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Flor de Caña

Flor de Caña (Spanish for "sugarcane flower") is a brand of premium rum manufactured and distributed by Compañía Licorera de Nicaragua, S.A., (CLNSA) which is headquartered in Managua, Nicaragua. It is currently owned by billionaire Carlos Pellas Chamorro, the fifth generation owner of this company. Rum has been produced at Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited since 1890, and the Flor de Caña brand was created in 1937.

History

In 1875, 25-year-old Francisco Alfredo Pellas Canessa immigrated to Nicaragua from Genoa, Italy, in order to oversee the shipping business of his father, Carlos Napoleon. He decided to stay in the country, and with financial assistance from his father, he created a shipping company of 23 steamboats on Lake Nicaragua to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Nicaragua.[1] His hope was that the US would build a canal through Nicaragua, however, following the start of construction on the Panama Canal and the expansion of the transcontinental railroad, Pellas sold the shipping company.[1]

In 1890, five businessmen, with Pellas being the majority shareholder, founded Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited in Chichigalpa, at the base of the San Cristóbal volcano pictured on the labels, and registered the company in London, England.[2] At this time, rum started to be produced and aged, but in small quantities to be shared with employees and partners.[3] Pellas was made director of the company by 1908, and in 1912 the company installed new equipment and hired distillation experts for their rum production.[2] In 1937, the Flor de Caña brand was registered, with Etiqueta Amarilla and Etiqueta Roja being the first two expressions.[4][5] Alfredo Pellas Chamorro is credited with creating Compañía Licorera de Nicaragua, S.A. (CLNSA) in 1954,[5] as well as modernizing the sugar plant in 1963, increasing output six-fold.[6] In 1959, Flor de Caña began to be exported to other markets, first to Central American countries.[5][2]

In 1971, due to political instability in the country, CLNSA began construction of a new distillery in neighboring Honduras.[7] Following the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1979, the Sandinistas strictly controlled the company, and so during the 1980s, Flor de Caña rum was stored in large quantities due to the loss of control over the export market. In 1988, the properties of the company were nationalized by the government.[2] However, Carlos Pellas Chamorro, great-grandson of Francisco Alfredo Pellas Canessa, decided to stay in Nicaragua, stating that "there is no way this is going to last for long". By 1990, Flor de Caña had the largest reserve of aged rum in the world,[8] however, with the election of family member Violeta Chamorro to the presidency of Nicaragua in 1990, the companies were returned to Pellas in 1992.[6] Following the return to ownership, in 1996, the distillery was modernized once again, expanding into bio-fuels to self-sustain the company, and beginning the export of alcohol and rum in bulk to third parties.[5][2]

The company now sponsors the Flor de Caña Open, an event on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica,[9] in addition to international bar-mixing competitions.[10] It also sponsors international fishing tournaments of the International Game Fish Association.[11] In 2017 Flor de Caña was recognized at the International Wine and Spirit Competition as the Global Rum Producer of the Year.[12] The company has close ties with the Nicaraguan government, and was accused of using the police to shoot protesters in 2014 and 2018.[6]

Organization

Carlos Pellas Chamorro is the president of Flor de Caña,[13] as well as the controlling shareholder of Grupo Pellas.[14] Flor de Caña is vertically integrated, with the Pellas Group owning the Ingenio San Antonio (ISA) sugarcane plantation, four sugar mills (Ingenio San Antonio in Nicaragua, Chumbagua in Honduras, Chabil Utzaj in Guatemala, and San Carlos in Panama),[15] and the CLNSA distillery and its cooperage.[16] In total, the Pellas Group represents 13% of the GDP of Nicaragua.[6][15] Pellas is Nicaragua's first billionaire, and has close ties with the president, Daniel Ortega.[15]

Tomás Cano is the master blender at Flor de Caña.

Production

Flor de Caña is a single-estate rum, as the sugarcane plantation, molasses production, distillation, and aging all happen on-site.[17] The ash from the nearby San Cristóbal volcano provides fertilizer for the sugarcane fields.[17] The molasses from the sugar factory is pasteurized, diluted, then inoculated with a proprietary yeast to be fermented in open and closed fermenters for approximately 36 hours.[3][2] Waste carbon dioxide is collected and sold to Coca-Cola for use in bottling.[3]

The resulting wine is finished at 9% ABV, and is distilled in a five-column still, with different combinations of columns used to produce different marks.[3] These columns produce light, relatively neutral spirit at 96% ABV, common in Spanish-style rums,[3][2] though unlike many other Spanish-style rums, which are typically sweetened, Flor de Caña claims to not add any additives or sugar after distillation.[17]

Aging happens at an on-site warehouse, where 320,000 barrels continuously age.[17] The rums are diluted to 77% ABV, then aged exclusively in re-charred ex-bourbon whiskey American oak barrels which are sealed with local plantain leaves.[3][2] Barrels of the same vintage are occasionally consolidated to reduce loss to evaporation.

