Traditionally the Dominican Republic rum industry was well known for three brands known as the three B’s; Barceló, Bermudez and Brugal, the last two established since the 1800s and Barceló today probably the best Dominican brand known internationally. However, today they share the Dominican rum industry scene with several other albeit minor producers. There are only two rum distilleries operating in the Dominican Republic: Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos (AFD) and Brugal & Co. CxA, all other producers either use natural spirits produced by AFD or imported.

In 2021 the Dominican Republic regulations establish requirements to be met in order for a product to be identified as Ron Dominicano, that is, a product denomination of origin. These regulations require that rum producers harvest their own sugar cane or use either molasses or sugarcane juice from sugarcane grown in the Dominican Republic. Fermentation, distillation and aging of the the alcohol must happen within the country’s borders and aging must also happen within the country’s borders for a minimum of one year.

Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos

AFD was established in 2010 just outside the town of Consuelo near San Pedro de Macorís as a joint venture between Ron Barceló S.R.L. and Yazoo Investments S.R.L. which is the corporate name acting indistinctively under the brand names Rones y Bebidas del Caribe or Rones y Bebidas del Caribe Yazoo. Rones y Bebidas del Caribe was established in 2006 when Grupo CABC (Corporación Alcoholes y Bebidas del Caribe), itself established in 1993 in Carúpano, Venezuela faced with issues exporting their product, moved their operations to the Free Trade Zone in San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic.

AFD uses sugarcane juice rather than molasses for its distillates, however, its products are quite different and not considered rhum agricole. Benefitting from its location in a Free Trade Zone, most of its product is exported in bulk to customers in more than thirty three countries within the five continents, producing more than three hundred seventy five different formulas. While AFD does not release an official or exact percentage of their exports, trade data shows that they export the vast majority (80% to 90%) of their production.

AFD sources its sugarcane from approximately seventeen thousand three hundred acres grown on its own sugarcane fields as well as from local growers including the Hazin and Santoni families who are also investors in the company.

J. Armando Bermúdez & Co.

Bermúdez is the oldest commercial rum manufacturer in the Dominican Republic, established by Venezuelan immigrant and some say pharmacist some and some say a medical student at the time, Erasmo Bermúdez Jiménez (1825–1907) in Santiago de los Caballeros. In 1849 Bermúdez created a high-alcohol content elixir made from sugarcane and molasses called Amargo Panacea, originally intended to treat ailments and respiratory issues. It quickly became a popular aperitif, leading him to establish La Sin Rival Fabrica de Licores in 1852 , the first spirits factory in Santiago de los Caballeros. Erasmo was the son of Gen. José Francisco Bermúdez, a close ally of Simón Bolívar’s Liberation Army who emigrated from Venezuelan at the end of the War for Independence (1810-1823).

The business grew and started to be distributed all throughout the country. But during the Dominican Restoration War (1863-1865), on September 6, 1863 a massive fire razed Santiago to the ground destroying the original La Sin Rival distillery. Erasmo claimed he had nothing to do with the fire supposedly caused by Spanish Army Brig. Gen. Buceta and requested compensation since he was neither Spanish nor Dominican. The Spanish colonial government compensated Bermúdez for the damages, allowing the company to rebuild and expand.

Erasmo married and had seven children, including José Armando “Papá Mando” Bermúdez Rochet (1871-1941) who established his own distillery in 1897 and became a prosperous farmer in Banegas outside of Santiago de los Caballeros. José Armando’s brother Manuel Bermúdez Rochet was involved in the liquor business. Up and until the turn of the 20th Century distillers in the Dominican Republic used pot stills, Manuel was the first to install a continuous distillation column made in France by Egrot y Grangé.

In 1927 José Armando bought the business La Sin Rival Fábrica de Licores from his father and took over the distillery, created the formula for a refined rum and reincorporated the company as J. Armando Bermúdez & Co., S.A. and Destilería del Yaque, CxA. Its first administrator was José Armando’s son Domingo Octavio “Minguito” Bermúdez Ramos (1902-1967) , responsibilities he held until his death in 1967 and under whose leadership the company transformed into a massive national institution that laid the groundwork for the modern Dominican rum industry. Domingo did not have any descendants, so he pretty much adopted his nephew José Armando “Poppy” Bermudez Pippa (1928-2014) whom he treated like a son. Domingo sent him to Greenbrier Military Academy in West Virginia and and later college. When he returned to the island in 1950, Domingo made sure Poppy learned all the ins and outs of the business.

