standard 21 across the rest of the nation. So, leading to a more normalized drinking culture. Due to being less stigmatized, some parents introduce their children to liquor during their mid-teens, not dissimilar to the European approach.
Given the preference for rum and rum-based drinks, Don Q ends up at the center of that culture.
Old San Juan’s bars are stocked with all sorts of mixers and cocktail essentials, always having a wide selection of Don Q ready for any rum related request.
Be it a shower of shots amidst a boozy Friday night, or a smooth sipping rum to accompany a cigar, Don Q has options for all people at any time. Although Serrallés said picking a favorite way to drink is like asking him to pick a favorite child, he shared some of his usual go-to’s.
“If I’m leaving work and I want something smooth to relax, I love Don Q Cristal with soda and lime. If it’s night time and I’m at a cocktail bar, an old fashioned is great. After dinner, one of our single barrel, double aged casks on the rocks as a bit of a dessert is spectacular.” Serrallés divulged.
Serrallés even shared a special method from his friend to take the staple Rum and Coke to the next level, colloquially known in the Caribbean as a Cuba Libre. The secret is to squeeze the lime first, then pour in the alcohol, mix, and only after, pour the coke in.
The distiller’s secret leads to the mixed drink feeling like a proper collaboration of the flavors. The lime accents the cola flavor which has been enhanced with the crisp and sweet sensation of the rum. The lime, too, is enhanced with those aspects by mixing it with the rum before adding the coke. Don Q Cristal is ideal for this given its mixable qualities and uniquely clean finish. Few things are quite as refreshing but relaxing on cool summer nights.
Heritage
When it comes down to what makes Don Q special, it is not just the unique craft or the homely flavor, but the heritage behind it. Akin to the Don Q brand having stayed in the Serrallés family, rum has stayed in Puerto Rico’s genealogy for ages. Generational involvement is not exclusive to the Serrallés legacy, as other families in the company have been involved for decades.
“The most special part is the care, the appreciation that goes into making this. We’re not making toothpaste here. There’s people that are third generation in the team.”
“We share with our local consumers all sorts of important events in their life. We’re at weddings, we’re at burials, we’re at graduations, Christmas, new year’s parties. Any social event has a bottle of Don Q.” Serrallés explained. “We participate and share vicariously, as they say, in all of the events in the life of a Puertoricans. That makes us very proud.”
