From the article you will learn everything about Dominican rum. I will answer most of your questions and more. I will tell you about the rum of the Dominican Republic not as an alcohol expert, but as an expat and a resident of this country, and I will give the information that tourists need. I must say right away that the article may contain my personal opinion, my own experience and feelings, and not encyclopedic information.
Table of contents:
- Why Rum is the most popular alcoholic drink in the Dominican Republic.
- Rum of the Dominican Republic: producers or what is 3B
- Classification of rum in the Dominican Republic
- Dominican cocktails
- Prices and where to buy
- Travel Tips
All about Dominican rum
Let’s start in a logical order and by the end of the article you will know everything about rum in the Dominican Republic. And even a little more than necessary.
Why rum is the most popular drink in the Dominican Republic
Here you also need to add “and the cheapest”. And here’s why:
- Dominican Republic is the leader of the region (North and Latin America) in sugar production
- Sugar in this country is made from sugar cane.
- There are a lot of sugarcane plantations here. Banana and sugar plantations occupy most of the agricultural land. And what other fruits grow in the Dominican Republic, besides bananas, read the article at the link.
- A by-product in the production of sugar, after its crystallization, is cane juice.
- Once upon a time, it was simply thrown out. And one smart one fermented the cane juice and distilled it. The result was rum alcohol.
- It is diluted with water to a strength of 37.5 degrees (this is the standard degree for rum). And now you can drink it. And it’s already on sale.
Interesting to know:
All producers of the Dominican Republic, this rum is still aged in barrels from various drinks and spices (vanilla, cinnamon) are added. Each manufacturer ages the rum in different oak barrels, some bourbon, some sherry, and so on. The number of years of aging is also different. But more then more expensive.
I think now you understand why rum in the Dominican Republic is very cheap and the most popular alcoholic drink. Because raw materials for its production grow here in large quantities, and cane juice is obtained, consider it free.
Dominican rum: producers or 3B
There are more than 10 rum producers in this country. And, probably, there are also very small and local factories for the production, so their number can be much larger. But the largest, most famous, and most popular rum producer in the country are these three.
- Brugal
- Barcelo
- Bermudez
Now do you understand why they are called 3B or BBB? 🙂
These three producers produce 90% of all rum in the Dominican Republic.
Classification of rum in the Dominican Republic
And now in more detail, so that you understand what to buy, what to bring to a friend as a gift and just interesting moments. There are many types and classifications of rum, but there are not many basic and affordable ones. So let’s go.
Blanco
- Blanco – the usual, simplest, cheapest white rum. It is also sometimes called silver rum. This is exactly the same rum that I wrote about above. Without spices and aging in oak barrels. Just the finished product after distillation and diluted with water to the desired degree.
It has two advantages over the rest: it is the cheapest and it is recommended to be used for a whole list of Dominican cocktails. And there will be a whole chapter on this below.
Dorado
- Dorado – this is a golden rum. It is also golden in color. Everywhere on the Internet they write and claim that this is aged rum in barrels up to 2 years. Personal opinion of the author (me) that this is not so
- Firstly, this is not written anywhere on the bottles about age.
- And secondly, if it is without spices, then in a blind tasting you will not distinguish the difference from Blanco rum.
Good to know:
Rum Dorado or golden rum, this is the same as Blanco, only with a dye. They use the same sugar color that is used to color cheap whiskey or cognac. But sometimes, this rum is still insisted for 2 weeks on spices, such as vanilla or cinnamon. But they certainly don’t age in barrels.
As a rule, dorado and blanco are sold in the store at the same price.
Anejo
- Literally translated from Spanish as – old rum. This is the most popular rum among tourists in the Dominican Republic. And the most popular alcoholic drink.
It is priced just a little more expensive than Blanco and Dorado, but this rum is definitely aged in oak barrels. It no longer tastes of alcohol, but of a noble drink with an aftertaste. Well, the color is like cognac.
It is important to know:
Everywhere on the Internet, again, they write that this rum is aged at least 5 years. The moment is very controversial.
If the rum is aged for 5 years or more, then in the Dominican Republic this will be written on the bottle. But this is not on the bottles of Añejo rum. And it should be something like:
- 5 Anos – 5 years
- 7 anos – 7 years old
- 12 Anos – 12 years old (this is really a different rum)
As you understand, Anos in Spanish is the Year. In general, with English here the trouble is incredible. I recommend an article, 20 phrases for a tourist who flies to the Dominican Republic. This article will help you at least a little to cope with the language barrier in the Dominican Republic.
Total:
If you just see on the bottle: Anejo, then this means that the rum is aged 2-3 years in bourbon/sherry casks, etc. Maybe with spices, maybe not. But if the rum is aged for 5 years or more. That is sure on the bottle, in addition to Anejo, there will be an inscription 5 Anos or more.
Rum Extra Viejo
- Translated as extra old rum, super old or very old.
This is the same as Anejo rum, and the aging technology is the same. Only aging in barrels starts from 8 years. Well, accordingly, the bottle should be written how many years and in which barrels.
Dominican premium rum
This is a whole class of drinks and each of the three manufacturers has its own types of Vip class rum. Such a drink should be taken home as a gift. And what else to bring from the Dominican Republic, read the link.
If the previous 4 types of rum (Blanco, Dorado, Anejo, Extra Viejo) are available from all manufacturers. That is further only the individual fantasy of each manufacturer separately. And prices can already reach several thousand dollars per bottle. But there are a few bottles that are not ashamed to give, and cost reasonable money up to $50. Here are a few of them:
- Brugal 1888 – it is aged in two types of barrels for 15 years. In expensive duty free, a bottle costs $45. In the store you can buy from $ 25 for the bottle.
