Colombian artisan brandy received important international recognition

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the most important liquor competitions in the world, awarded in its 2022 version the first Colombian artisan brandy, 'Desquite', a product made by peasant hands in the municipality of San Francisco de Sales, in the department of Cundinamarca.

According to Fedepanela, this year, more than 4,000 liquor brands competed against each other to demonstrate to the more than 30 judges the “care, delicacy and complexity” of their alcoholic beverages in the more than 20 categories of the competition.

As a result, the Colombian artisan brandy, from the Licores Artesanales brand, won the silver medal in the competition that has been held for more than two decades, as it is among “among the best examples (of liquors) in its categories”.

In dialogue with the newspaper La República, the co-founder of Licores Artesanales said that 'Desquite' was born during the pandemic, thanks to Law 2005 of 2019, also known as 'Law of the Panel', through which the door was opened for panelists in Colombia so that they could distill spirits in their trapiches and so on produce and market artisanal liquors.

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Thus, once the law was approved, as Molano told the same media outlet, in May 2020 at Hacienda La Carlina, located in the municipality of San Francisco de Sales, in Cundinamarca, the first artisan brandy in Colombia was born: 'Desquite'.

Molano then explained that, after starting the trapiche, they bought some machines, including a 200-liter distiller, with which, 14 months later, they launched their first production of artisanal brandy on the market.

According to the brand's co-founder, as of December 2021, Licores Artesanales already produced between 3,000 and 5,000 liters of alcohol per month, of which 75% is allocated to make the 'Amuleto Rum' and the other 25% for the 'Desquite' brandy.

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To date, Licores Artesanales works with five local suppliers and, in fact, has already entered the Chinese market with the shipment of a first batch of 'Desquite'. “We were at the China Importers Fair, promptly at the fourth edition of the China International Import Expo, where we already have a small order. The idea is also to obtain a license to export our products to Venezuela, which because of the proximity is a good market,” Molano told the newspaper La República.

The Colombian venture hopes that its artisanal spirit 'Desquite' can also land in the markets of the United States, Peru, Chile, Mexico and Spain, as have other national brands.

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