When Domingo died without any descendants in 1967, in August of that year his two surviving brothers José Ignacio Bermúdez Ramos (1899–1968) and Aquiles Bermúdez Ramos (1901–1970), decided to hand the administration of the business to Aquiles son José Armando “Poppy” Bermudez Pippa (1928-2014) who held the position until 1990. Under his leadership Bermudez became the best selling rum brand in the Dominican Republic.

Bermudez stopped distilling operations in 2001 when they started importing natural spirits aged and blended in their aging cellars, the oldest in the country, producing light style rums. Their flagship products include Bermúdez Añejo, Bermúdez Dorado, Palo Viejo [1], and the ultra-premium Don Armando Reserva.

Kirk & Sweeney rum is produced at the Bermúdez Distillery for 3 Badge Beverage Corp. who is the owner and distributor of the brand. Le Kirk & Sweeney was a wooden schooner best known for smuggling rum from the Caribbean to the Northeast during the early years of prohibition, particularly to Long Island, New York. The boat is now at the U.S. Coast Guard Museum on Long Island. In the spirit of this rum runner, the Sebastiani family, owner of 3 Badge Beverage Corp, named its brand of premium rums. Their expressions are aged and bottled in small batches at 40% ABV without any additives or sugar dosage. Their Reserva rum is aged between 3 and 12 years with the majority of the liquid in the batch being 12 years old. The Gran Reserva is selected from rums aged between 5 and 20 years, with the majority of the liquid in the batch being 18 years old. The Gran Reserva Superior is selected from rums aged between 6 and 25 years, with the majority of the liquid in the batch being 23 years old. Finally, their XO is solely a 25-year-old rum, bottled at a higher proof than the rest of the range, at 65.5% ABV.

Brugal & Co. C por A

Before coming to the Dominican Republic in 1887, Spanish immigrant from Sitges, Catalonia Andrés Brugal Montaner settled in Cuba around 1870 where he mastered the art of rum making. In 1888 he established Brugal, Sobrino & Cia. Brugal & Co. C por A in Puerto Plata, today one of the oldest and most celebrated rum producers in the Dominican Republic, renowned for its double-aged casks and dry flavor profile. Their flagship premium expression, Brugal 1888 is double-aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.

In 1919 Brugal became the first Dominican rum to sell a pure, light spirit that omitted harsher, cheaper aguardientes. Shortly thereafter, in 1920 they released their first golden aged rum, pioneering the practice of barrel-aging in the country. In 1940 the second generation of the Brugal family introduced the signature netting around the bottles to protect them during turbulent travel, tradition that remains today as an iconic symbol of the brand. In 1952 they launched Brugal Añejo and in 1976 they built a state-of-the-art distillery in Puerto Plata equipped with modern technology and launched Brugal Extra Viejo as the company expanded its repertoire of premium, oak-aged rums.

In 2008 Glasgow based Edrington, owner of the Macallan single malt whisky brand, acquired a majority stake in Brugal, propelling the brand to a global, ultra-premium stage while maintaining its Dominican heritage and leadership representation by the founding family's fifth-generation. Brugal uses only locally produced molasses for its distillates using two Spanish built multicolumn tills. While the distillery and blending facilities are located in San Pedro de Macorís on the south coast , the visitor center, aging warehouses and bottling facilities are located in Puerto Plata near the north coast.

They transport the distillate from their plant in San Pedro de Macorís to Puerto Plata where, led by Master Blender Jassil Villanueva Quintana who is Brugal’s and the Dominican Republic's first female Master Blender, the aging and blending process is completed. Brugal states that 85% of its rum’s flavor come from its aging process mostly done in ex-bourbon casks, ex-oloro and Pedro Ximenez sherry European oak casks.

Ron Barceló S.R.L

In 1929, twenty six years old Spanish immigrant from Mallorca, Spain Julián Barceló and his brother Andrés Barceló arrived in the Dominican Republic. In early 1930 they established Barceló & Co. in San Pedro de Macorís to begin distilling and selling rum. On September 3, 1930, Hurricane San Zenón made landfall in the Dominican Republic and destroyed the distillery, Andrés then left the island to live in Puerto Rico where he later established Barceló, Marqués & Cia. producers of the Palo Viejo rum brand, leaving Julián to continue his dream in the Dominican Republic.

