La Marielita Rum Honors the Cubans who Emigrated to the United States During the Mariel Boatlift

When Miami resident Janet Diaz-Bonilla started interviewing members of the family about her household roots in Cuba for a screenplay she was penning, she by no means thought it could take her down the highway to crafting rum.

“Through the method, I discovered about my grandfather and his companies, one among which was a market that offered uncommon spirits,” says Diaz-Bonilla, including that after writing the primary few drafts, the method additionally stimulated her entrepreneurial spirit.

While her skilled writing profession has produced two books, a stage play, 5 brief movies, and several other awards, Diaz-Bonilla says it was her screenplay La Marielita, that motivated one other necessary creation: a rum that, just like the written work that impressed it, pays homage to the Mariel boatlift — the Cuban exodus that finally introduced her to the United States.

Diaz-Bonilla considers herself the primary Cuban-American immigrant girl to each discovered and personal a rum model, a collaboration of types created alongside grasp blender and fellow Cuban Francisco José “Don Pancho” Fernández Pérez, often known as the “Godfather of Rum.”

In November 2022, Diaz-Bonilla launched the inaugural mix of her premium rum. She tells New Times the spirit pays homage to her grandfather’s reminiscence and legacy in Cuba, in addition to the expertise of tolerating the 1980 political motion the place hundreds of Cubans sought refuge on the Peruvian embassy.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Diaz-Bonilla immigrated to the U.S. throughout the Mariel boatlift exodus. She was 6 years previous when, alongside her dad and mom, she launched into the journey from Mariel, Cuba, to Key West, arriving on May 17. Shortly after, they have been transferred for processing to a holding camp at former Army base Fort Chaffee in Arkansas.

“That night time, it was a horrific expertise, and the screenplay — that story — was a cathartic option to share what we went by way of throughout these 53 days we spent within the holding camp earlier than we got our freedom,” remembers Diaz-Bonilla.

Diaz-Bonilla says she additionally launched into the journey to craft La Marielita rum to honor and have fun the laborious work of our nation’s Cuban-American immigrants, a dedication to household, and — most significantly — their gratitude for freedom.

“I acquired uninterested in seeing our exodus in comparison with motion pictures like Scarface and characters like Tony Montana. That’s only one perspective,” says Diaz-Bonilla. “For me, being in comparison with that and figuring out many nice households got here by way of that occasion, it bothered me for a very long time.”

Miami-based Cuban-American artist, Humberto Benitez, shares the founder’s roots and understands the significance of illustrating a picture that encompasses the feelings and authenticity of La Marielita’s story for the bottle’s label. He explains that the portray he created — a ship set on a turbulent sea symbolizing the Marielita boat — is a narrative of hope, dedication, and the boundless spirit in opposition to the percentages.

After a yr of planning and numerous tastings, the completed product gives rum lovers a posh and high-end spirit, says Diaz-Bonilla.

Distilled in Las Cabras de Pesé, Panama, the rum is aged in bourbon-curated American white oak casks for anyplace from 18 to twenty years. The ensuing spirit gives a distinctly distinctive bouquet of fragrant flavors, she provides, with aromas of burnt toffee and oak aroma with notes of cacao, vanilla, espresso bean, hazelnut, and orange blossom.

Most importantly, as a result of it is freed from components or synthetic flavors, the rum accommodates lower than ten grams of sugar per liter, she provides.

“I wished to verify I used to be providing clients a really clear product — one thing the place you may actually style of authenticity that comes from that getting older course of,” explains Diaz-Bonilla.

La Marielita Rum is offered in Florida, California, and New York. A bottle sells for $59.99 and is offered for buy on-line and in choose Miami liquor shops. Area spirit lovers may discover it behind the bar at a number of Calle Ocho institutions, together with Ball & Chain and Cafe La Trova.

“This rum is to honor my household’s freedom and my privilege of with the ability to come right here and reside on this nation. The components of my story, and La Marielita, are components that may resonate with any immigrant — not simply Cubans,” sums up Diaz-Bonilla.