The art of making high quality rum

A glass of high quality rum is always a splendid way to celebrate milestones, or to simply unwind and take a break from the hustle and bustle of work. Because it is important to enjoy a drink that one truly deserves, there’s only one Filipino brand trusted by many across the globe—the no.1 rum Tanduay.

Being in the industry since 1854, Tanduay has drawn inspiration from new generations in formulating new products and embracing innovative processes and mechanism. It is through its rich heritage and innovation that Tanduay constantly lives up to the highest standards of taste and quality.

The art of making high quality rum begins with fermentation, where diluted molasses called “wort” are fermented with yeast to produce beer or fermented mash. To purify and refine the crude product from the beer, distillation comes next. It is where the beer is fed to distilling columns by using steam as the heating medium.

What is produced after distillation is sugar cane alcohol, which after careful testing goes straight to oak barrels for ageing. Ageing is a one of the key components in achieving a rum character that can be only be produced by Tanduay—a trademark that has been practiced for years.

Not to mention that Tanduay also has the biggest aging facility in the country, with a capacity of approximately 30 million gauge liters or approximately 200,000 barrels, an advantage that will take 25 years to replicate.

After ageing, the rum is blended to achieve specific characteristics such as alcohol strength, color, mouthfeel, and smell. For example, with the newly launched Tanduay SELECT, it has a 60 proof special blend that boasts of a compelling smooth flavor without much woody notes, full-bodied yet with an edge of sweetness on the tail.

Ensuring only the best quality and processes up to the very end, all bottles undergo a mechanical cleansing & rinsing process and are all subjected to strict quality inspection. Clean bottles pass through state of the art filling machines, then to a pilfer-proof capping machine that seals every bottle with an aluminium cap that guarantees its authenticity. All filled and capped bottles pass through automatic label machines, automated packing lines and automated inspection devices.

Because of these innovative processes and mechanisms in making a world-class rum, Tanduay has been one of the most awarded companies in the spirits industry with over a hundred international quality awards that include 88 golds, 7 International High Quality awards. This 2015, the company was awarded the Crystal Prestige trophy by the Monde Selection International Quality Institute, one of the world's most prestigious and highly esteemed body that recognized wines and liquor products with the highest standards of taste and quality. Additionally, Tanduay was also bestowed the Rum Brand Champion Award in the recent World Branding Forum in London.

“Apart from heritage, the success of every Filipino and the entire nation has been the sole inspiration of Tanduay to constantly improve, making the brand a national icon as well. And as the Spirits Drink of Filipinos, Tanduay represents the nation’s true characteristics as a people,” says Tanduay President Lucio “Bong” Tan, Jr.