In 1950 the company was able to position itself locally when it brought to market its white and gold expressions, Barceló Blanco and Barceló Dorado. In 1970 they launched Ron Barceló Añejo, which over time became the most exported Dominican rum, and in the 1980s they launched Ron Barceló Imperial, now the flagship Premium Rum among all Dominican rums. In 2010 they launched Barceló Imperial Premium Blend 30th Anniversary celebrating thirty years of the original Barceló Imperial. They also produce Gran Añejo, an aged dark rum and Gran Platinum, a filtered white rum that retains the flavor profile of the aged version.

Their corporate structure channged in 2001 when Barceló & Co. underwent a restructuring, splitting its domestic and international operations in two entities; Añejos Barceló now known as Ron Barceló S.R.L. and Barceló Internacional S. A. (BAINSA). All domestic activities including the production, aging and international distribution of the Ron Barceló brand are done by Ron Barceló S.R.L. and BAINSA is the corporate export arm created to market and distribute Ron Barceló globally outside of the Dominican Republic. Today Ron Barceló S.R.L. is majority owned by the Spanish spirits marketer Grupo Varma and is directed by a Board of Directors that includes members of the founding Barceló family. BEICA (Bebidas Internacionales C. por A.) headed by Alberto Nogueira, CEO of Ron Barceló S.R.L., is the Dominican consortium formed by the Barceló family and Grupo Varma responsible for the manufacturing side of the business and global operations.

In 2006 Ron Barceló S.R.L. fully acquired the international and local rights to the Ron Barceló brand and today, Ron Barceló S.R.L. is the parent and operating company for the global rum brand, while the legacy entity Barceló & Co. primarily focuses on the agricultural side, such as their sugarcane plantations. International sales and marketing were then handled via strategic partnerships with regional distributors like Grupo Varma in Spain, Disaronno International in the UK and Shaw-Ross in the United States rather than fully owned subsidiaries. In 2010 Barceló S.R.L. stopped distilling and started sourcing their neutral spirits from Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos, a distillery established in 2010 partially owned by them thus being the only Dominican rum made from the fermentation of sugar cane juice instead of molasses.

Ron Barceló is the most exported rum brand in the Dominican Republic. According to International Wine & Spirits Research (IWSR), during 2022 Grupo Varma sold 1,310,900 cases of Barceló Añejo alone, with an estimated value over €224 million. Of their total production, about 50% is sold in Spain and the remainder is sold locally in the Dominican Republic and worldwide.

Matusalem & Co.

According to information on its website, the history of Ron Matusalem starts with Spanish immigrant from Lloret del Mar in Catalonia Pau “Pablo” Nonell Garriga (1837- ) who established himself in Santiago de Cuba 1850 and by 1872 had saved enough money to partner with two fellow Spaniards with experience in producing sherry wines and brandy to open a rum factory. His history is similar to that of Facundo Bacardí, who upon arrival in Santiago was learning the trade of merchant for ten years, until becoming a wine importer and began experimenting with the rum distillation process, to obtain a smoother drink. The acceptance of the so-called Superior Rum they developed was such that by 1860 there were already more than a thousand distilleries of this product throughout Cuba. One of the first documents that indicate the existence of Nonell’s distillery is from 1885 when the imports section of the Santiago de Cuba commercial magazine states that the brig Clara, from Barcelona, ​​served an order of sixty four quarteroles [2] of wine to Pau Nonell. Already by that time he was producing a rum named Ron Jamaica

In 1876 Pau married his niece Carolina Camp Nonell (1863- ), the daughter of his sister Anna Nonell Garriga ( -1910) and Esteve Camp Nonell ( -ca.1880). Sometime between 1880 and1885 Pau nephews and at the same time brothers-in-law Enric Camp Nonell (1863-1914) and Banjamí Camp Nonell (1869-1958) joined the firm. In 1888 the Dirección General de Administración y Fomento of the Ministerio de Ultramar approved the transfer of Pau Nonell’s liquor brand which included Ron Golondrina to E. Camp & Cia. In 1907 Pau Nonell had already retired to live in Barcelona and the company name was changed to Camp Hnos. In 1912 Benjami returned to live in Madrid and Enric remained in Santiago running the business until his death in 1914.

