🥃 Guaro

Guaro is a colloquial name for a clear strong spirit made from sugar cane in Central America; it is best known in Costa Rica. There guaro is mainly the aguardiente of the state National Liquor Factory (FANAL), made from purified cane spirit diluted with water. The most popular brand is Cacique; unlike rum, guaro is usually not aged.

History. On 2 September 1850 President Juan Rafael Mora Porras, by decree No. 99, put the distillation of spirits in the hands of the state, and private distillation was later banned. As the National Archives of Costa Rica notes, the monopoly was meant to protect people's health from unrefined alcohol, support cane growing and fill the treasury. The factory was founded in 1853 and its building opened in 1856.

Production. According to FANAL, the spirit is made from molasses, the residue of sugar cane production. It is rectified to high purity and diluted with water. Unlike rum, guaro is usually not aged in barrels, so it is clear and has a clean, almost neutral taste. The plant in the city of Grecia was completed in 1981, and by 1996 all production had moved there.

The monopoly today. In 2008 the Attorney General's Office of Costa Rica ruled that even diluting concentrated spirit to a drinkable strength counts as production, so it too falls under the FANAL monopoly. The closest relatives of guaro are other cane distillates: rum, Brazilian cachaça and Mexican charanda.

Why this matters to you. The state monopoly was introduced precisely because of dangerous unrefined alcohol. Homemade cane spirit without quality control can still contain harmful impurities, so it is better avoided. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.