🥃 Ronmiel de Canarias

Ronmiel de Canarias is a sweet drink made from rum and honey, a protected name since 2005. First a syrup of water and honey is prepared, to which sugar and flavourings may be added, and then rum is added to a strength of 20–30% vol. In the EU legal sense, ronmiel is not a rum.

History. Sugarcane was grown in the Canaries from the 15th century, and according to historical sources the first local distillate was made around 1500 by friars of a Franciscan monastery in Las Palmas. Ronmiel was long prepared at home and in taverns; in 1953 a magazine from Arucas already carried an advertisement for Ronmiel Las Colmenas. A Spanish decree of 1975 recognised it as a traditional Canarian drink.

Rules. The strength is 20 to 30% vol., and sugar content no more than 350 g/l. All stages take place at natural temperature, without cooling or heating, and before bottling the drink is filtered at least once. The production zone is the whole Canary Islands archipelago. The colour ranges from golden yellow to deep rosewood red, and honey dominates the aroma.

Today. Ronmiel became popular with the arrival of tourists after the 1950s. About one and a half million litres are made each year, of which roughly 46 thousand are exported; the main markets are Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Producers include Destilerías Arehucas from Arucas. Its closest relative is honey liqueur.

Why this matters to you. Ronmiel is weaker than rum but very sweet, so it is easy to underestimate how much alcohol is in the glass. The selecto mark means the honey is of Canarian origin and the rum was made in the islands; dulce means more than 150 g/l of sugar. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe amount of alcohol.