Movies
Topic: Behind the scenes at Flor de Caña. Brief: Mauricio Solorzano (Flor de Caña Global Brand Ambassador) talks about 4 key components of the Nicaraguense family company. Quick history facts: This story began 1875 when Alfredo Francisco Pellas Canessa, a young adventurer from Genoa, Italy, risked everything by leaving behind his family and the comforts of the old continent to travel to the exotic country of Nicaragua. Initially, he invested in a shorter and safer steam boat route through Nicaragua to transport passengers and goods from the East Coast of the US to the West Coast during the height of the California Gold Rush. The route was a huge success, but when news broke about the construction of the Panama Canal and the U.S. coast-to-coast railroad, Alfredo Francisco knew it was time to set out on a new adventure. In 1890, he found the perfect setting for the Flor de Caña distillery at the base of the San Cristóbal volcano, the tallest and most active volcano in Nicaragua. The fertility of its surrounding lands, the enriched water and the hot volcanic climate proved to be instrumental in forging the rum’s unique and distinguished character. Through its 130-year history, the brand, the company and the family have lived through a plane crash, a civil war, nationalizations, hyperinflation, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Throughout all this, and against all odds, the company has also been able to remain a family business for five generations:
Only 3 in 10,000 family businesses make it to the 5th generation!
About: Mauricio Solorzano Born in Nicaragua in April 1964. Earned a degree in Public Relations in Costa Rica. Mauricio has worked for Flor de Caña Rum for more than 20 years and is currently the Global Brand Ambassador. This position has allowed him to represent the brand in more than 30 countries, introducing thousands to the world of super premium rums and sharing with pride the Flor de Caña story.
Growing up in Puerto Rico surrounded by his family’s business, Roberto Serrallés could scarcely avoid the rum world. But after 20 years in Puerto Rico, he moved to the United States to pursue a PhD from the University of Oregon with the hope of one day becoming a professor. He didn’t stay away from Puerto Rico for long. When his father called seeking advice on an environmental issue the company was facing, Serrallés was intrigued, and he spent the next four years consulting on a wastewater energy project for Destillería Serrallés. After completing the project, Serrallés joined the family business full time. // Info by Imbibe
Self-starter, explorer, rum aficionado. Challenges drive me. I have been based in NY since summer 2019 to support HSE growth within the US. Even though I am only 23 years old, I have decided to enter the industry 5 years ago. I graduated from the wine and spirits management program at KEDGE business school in Bordeaux and have the WSET 3 in wine. I find in wine and spirit a certain type of unmeasured treasure – the beauty of transmission from a generation to another, the know-how and traditions combined with innovation. I also love how close spirit production and history are related. You learn about spirits, you learn about a country.
Industry Monday's - Join Federico Hernandez from TheRumLab as he deep dives (it's really shallow) around the world of Rum.. Topic: Starting a New Rum Brand Guest: Eric Kaye founder of Holmes Cay Rum About Eric: I’m a New Yorker and longtime rum aficionado. I have also been a producer and composer of music for film, TV and commercials for the past 25 years. In 2019, I created the US independent bottling company Holmes Cay with one simple premise: to seek out the world’s best rums and release them unadulterated and at cask strength. A devoted scuba diver for more than 30 years, I’ve traveled the world, having visited more than 100 countries. Throughout those travels, which included nearly every island in the Caribbean, I came across spectacular rums never seen in the States. In Europe too, I discovered other incredible Caribbean rums, many bottled at cask strength, and almost completely unknown back home. I wanted to bring these rums home and share them with American lovers of rum and fine spirits, and thus Holmes Cay was born.
Martin Cate is a rum and exotic cocktail expert and the owner and creator of Smuggler’s Covein San Francisco. Smuggler’s Cove features the largest rum selection in the United States and features cocktails from over three centuries of rum history. The Sunday Times of London called Smuggler’s Cove one of the 50 Greatest Bars on Earth. In a global industry survey for Drinks International Magazine, Smuggler’s Cove has been featured as one of the Top 50 Bars in the World for six consecutive years. Smuggler's Cove was named Best American Cocktail Bar 2016 at the 10th Annual Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, one of the Top Ten Food & Beverage concepts of the last 25 years by Cheers Magazine, and one of the 13 Most Influential Bars of the 21st Century by Liquor.com. Smuggler’s Cove was declared one of America’s Best Bars by Playboy Magazine and was named to Esquire’s Best Bars in America Hall of Fame. Martin is a passionate rum collector who conducts educational seminars and officiates rum & cocktail competitions across the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. He is also the co-owner of Whitechapel in San Francisco, Hale Pele in Portland, False Idol in San Diego, and a partner in Lost Lake in Chicago. Martin and Rebecca Cate's book “Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki” was published by Ten Speed Press in June of 2016 and won the 2017 James Beard Award for Best Beverage Book and the 2017 Spirited Award for Best Cocktail Book.
Besides being a Royal Warrant holder to the Queen of England for its Angostura aromatic bitters, the company has successfully marketed its iconic bitters globally and has a geographic reach into 170 markets.
