Carrying over 200 years of rum-making know-how, the *world’s most-awarded rum invites experts and enthusiasts in Singapore to experience its rich flavour. Santa Teresa 1796 Rum, Venezuela’s oldest rum brand best known for over two centuries of rich heritage and exceptional quality, proudly makes its foray into the Singapore market this month. This launch marks the brand’s highly anticipated entrance into Asia and offers discerning consumers in the region access to its remarkable single estate product that harnesses five generations of rum-making expertise.
Renowned for its premium quality and complex flavour profile, Santa Teresa 1796 Rum is Triple-Aged using the artisanal Solera Method, created with a complex blend of rums aged for up to 35 years. The Solera Method was adopted from Spanish Sherry producers. Since the barrels were first filled in 1992, the Solera casks have never fully emptied. Instead, each time a bottle is drawn, the Solera is topped up with a slightly younger rum blend, guaranteeing that every bottle has exceptional richness and a little bit of the ‘Ron Madre’ or Mother Rum. It was a method that was incepted by fourth-generation member, Alberto Vollmer Herrera, to commemorate the house’s bicentennial in 1996, and the process has been refined and adopted to this day to achieve a consistent product that stands tall as an embodiment of Venezuelan heritage.
Today, the house is helmed by fifth-generation Chairman and CEO Alberto Vollmer, who speaks proudly of his family’s rum-making legacy: “We are delighted to introduce our award-winning Santa Teresa 1796 Rum to the vibrant and mature market of Singapore. Our rum carries a rich legacy of heritage and craftsmanship, and we are the third oldest rum producer in the world, with every product in the bottle sourced from our single estate, the Hacienda Santa Teresa.”
Production first begins in the fertile Aragua Valley in Venezuela where rich sugarcane fields have been cultivated on the Santa Teresa family land since the 18th Century. Since 1796, the family has refined the art of rum distillation and mastered it to infuse modern expertise with rich heritage. Combined with expertise from Santa Teresa’s master blenders, the result is a testament to tradition expressed in a balanced super-premium rum with a dry finish. The dry characteristic can be explained by the rum’s low levels of sugar compared to main competitors in the super-premium rum category. This is a deliberate step in the process of distillation, done to underline the brand’s commitment to producing rum in its purest and most authentic form. It also gives discerning consumers a sophisticated tasting experience that enhances the complexity of the carefully selected and aged rums within its blend. Santa Teresa 1796 has been recognized as the best crafted rum in the world and holds more than 90 medals from the world’s most prestigious competitions.
Going beyond its commitment to crafting remarkable rum, the Santa Teresa family stands as a brand with purpose and a legacy of uplifting the Venezuelan community. Project Alcatraz is perhaps its most notable social transformation programme, as Alberto Vollmer explains: “Since 2003, Project Alcatraz recruits gang members and rehabilitates them through vocational training, values development, and psychological support, to leave them with life skills that would add value to society. Alongside that, we introduce them to the sport of rugby to develop discipline and respect for one another. I’m so proud to say that, to date, the programme has engaged over 800 inmates and disbanded 11 gangs, saving over 400 lives, and producing 82 outstanding high-performance athletes, with 15 in the national rugby team. The very real impacts of Project Alcatraz absolutely demonstrate our brand promise: Great Rum, Greater Purpose.”
In entering the Singapore market, Santa Teresa offers an already discerning consumer base the opportunity to savour the best of super-premium triple-aged solera rum craftsmanship. Aligned with the brand’s commitment to its community and connoisseurs, it invites all to indulge in its legacy and sip on over 200 years of authentic excellence.