Upon the death of Enric and Pau’s retirement in Barcelona, the company would pass into the hands of Benjamí Camp who was an absentee owner. The Official Bulletin of the National Office of Inventions, Technical Information and Trademarks from 1916, show that the products previously produced by Camp Hnos. were already under the name of B. Camp & Cía. With the death of Enric in 1914 and with Pau Nonell and Benjamí Camp returned to Spain, Eduard Camp Vilardebó (1877-1951), the son of Eduardo Camp Nonell (brother of Esteve Camp Nonell) and Júlia Vilardebó would take over management of the company in Santiago de Cuba and would distribute the profits to the rest of the partners.

In 1912, Eduard Camp married Justina Álvarez Lefebre the daughter of Evaristo Álvarez Prieto. In 1925 Evaristo and his son Claudio Álvarez Lefebre took over the reigns of the company which name was then changed to Álvarez Camp & Cia. S en C, name that was retained until 1959 when the company was expropriated by the Fidel Castro regime. In 1942 management was assumed by Claudio Álvarez Soriano the son of Claudio Álvarez Lefebre’s and his wife Maria Soriano Gil. In the 1951 Eduard Camp died and in 1955 so did Claudio Álvarez Lefebre and six months later in 1956 his son Claudio Álvarez Soriano also passed away. As a result of the 1959 Cuban revolution, Claudio Álvarez Soriano’s wife Carmen Delfina Salazar left Cuba with her four children and settled in Miami.

Due to a decades-long trademark and family feud and a short period of production in Puerto Rico, the brand faded in the late 20th century. The court case Ron Matusalem & Matusa of Florida, Inc., a Floridacorporation, Plaintiff-counterdefendant, Appellant, v. Ron Matusalem, Inc., a Corporation of the Commonwealth Ofpuerto Rico, and United Liquors Corporation, Aflorida Corporation,defendants-counterplaintiffs, Appellees,manuel A. Guarch, Jr. and Luisa Alvarez Soriano, Counterdefendants decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on May 13, 1989 clearly states all the developments and issues that the family went through after leaving Cuba. After settling the case and the family disputes that caused severe business disruption, in the 1990s Claudio Álvarez Salazar relaunched the company in the Dominican Republic where Matusalem rums are produced and aged today under the leadership of his son, fifth generation family member Claudio Álvarez Renaud.

Today operating as a non-distilling producer, they produce Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 15, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 23 launched in 2010, Ron Insólito, the limited production Matusalem Sublime and their latest expression launched in 2024 Matusalem Lefebre aged in French barrels.

Vinicola del Norte S. A.

Vinicola del Norte S. A. was initially established in Puerto Plata in 1962 as a wine producer and distributor by Juan Brugal Pérez with the financial backing of the likes of Brugal y Cía., Luis Arzeno, Miguel Ripoll, Plácido Brugal, Dr. Osvaldo Brugal and Manuel Abbott. Today, although its manufacturing facilities where they produce rum, whisky, liqueurs, wine, gin and other products are in Puerto Plata, its administrative offices are located in Santo Domingo.

In 2009 they acquired the Ron Macorix brand which had been established since 1899 by the Carrión family of San Pedro de Macorís. They are a non-distiller producer which rum base purchased locally is made from sugar cane and aged on their premises. Their product line includes aged rums, flavored rums and blends that combine different rum styles including the Don Rhon brand which features their flagship dark rum, aged for at least 12 years in American white oak barrels. They also distribute Rum Barbancourt in the Dominican Republic.

"La Isabela" is located in Santo Domingo's industrial area, the former "Ron Siboney" facilities. It is a rectifying plant yielding neutral alcohol of extraordinary quality. The construction of the plant by INEQSIS finalized in July 2001. The distillery is now in full production.

Bodegas Cochón Calvo, S.A.

Cochón Calvo & Cia. was established in Santo Domingo by Spanish immigrant from Pontevedra, Galicia Claudino Cochón Calvo (1892- ) who arrived in the Dominican Republic from Puerto Rico where he had a soda manufacturing business. In 1916 Cochón-Calvo & Cia. established the Colón Distillery on the west bank of the Ozama River and started producing rum brands like Ron Don Jorge, Ron Champion, Ron Caribe, Ron Caribe Viejo and Ron Brandy. It was not until 1920 that Cochón-Calvo & Cia. started producing Ron Siboney which eventually became their mainstay and flagship brand. According to an interview with José Alfonso Cochón Jiménez in 2025, Ron Siboney Reserva Especial was the first three year aged rum in the Dominican Republic at a time when all other local rums brands were aged only one year.

