Liqueur Production
Distillery
The production process at Varela Hermanos S. A. starts with the distillation of alcohol from the juice of the sugarcane and the rum from molasses. Each year during the dry season (January through May) the company’s workforce in Pesé, made up of more than 200 permanent employees and 300 harvest time employees, set out to cut more than 50,000 tons of sugarcane from approximately 800 hectares of cultivated land owned by the company.
During the rainy season, the sugarcane grows and once summer comes along the cane is cut and taken to the “Destilería Don José” distillery at Pesé, where it will be weighed and then crushed to extract its juice. Afterwards, this sugarcane juice will be fermented and distilled in a 4 column system resulting in an extra neutral alcohol, used exclusively in the manufacturing of Seco Herrerano, Panama’s leading product and renowned as the national beverage.
During the rainy season, the distillation of alcohol and rum is continued, starting from molasses from the sugarcane. This alcohol and rum are utilized in the manufacturing of the company’s other products, and particularly in the preparation of Ron Abuelo and Ron Cortez for the local market and for exportation.
The company counts with two bottling plants; one in Pesé in the province of Herrera, where Seco Herrerano is mainly bottled; another at the capital, in the province of Panama, where national brands such as Ron Abuelo, Ron Cortez, Gin Caballito and others are bottled.
In the entire manufacturing process of the rums, from fermentation with yeast grown in the company’s own labs, to the aging in small barrels of white oak, a balance of the best technology and a rich tradition has been achieved, resulting in products of unequalled quality.