Flor de Caña used to make age statements on their labels, for example, "18 Years Old", but have since transitioned to simply "Centenario 18 Slow Aged", without explicitly making an age statement.[18] However, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the makers of Flor de Caña for misrepresenting age.[19] The plaintiff alleged that the number "18" prominently on the label of Flor de Caña 18 followed by the words "slow aged" has misled them into buying a rum that is not 18 years old.[20]

The distillery was certified fair trade in 2018 by Fair Trade USA and is carbon neutral.[17]

Work conditions

Over 20,000 people died of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Central America from 1995 to 2015, with most of them being sugarcane field workers on the Pacific coast, with 46% of all male deaths in Chichigalpa being attributed to the disease.[21] CKD has been linked to poor work conditions, such as long hours, and insufficient shade, rest, and water.[21] A report found that workers can work from 5 or 6 a.m to 8 p.m. during the zafra (harvest) season, during the hottest months of the year, with "no trace of water or shade to be found", strict quotas enforced, and violence employed against workers[22] and intimidation and arrests by police for speaking out or protesting.[23]

Workers at ISA, the sugarcane field that is owned by the same conglomerate as Flor de Caña, have accused the company of sickening and abandoning them, such as firing workers for getting sick and withholding medical records to cover up responsibility and avoid paying compensation.[21][23] A study found that 12% of workers at the end of a harvest season suffer from CKD, and that the hardest workers have the highest rates of this disease. Also, 21% of workers dropped out before the end-of-season testing, and home follow-ups revealed that nearly a third of them had developed CDK, suggesting that the true rate of the disease was undercounted. Workers have used false IDs in order to work despite being sick or being minors.[21] In response, ISA stated that "The company cannot compensate for something that it has not caused." and "There is no possibility that there is a sick person or a minor."[21] ISA also asserted that it utilizes best practices for worker hydration, rest, and shade.[22] The company has sent mobile clinics to its fields, and owns a hospital which offers healthcare to the workers.[15]

However, following widespread criticism, the company took matters seriously and instituted the Adelante Initiative, which included ceasing subcontracting which allowed for the sick and minors to work, and took direct responsibility for all workers, including improving rest and water consumption.[24] An investigative journalist who first broke the story said that, while they can't discharge responsibility due to the company taking too long to do the right thing, they now work with the company to improve conditions, and "we have surpassed all expectations".[24]

Products

Flor de Caña produces both white and dark rums.[25]

  • Ultra Coco 4
  • Ultra Lite 4
  • Extra Lite 4
  • Extra Seco 4
  • Añejo Oro 4
  • Añejo Clásico 5
  • Gran Reserva 7
  • Blanco Reserva 7
  • Spresso
  • Flor de Caña 12
  • Flor de Caña 18
  • Flor de Cana 25

External links

References

  1. Family Legacy & 135 Years of the Art of Making Rum Flor de Caña, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  2. Matt Pietrek, Carrie Smith. Modern Caribbean Rum Wonk Press, 2022^
  3. Brian Donnelly. Flor de Caña Rum The Spirits Educator, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  4. Una historia de tradición que ha cautivado al mundo La Prensa, 11 November 2015, retrieved 11 July 2017^
  5. Historical Timeline Compañia Licorera de Nicaragua, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  6. Elisa Pastrana. El empresario nicaragüense que produce el mejor ron del mundo y está en la mira de Ortega Las 2 Orillas, January 11, 2024, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  7. Jeff Scullin. Flor de Caña Rum a Source of Pride for Nicaraguans TheLedger.com, March 20, 2004, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  8. Jude Webber. Nicaragua's Flor de Caña rum pays healthy dividends Financial Times, 2015-06-26, retrieved 2023-02-19^
  9. Nectalí Mora Zeledón. Argentino Augusto Núñez se queda con el Open Flor de Caña PGA Tour Latinoamerica La Prensa, 5 September 2016, retrieved 28 February 2017^
  10. Bartenders head to Miami to compete for Nicaragua trip Bar Magazine, March 10, 2016, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  11. Antonio Varcasia. Tranquilo Wins Flor de Cana International Tournament in Nicaragua Marlin, 3 September 2016, retrieved 5 August 2017^
  12. Flor de Caña Named Global Rum Producer of the Year FSR Magazine, 2017-11-29, retrieved 2026-04-04^
  13. Nicaragua Sugar y Flor de Caña celebran 125 años El Nuevo Diario, September 7, 2015, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  14. Navigating Nicaragua Forbes, October 20, 2009, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  15. Blake Schmidt. Meet Carlos Pellas, Nicaragua’s First Billionaire Bloomberg, November 5, 2014, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  16. The Heritage of Rum FOUR Magazine, December 8, 2014, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  17. Flora of Cana, at the top of the volcano Excellence Rhum, 15 April 2023, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  18. Matt Pietrek. Age Statements: Not Worth the Paper They’re Printed On? Cocktail Wonk, December 16, 2016, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  19. Brian White. Flor de Caña Rum Isn't Aged 18 Years, Class Action Lawsuit Claims Top Class Actions, December 29, 2020, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  20. Corrado Rizzi. Class Action Says Consumers Misled by Flor de Caña Rum Label ClassAction.org, January 6, 2021, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  21. Nani Lakhani. Nicaraguans demand action over illness killing thousands of sugar cane workers The Guardian, 16 February 2015, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  22. Phaedra Cook. Sugar Cane Worker Deaths Cause Bars To Dump Popular Rum Brand Houston Press, December 10, 2015, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  23. Clarissa Wei. The Silent Epidemic Behind Nicaragua's Rum Vice Magazine, November 27, 2015, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  24. Cyrille Hugon. Flor de Caña, a happy ending and the beginning of something greater Rumporter, 2019-11-07, retrieved 2026-04-03^
  25. Products Flor de Caña, retrieved 5 August 2017^