the Guzmàn Family
To understand the brand and its origins, you need to understand the secrets of the Guzmàn family, from their arrival in Caracas to the takeover of the distillery by the Jimènez family.
A story that may seem original to some, very classic to others, but which remains key to understanding the origins of the product.
Chapter 1
It all started in the 1970sArturo Guzmàn, the sole heir of the Guzmàn family and owner of his own distillery, lived in luxury and lust.
The Guzmán family, one of the most influential families in Venezuela, had built its reputation for decades on a passion for rum, a love of work well done and an inimitable know-how.
Their secret: the creation of a unique blend of Jamaican and Reunionese rums to serve the quest for optimal taste balance, the sole obsession of the creator, Arturo's father, Don Jesé.
Emigrating to Venezuela in 1911, Don Jesé & his wife Sofia, biologists by training, set out in search of black gold and eventually turned to brown gold in Los Teques, a suburb of Caracas.
The distillery was an integral part of this family, and in 1931, when their son Arturo was born, after nine months of hard work, as a symbol, they developed a unique recipe which they named Don Jesé G. Ron.
Chapter 2
Don Jesé tried for four decades to interest his only son in all aspects of the recipe, but nothing worked. Arturo, on the other hand, seemed to prefer the bohemian life, the dubious company and the one-night stands.
In 1971, the destiny of the distillery was changed when Don Jesé and Sofia were killed in a road accident against a backdrop of cartels and corrupt politicians.
Arturo decided to rename their flagship rum Don Jesé G. Ron, one of the country's national emblems, to El Magnifico Ron.
He began to export his new rum internationally, neglecting his historical market, making fun of the accounting problems and the more than dubious reputation of his interlocutors, flattering his insatiable ego in the process. He was only interested in the whole world...
In 1981, Arturo literally fell in love with Marisol "La Pequeña" Jimenez, a girl from Mérida with a strong character, sister of Juan, Don Jesé's historical right-hand man.
Chapter 3
Marisol, although married to Arturo in 1986, felt that her marriage was falling apart and that he, neglecting his inheritance and preferring his new North American life, was content to live off his pension, although it had diminished as the years passed.
Juan, who repeatedly alerted his sister to the state of the distillery, could not take it anymore. His life and his work tool were withering away day by day and a feeling of grief mixed with anger had only grown since the death of his mentor.
In June 1987, they took matters into their own hands and decided to reshuffle the deck. At a gala evening, La Pequeña challenged him in front of his audience, but she already knew his reaction. She took a 20 peso coin in her hand, held it out to her husband and offered to flip a coin for his distillery, to show everyone if he was really the man he claimed to be.
He felt cornered but, to everyone's surprise, he once again let his ego get the better of his reason. And what had to happen happened...
The Jimenez family took over the management of the distillery at that time.
epilogue
To pay homage to his mentor, Juan not only rehabilitated his recipe, but also took care to have each of the bottles destined for the export market over-labelled with the El Cabrón brand, a symbol of Arturo's time in the family distillery...
Legend has it that he couldn't stand the humiliation and spent the rest of his life trying to get the whole production back so that no one could get hold of it and thus try to cover up the affront he had suffered.
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the Guzmàn Family
To understand the brand and its origins, you need to understand the secrets of the Guzmàn family, from their arrival in Caracas to the takeover of the distillery by the Jimènez family.
A story that may seem original to some, very classic to others, but which remains key to understanding the origins of the product.
Chapter 1
It all started in the 1970sArturo Guzmàn, the sole heir of the Guzmàn family and owner of his own distillery, lived in luxury and lust.
The Guzmán family, one of the most influential families in Venezuela, had built its reputation for decades on a passion for rum, a love of work well done and an inimitable know-how.
Their secret: the creation of a unique blend of Jamaican and Reunionese rums to serve the quest for optimal taste balance, the sole obsession of the creator, Arturo's father, Don Jesé.
Emigrating to Venezuela in 1911, Don Jesé & his wife Sofia, biologists by training, set out in search of black gold and eventually turned to brown gold in Los Teques, a suburb of Caracas.
The distillery was an integral part of this family, and in 1931, when their son Arturo was born, after nine months of hard work, as a symbol, they developed a unique recipe which they named Don Jesé G. Ron.
Chapter 2
Don Jesé tried for four decades to interest his only son in all aspects of the recipe, but nothing worked. Arturo, on the other hand, seemed to prefer the bohemian life, the dubious company and the one-night stands.
In 1971, the destiny of the distillery was changed when Don Jesé and Sofia were killed in a road accident against a backdrop of cartels and corrupt politicians.
Arturo decided to rename their flagship rum Don Jesé G. Ron, one of the country's national emblems, to El Magnifico Ron.
He began to export his new rum internationally, neglecting his historical market, making fun of the accounting problems and the more than dubious reputation of his interlocutors, flattering his insatiable ego in the process. He was only interested in the whole world...
In 1981, Arturo literally fell in love with Marisol "La Pequeña" Jimenez, a girl from Mérida with a strong character, sister of Juan, Don Jesé's historical right-hand man.
Chapter 3
Marisol, although married to Arturo in 1986, felt that her marriage was falling apart and that he, neglecting his inheritance and preferring his new North American life, was content to live off his pension, although it had diminished as the years passed.
Juan, who repeatedly alerted his sister to the state of the distillery, could not take it anymore. His life and his work tool were withering away day by day and a feeling of grief mixed with anger had only grown since the death of his mentor.
In June 1987, they took matters into their own hands and decided to reshuffle the deck. At a gala evening, La Pequeña challenged him in front of his audience, but she already knew his reaction. She took a 20 peso coin in her hand, held it out to her husband and offered to flip a coin for his distillery, to show everyone if he was really the man he claimed to be.
He felt cornered but, to everyone's surprise, he once again let his ego get the better of his reason. And what had to happen happened...
The Jimenez family took over the management of the distillery at that time.
epilogue
To pay homage to his mentor, Juan not only rehabilitated his recipe, but also took care to have each of the bottles destined for the export market over-labelled with the El Cabrón brand, a symbol of Arturo's time in the family distillery...
Legend has it that he couldn't stand the humiliation and spent the rest of his life trying to get the whole production back so that no one could get hold of it and thus try to cover up the affront he had suffered.
