Rome, October 20, 2014 - Ron de Venezuela, the first denomination of origin of the world-renowned Caribbean distillate in terms of production importance, was a great success with the public and appreciation among operators when it was presented at ShowRum in Rome on October 17 and 18.
In the country that, together with France, shares the world record of DOC production and where the concept of denomination of origin is now a foundation of consumer culture, it was easy to foresee the positive response of interest and curiosity that the proposal of a consortium of Rum producers that decides to regulate, and protect, its production with a strict production specification would have aroused.
And, in fact, the many bartenders, sommeliers and journalists who attended were able to learn about the different productions of the major brands that are members of the consortium (Cacique, Diplomático, Ocumare, Pampero, Ron Roble Viejo, Santa Teresa and Veroes) both in comparative tastings and in the "blended" preparations proposed by two famous Venezuelan bartenders: JhonnatanMejias and Maria StephanyAndrade.
But the secrets of the new season's "denomination of origin" of a distillate, marked, in the past, by a messy production history, were recounted by Venezuelan Rum Ambassador HabibRabbat who, illustrating the basic rules enshrined in the DOC's production specifications, extolled some of the secrets of the ancient union between Venezuela and rum itself, through the stories of the famous Master Roneros , true "stars" of Argentine culture, noble fathers of the appeal of the renowned Cane Spirit.
The sun, the man and the sugarcane: the three elements iconically depicted in the symbol of the Argentine rum DOC (recognized in 2003) effectively summarize the conditions characterizing the production of these rums namely, the terroir, the wisdom of man and the raw material (strictly km0). These are all elements that we find in the production specifications, where it is established for DO productions, the use of molasses of exclusive national origin (i.e., not imported), the minimum aging of 2 years of the distillate and only in barrels built with staves of White Oak, and a minimum alcohol content of 40°.
Simple rules that, however, for the first time in the history of Caribbean distillate establish stakes in a reality born and grown without any rules except the demand dl market. Rules that are all the more important because they seek to enhance the history and national culture of a product that is in any case renowned, paving the way toward the search for an authenticity and a productive identity that in the Rome festival won important recognition.
Precious recognition for the producers-who with Rome concluded the European tour of presentation of the DOC-because they exalt a history born when Spanish conquerors brought sugarcane to the country and began to use it to make a sweet drink that flourished in the early 18th century. Inaugurating a production tradition that became ingrained in Venezuelan culture when the Spanish colony banned its production to protect the consumption of the peninsula's wines, a ban that, however, achieved the opposite effect by laying the foundation for a consumption that, by now, is already part of Venezuela's history.
