Edrington unveils Papá Andrés 2015 edition

Edrington-owned Brugal rum has released the 2015 edition of its luxury Papá Andrés brand, created by the family’s newest master blender – the first woman ever to hold the position.

This year’s Alegría edition was created by the family’s first female master blender, Jassil Villanueva Quintana

Papá Andrés is a luxury rum from the Brugal family’s private reserve named in honour of the company’s founding father, Don Andrés Brugal Montaner.

This year’s edition is named Alegría – which means “joy” in English – and has been crafted by master blender Jassil Villanueva Quintana, a fifth generation member of the Brugal family.

It is described as “viscous and silky on the palate, a well-balanced rum with subtle, light, sweet notes of vanilla and Sherry”.

The Alegría decanters were designed by acclaimed Spanish designer Javier Mariscal, inspired by” the color and warmth of the Dominican Republic and its people”, to capture the feeling of “alegría de vivid”, which translates as ‘joy in living’.

In keeping with the theme, each decanter is hand-painted by students from The Altos de Chavon School of Design in La Romana.

Marisca has also illustrated a collectors book to accompany the expression, described as “a unique way to discover the story of Papá Andrés – and the story of Brugal itself”.

Since the company was founded in 1888, each generation of the family has put a small amount of their “most exceptional” rums aside.

Since 2013, a small portion of the rum is extracted from the resting casks and used to blend the limited edition Papá Andrés bottling which is then made available to the public.

The cask is then replenished with a selection of that year’s best aged rums, and laid down again.

Augusto Ramirez, president of Brugal & Co, said:
“In 2013 we decided to make public the legend of Papá Andrés, the most exclusive and selected private edition of rum in the world of great distillates. Today we happily share with the world the Papá Andrés “Joy” Edition 2015.”

Only 1,000 limited edition decanters will be produced, available at US$1,500 each.

All profits are donated to the Brugal Foundation, which aims to support development and reduce poverty in the Dominican Republic.

Yesterday Edrington announced the appointment of Alice Avis MBE to Board of Directors, as Ronnie Bell steps down.