Interview: Producing world-leading rum with Diplomático's Master Distiller and Blender

Last night, Drinks Trade staff had the chance to catch up with Venezuelan Nelson Hernandez, Diplomático's Master Blender and Distiller (Diplomático's Maestro Ronero), during his brief stay in Sydney.

This is what Hernandez had to say:

Drinks Trade: Diplomático is one of the world’s leading rums... what's its secret?

Nelson Hernandez: Yes, Diplomático is located in the top five premium rums in the world! 

Diplomático is different because alongside excellent raw materials, we do a number of things differently at the distillery. We use five different and unique types of stills that each result in very different new-make spirit. This is quite unique in Venezuela where most of the producers use only column stills. 

[Also, we use] different barrels: We use ex-bourbon barrels, ex-Scotch Whisky and ex-Sherry, aged for different times depending on the new-make inside the barrel and the final rum we are creting. The final step is to combine the different rums from different barrels and different ages in proportions - to create unique rums.

It's not a 'secret' because we say completely transparently what we make at Diplomático. We say how we produce our rum. When we say it's different, we show you why it's different.

And that is the form [of rum] that we produce at Diplomático, it's our style. It's a blend style, it's a combination of different styles. 

DT: Can you explain the different distilling methods and what Diplomático gains by combining them together?

NH: Normally the most quantity of the rum produced in the international market is produced by column [still]. Maybe around 90% of the rum is produced by column and around 10% is produced by pot still, or the combination. Diplomático is the combination of the five different new-make spirits.

Most Venezuelan rums are considered in the Spanish style, which is a lighter flavoured rum. This is because almost all the rum produced in Venezuela is produced by Column Stills, using molasses for raw material resulting in a flavour with strong tropical fruit aromas. But our distillery has a distillation equipment beyond column stills - for example, our pot still uses a process that is not the most efficient, but the smell when you make it is so powerful. When you distil in a pot still, the final make is herbal, fruity, creamy and oily. It's so complex! 

So, our difference is that we produce using three different methods of distillation - British (Pot Still) , French (Column Still), & American (Kettle Still). We believe this is truly unique, and by creating these different liquids and bringing them together in the bottle helps us create rums of unrivalled complexity. 

DT: Can you describe the profile this creates?

NH: It's something different... very smooth, very rounded, so complex, so balanced! For this reason, the people love Diplomático.

DT: How about ageing the rum… Does Diplomático use solera or traditional ageing?

NH: The method that is used for producing Diplomático rum is a static method, it's not solera method. The big difference between the static method versus solera method is, in the static method, you don't refill the evaporation losses or cure during the ageing process. It's different in the solera method because all the time you refill, you refill, you refill… If you age in one method and you age in another method, the final profile is different when you prepare a rum.

DT: Diplomático was acquired by Brown-Forman in 2022… How have things been going for Diplomático since then?

NH: Diplomático had presence in 100 different countries before Brown-Forman. Brown-Forman has presence in 170 different countries. There is a big potential to increase the presence of Diplomático in the world.

It's a very good situation to increase the presence and the volume.

DT: Any thoughts on Australian rum?

NH: It's my first time to visit to Australia - I don't have much time to review all the other local brands produced in Australia - maybe in my next visit I will have a chance to taste… But I'm hearing good comments about the local rum! 

In this visit, I'm so impressed with Australia. For one of the biggest countries, it's a nice country, and the main impression to me is the people. People are so kind, so family, so open, enjoying, and I think that their personality is similar to the Latin American people.