Star anise-flavored Colombian aguardiente is taking a step up in the spirits world thanks to Bacan Guaro’s focus on high-quality ingredients
Look far enough back on any timeline and the price of most spirits drops to almost zero. Back in the 1800s, whiskey was cheaper than beer, wine, coffee, tea, or milk [1]. Until recently, tequila was inexpensive as well, same goes for mezcal (it averaged just $9 per bottle in 2010) [2]. Now, seemingly every spirit has a luxury version made from higher quality ingredients. That’s what Bacan Guaro is doing for Colombian aguardiente.
Created by Colombian entrepreneur and media personality Diana Espinosa March and her Italian-Spanish husband, brand architect Ricardo March, Bacan is using high-quality ingredients to make a luxury Colombian aguardiente. They get organic sugarcane from Brazil, ship in star anise from Spain, and use water from Cali, Colombia, where the spirit is also distilled. For those wondering, “76% of the total bottle [of Bacan 24] is water,” so Bacan remains very much a Colombian product–even if it currently can’t be sold there.
Historically speaking, Colombian aguardiente is a cheap spirit made in a poorer country. The ingredients (anise, water, and sugarcane) are of low quality compared to those produced in other nations, and local governments control production, using profits to help with other infrastructural issues, and leading to cuts in quality. The same thing used to be true for Colombian rums until about 10 years ago, when companies started creating them “in tax free zones in Colombia just to be exported,” explains Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos Valencia, creator and founder of the El Cielo restaurant, which has Michelin Star restaurants in both Miami and Washington D.C. Bacan is doing the same thing, just with aguardiente.
While the company only started in pandemic-ridden 2020, it has already made inroads in Michelin-starred restaurants and some of the world’s 50 Best Bars. In Miami, with its half million-plus Colombian population, the spirit can be found at top cocktail and dining destinations like Cafe La Trova and El Cielo, and now Bacan is on its way into some of New York’s top drinks stops as well.
Spirits and cocktail writer, educator, and consultant Gabriel Urrutia believes Bacan’s high quality ingredients help distinguish it from the rest of the market, making something that can be sipped, shot, or used in a cocktail. “I think that that’s where [Bacan] really steps up to the plate, where it’s using awesome ingredients,” he explains. “It is not being that sugar bomb.” Urrutia adds that it also isn’t that “overly licorice jellybean type of thing” that haunted so many cocktails in the 2010s, either. “It just really allows you to elevate and work with other flavors that you’re adding to a cocktail,” he says. “For me, I love it in a sour. It drinks absolutely incredible. It really allows you to just play with a lot because it’s really versatile in that respect.”
On top of using superior ingredients and versatility, Bacan Guaro enters the spirits market as imbibers begin to search out lower ABV options. Bacan comes in both 24% ABV and 29% ABV expressions, making it an easy choice for those looking to enjoy drinks inside or out throughout the entire day. It also arrives as Latin cuisine and drinks have begun to take over the market.
In a time when everyone is on the lookout for what’s next in the drinks category, Latin America has never been hotter, both actually and in terms of its voguishness. The world’s top bars and restaurants dot the multicontinental mass with Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy just named the world’s top bar at 2024’s 50 Best Bars awards. Elsewhere, Tequila is outselling whiskey. And there’s no denying the rise of mezcal.
The growth in popularity of Latin products and the quality of ingredients used in Bacan has made earlier believers of South Florida food and drink authorities like Chef Barrientos and Urrutia. Barrientos compares what they’re doing to “being pioneers in a type of liquor,” as all help bring the brand and Colombian aguardiente to new consumers across the globe.
“One of the biggest issues with our aguardiente is it’s a category that nobody knows that exists,” explains March. “But everybody drinks it. There are 21 million cases sold around the world.” Therefore, part of Bacan’s duty is to inform consumers, while also changing their minds about what the drink was previously known as, a cheap, black liquorice sugar concoction.
While that could sound like a tough sell, Bacan manages to make the entire prospect simple as both products are priced at just under $50 per 700 ml bottle, settling them in a healthy space below most higher-end whiskeys, tequilas, and mezcals, but clearly more expensive than the tough-to-consume variety some might have previously confused it with.
Bacan has also earned kosher certification, which gives another nod to the quality of ingredients used in the liquid. For us, it’s turning the entire aguardiente category on its head, making it a perfect addition for bars looking to expand their palates. It dives into current trends and yet still manages to celebrate tradition, and does so simply by making a higher quality version of a traditional spirit.
Check Out Our Favorite Cocktails Made With Bacan Guaro
Learn more about Colombian aguardiente
For more information or to buy yourself a bottle, head over to the official Bacan Guaro website.
