107: San Juan Artisan Distillers & the Emerging Puerto Rican Craft Rum Scene with Pepe Álvarez

In this episode we talked to Pepe Álvarez, founder of San Juan Artisan Distillers, the only Puerto Rican distillery making pot still rum from fresh sugarcane juice in a true farm-to-bottle setting.You may recall we featured Pepe as one of three interviewees in an episode back in 2021, but we wanted to bring him back for a solo interview so we could take a deeper dive into what we both think is a super interesting distillery making great rum.It was also a chance to speak more broadly about the new wave of craft rum distilleries that have launched in Puerto Rico over the past decade or so, opening an exciting new chapter for the island's rum industry.We discussed:Creating a new, unconventional style of Puerto Rican rumThe evolution of the distillery's sugarcane farming operationHow much help Puerto Rico's craft distilleries receive from the government's rum tax cover over relative to the big distilleries on the islandIdeas for leveling the playing field in Puerto Rican rumWorking with legends in rum like Frank Ward and Luis PlanasLearning to make pot still rum on an island where no one used pot stillsDeciding on bottling ABVThe broader craft rum scene in Puerto RicoThe perils of finding distribution outside the islandUpcoming blends and releases from San Juan Artisan DistillersAnd much more!Oh, and John decided to replace the rapid fire segment???You can check out San Juan Artisan Distillers' website here: https://sanjuanartisandistillers.com/P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.