Puerto Rican Rum

Sugar cane arrived with the Spanish and rum followed, and Puerto Rico has spent the last century becoming one of the largest producers in the world, supplying a substantial share of the rum sold in the United States. Law here requires rum to be aged a minimum of one year, which is stricter than most producing countries, and the island style leans light and clean rather than heavy and funky, a result of column distillation and charcoal filtering. The largest distillery sits at Cataño across the bay from Old San Juan and runs tours ending in tastings. The piña colada was invented in San Juan, though two hotels and a bartender's family have argued about which of them did it since the 1950s.

What you actually see

• The Cataño distillery - tours across the bay, reached by the public ferry.
• The one-year minimum - the ageing rule that shapes the island style.
• Aged and single-barrel rums - the serious end, poured neat.
• The piña colada - invented in San Juan, and still argued over.

When to go

Year-round. The Cataño ferry from Old San Juan is cheap and frequent and makes the trip easy without a car. Tours run on a timetable and book out at weekends and on cruise days. Tastings are included but limited.

Honest expectations

The main distillery visit is a polished brand experience rather than a working tour, and you see relatively little actual production. Smaller craft producers on the island are more interesting but harder to reach. The piña colada origin claim is genuinely contested and no version of it is settled history.

Nearby

Old San Juan is across the bay; the Cataño ferry runs from Pier 2.