Claudino then brought three of his brothers who was at the time were living in Uruguay, to help in the business which they were very successful in developing and grow to be one of the leading brands in the country. In 1951 Claudino decides to return to live in Spain and leaves one of them, José Cochón Calvo (1908-1980) in charge, duties he successfully performed for the next twenty nine years until his death. In the early 1970s, a period of tumultuous political issues in the Dominican Republic, José’s two brothers who were part of the company, decide to return to live in Spain. Finding himself alone, José looked into the possibility of selling part of the company and entered into conversations with Charles Bluhdorn of Gulf+Western, who had recently acquired Central Romana from the South Porto Rico Sugar Co., however, even though Mr. Bludhorn showed interest in the acquisition, the deal did not go through. That being the case, José then brought in as partners a group of Spanish investors and with the new found capital a new distillery called La Isabela was built, the aging warehouses were expanded and relocated to the San Isidro area and in terms of sales became the number two firm in the country behind Bermúdez.

Unfortunately, on April 17, 1980 a fire that destroyed the distilling plant claimed José’s life and four others including his secretary. Without José’s leadership and the lack of expertise in the new management, who shortly after his death changed the corporate name from Cochón Calvo & Cia. to Licorería Siboney S.A., the company fell into difficult financial times that resulted in its closure in 1986 when the Banco Central de la República Dominicana foreclosed on its assets for unpaid debt. That being the case Ron Siboney disappeared from the market.

In the 1990s, José Alfonso Cochón Jimenez, who had become an attorney but had always envisioned returning to the rum business and reestablishing the Ron Siboney name, began registering the brand again. In November 2004, armed with the family’s formula and the right to the Ron Siboney’s name, José finalized conversations with BEICA who was starting their association with the Barceló family, and began an association that resulted in the establishment of Bodegas Cochón Calvo S. A. and the resurgence of Ron Siboney, this time manufactured by BEICA.

In 2015 the partnership with BEICA ended and a new partnership with the Rizek family, a prominent business enterprise known for Rizek Cacao S.A.S., a century-old cacao and chocolate enterprise that today is a conglomerate spanning agribusiness, energy, tourism and financial services and United Brands, who is responsible for marketing and distribution. They now operate their own rectifying plant [3] La Isabela built in 2001 by INEQSIS at the former Ron Siboney facilities.

Oliver & Oliver

Juanillo Oliver arrived in Cuba in 1856 as a member of the Spanish military, at the end of his military service in 1874, rather than returning to Spain he decided to settle in Cuba and get involved in the rum business. Today, Oliver is a village in Camajuaní, Villa Clara Province where he settled. Oliver harvested his own sugar cane to create rum, but during the Cuban War of Independence, the Oliver family estate was burned down and rum production was abandoned. Following the Fidel Castro revolution, the family left Cuba and settled in Santo Domingo in 1963.

It was not until 1994 when Oliver & Oliver International Inc. was established in Santo Domingo by Juanillo’s great-great-grandson Pedro Ramón Oliver who wanted to continue his great-great-grandfather’s work and produce rum to the same standard after finding documents containing the formulas and processes used by Juanillo. The firm was reorganized under the corporate name of Oliver & Oliver in 1997.

This firm is a relative newcomer to the Dominican rum scene. They are a non-distiller producer that purchases natural spirits from Panama, Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago and blends and ages them in their facilities at the Hato Nuevo Free Trade Zone in Santo Domingo, mainly using the solera method. Brands in their line of products include Cubaney, Quorhum, Opthimus, Guantanamera, Cubanacan and Vizcaya.

Isidro Bordas S.A.

Isidro Bordas S.A. was established by Juan Isidro Bordas Fernandez (1899-1989) in 1935 in Santiago de los Caballeros. Today they still are headquartered in Santiago de los Caballeros and also have a distribution office in the Herrera Free Trade Zone in Santo Domingo. They produce a wide array of spirits, rums, and wines and a locally well known traditional eggnog-style cream liqueur. Their rum labels include Isidro Bordas and their premium rum Don Isidro,

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[1] Palo Viejo is Puerto Rican rum produced by Destilería Serrallés. However, in the Dominican Republic, Bermúdez produces the well known expression called Ron Viejo Bermúdez that is sometimes referred to by locals as Palo Viejo.

[2] Measure for liquids in general equivalent to ¼ of a barrel.

[3] A rectifier buys bulk alcohol or wine and redistills it using towering fractional distillation columns to extreme purity, or simply blends, filters, and flavors it to a specific recipe.