Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/326040
76 / the tasting panel / june 2014 A Legendary Nose: Don Pancho Origenes Rum Saying Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez knows rum is quite the understatement—calling him the Godfather of Rum, however, might be more fitting. He was born with a gift: his nose. And that nose has contributed a great deal to the rum industry. Growing up with a wine and spirits merchant for a father educated Don Pancho early; however it was when he was studying microbiol- ogy in school that he developed a single-minded passion for rum. Quickly, he rose to a very prominent position in the Cuban rum industry, blending for countless brands but never once putting his name to one. After a 50-year career in Rum, Don Pancho hit his stride and, with a combination of attention to detail and focus on every single step of the process, he began creating Don Pancho Origenes Rum, his masterpiece. Having the goal of sharing his passion and all that he has learned about rum, he bought an abandoned distillery in Panama, cleaned it up, began distilling his own rum and blending it with his vast collection of barrels. Using a proprietary strain of yeast created by Don Pancho, the rum is distilled multiple times in copper column stills, then aged in bourbon barrels and personally blended by Don Pancho using his own incredible nose. "Don Pancho is a Master Distiller of unequaled expertise, and this rum will speak for itself in any tasting of the most renowned rums anyone could source," says Terlato Wines' CEO Bill Terlato. www.pilsarums.com TERLATO WINES India via West Indies: Chai Rum Kiran Shiva Akal, a tea maker and CEO/Creative Director of SMAKS Luxury Group, an export brand based in the West Indies, was sitting on an airplane, reading a book when he read the following line: "In 1665, a Dutch admiral wrote that the combina- tion of tea and rum was most delightful." Excited and inspired, he couldn't wait to get off the plane to do more research. "Apart from a few Hot Toddy recipes, I found that nobody had seriously looked into this combination and I just knew it was going to work," says Akal. Born in Trinidad and Tobago to an Indian family, Akal found more meaning in the idea than just a mixture of two popular beverages. "All of the immigrants who came to the West Indies during colonization came from regions where tea was extremely popular and important. Growing up in the West Indies, I took a serious amateur interest in rum and understood what it meant for this part of the world." The marriage of these two beverages represents history, the mingling of these two cultures and Akal's family heritage. As Chai Rum is a family brand, Akal adds his personal touch to everything, even insisting on per- sonally tasting every single batch before it is bottled and sent out. "It's particularly a very real feeling to know that I have contributed to the world of rum in this way. So I want to make sure that every part of it creates the emotion that I want for the consumer." www.chairum.com SMAKS LUXURY GROUP LTD. Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez. PHOTO: KIRAN SHIVA AKAL Kiran Akal. TP0614_072-101.indd 76 5/23/14 9:37 PM