El Amparo Rum

Ecuador has a long tradition of spirits only produced for the local market and unknown anywhere else until very recent times and El Amparo is a shining example of this. Meaning ‘refuge’ or ‘shelter', it is also the name of the land Gonzalo Almanzor Zorrilla Toala owned, which he began to sow with sugar cane. Produced from sugar cane commonly known as Cubana Negra, from the city of Jipijapa located on the coastal region or western Ecuador. The only tool used to harvest is a machete, and the cut is made leaving about 15 cm below the bud of the cane - both to allow multiple harvests from the same plant and to prevent the juice from becoming too acidic. Distillation uses a copper still equipped with a funnel-shaped top which concentrates aromas. Briny floral, grassy with tropical under tones really gives this rum a sense of place.