Diageo releases Oronoco Rum

03/11/05 Diageo announces the release of Oronoco Rum, the first ever super-premium white rum made from fresh cut Brazilian mountain cane. The naturally smooth spirit is available this fall in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Oronoco is a product of renowned cachaca makers Vicente and Roberto Bastos Ribeiro's passion for creating high quality distillates. "Like coffee and wine grown on mountain slopes, we believe that mountain cane yields a superior taste," said Vicente Bastos Ribeiro, Oronoco Master Distiller. "The mountain terroir produces a complex and flavorful cane that is the secret to our taste profile." The cane is harvested by hand and crushed within hours of cutting. The resulting fresh cut mountain cane juice is the heart of Oronoco Rum.

Fazenda Soledade -- the home of Oronoco -- is located on the lush mountain slopes of Novo Friburgo in the highlands of Rio de Janeiro state. Known typically for its cachacas, Brazil played a key role in creating rum as we know it today with its native crop sugar cane -- one of the most valuable commodities of the 17th century.

In the early 1600s, the Dutch occupied the Northeast of Brazil to control sugar cane production until being forced out by the Portuguese in 1654. The Dutch then brought the sugar cane plant and their acquired expertise in sugar cane distillation to the Caribbean, giving birth to the modern rum industry. The Bastos Ribeiro's brothers have brought this story full circle with Oronoco Rum.

Recipient of a gold medal at the 2005 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Oronoco Rum offers light hints of vanilla on the nose, a crisp, clean taste and a smooth rounded finish. Oronoco will retail for approximately $34.99 per 750-milliliter bottle.

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange (DGE).

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