- Brugal Unico (even without translation it is clear that it is unique) – everything is simple here, just rum aging for 20 years. This rum is already more expensive. 20 is a good age.
- Barcelo Imperial is one of the most popular varieties of Dominican rum. Exposure 10 years.
- There is also Imperial Premium. It is similar in production technology to Brugal 1888. Also 15 years old and also in two types of barrels.
Dominican cocktails
In addition to the fact that rum is the national drink of the Dominican Republic. Also cocktails are the pride of this country. Below is a list of the most popular Dominican cocktails. You can order any of them in any bar or restaurant. And also, if you want, most of it is easy to make by yourself. All the necessary ingredients are easy to buy at any store.
Follow the link to read about the national cuisine of the Dominican Republic.
Below is a list of famous Dominican cocktails. You will be surprised, but almost all of you know for sure, and maybe even drank. There will be their composition and ingredients, and where necessary the author’s comments 🙂
Cocktails based on Dominican rum
- Cuba Libre is a legend. The easiest cocktail you can make yourself anywhere.
- Rum
- Coca Cola
- Lime
- Ice at will
- Mix in proportions as desired. Love stronger then add more rum. If you want to remember everything – less rum. Pour into a glass and drink.
- Pina Colada is the second most popular cocktail known throughout the world.
- Rum
- Coconut milk
- Pineapple juice
- Ice at will
- By the way, all the ingredients are sold in any store in the country, even the smallest one. Coconut milk is very popular here. Half of the dishes with meat are stewed with it. Therefore, it is easy to buy it here absolutely everywhere.
- El Diablo is a very popular cocktail. But one ingredient can cause difficulty.
- Rum, necessarily dark (aged)
- Vermouth, sold everywhere
- Grenadine syrup, this is where problems can arise 🙂
- Lime
- Ice at will
- But the cocktail is just a bomb. My favorite.
- And of course, the well-known Mojito. I will not write the composition, so everyone knows. The only difficulty here is mint. Sold only in large hypermarkets. If you find it, you will find all the other ingredients without problems.
As you can see, all 4 main Dominican cocktails are with rum. Therefore, we can say that rum is the main alcoholic drink of the Dominican Republic. And no party is complete without it. Beer and vodka are not very popular here.
It is important to know:
Rum is part of one tincture, which is only in the Dominican Republic – Mamajuana. What is this magical drink, and how to prepare it, read the article at the link.
Prices and where to buy
Rum in the Dominican Republic can be bought absolutely everywhere. In every cafe and restaurant (except for cafes for locals, alcohol is not sold there), in every shop, even if it is 2 by 2 meters. Read about the shops of the country at the link.
It is important to know:
- Absolutely in every store there will be rum Brugal, Barcelo and Bermudez.
- But there will be exactly the simplest and most massive types of it: Blanco, Dorado and Anejo.
- In large hypermarkets, the assortment is wider and it will be possible to find both 10 and 20 year aging.
- The widest range of premium rum is in souvenir shops. It is more expensive here, but there is someone who will advise you and tell you the features of each bottle.
Good to know:
If you have mobile Internet, then I recommend buying premium and gift rum in large hypermarkets. There is a choice here, and what kind of rum you can already see on the Internet. There are enough sites. In large stores, premium rum is cheaper than in souvenir shops. Follow the link to an article about mobile communications and the Internet in the Dominican Republic.
Rum prices in the Dominican Republic
Prices will be average in stores. I will immediately convert to $. And how much it costs in pesos can be seen in some of the photos from this article.
An interesting fact, even two:
Although in the Dominican Republic almost all liquids are measured in ounces and gallons, rum is here in liters. In the country, the standard volume of a bottle with this alcoholic drink is 0.35l or 0.7l. You won’t find a 0.5l bottle of rum here.
| Rum | 0,35l | 0,7l |
| Blanco | 4$ | 7$ |
| Dorado | 4$ | 7$ |
| Añejo | 5$ | 8$ |
| Extra Viejo | from 6,5$ | from 10$ |
| Brugal 1888 (great gift) | – | 25$ |
Read more about prices in the Dominican Republic, for all categories of goods that interest tourists, in a large article at the link.
Dominican rum travel tips
- Do not buy Dominican rum on the beach, there may be fakes.
- Doing Cuba Libre yourself in your hotel room and in the evening sitting with a glass on the terrace and looking at the ocean, it’s very simple.
- For cocktails, use the cheapest rum: Blanco or Dorado
- Remember that when leaving the Dominican Republic, there are no limits on the export of alcohol, or they are simply very large from 5 liters per person.
- But there are limits on the import of alcohol into your country, for example, USA and Europe are allowed to import 1 liters per person. Please clarify this question beforehand.
In conclusion: I hope you have learned everything about Dominican rum and no one has any questions left. In this country, all residents drink only rum, someone in its pure form, someone in cocktails or tinctures, for example, Mamajuana. But in any case, this is the main alcoholic drink of the Dominican Republic. If you have any questions write in the comments.
Cool parties to you, and good health in the morning!
Resources to help you plan your dream trip to Dominican Republic
- Flights at the best prices with discounts
- Car rental: DiscoverCars – a largest international resource
- Hotels and apartments:
- Vacation packages:
- Tours, excursions and extreme activities:
- GetYourGuide – more than 800+ tours and water activities.
- Viator – 3500+ tours and excursions in Dominican.
- Comprehensive travel insurance: EKTA
- Internet and Calls:
- Airalo – eSIM with internet package.
- Drimsim – universal SIM card (or eSIM) in any country in the world.
- Taxi and airport transfers: Intui.Travel