In much of the world, rum is worshiped as the pinnacle of civilization. Yet many Americans think of the sugarcane spirit as the bottom rung of the liquor ladder. Three brothers teamed up with fellow rum aficionado Bruno Mars to elevate the category to its rightful place alongside the finest vodkas, tequilas and whiskeys. They scoured the world to find a master blender who was up to the challenge.

They were determined to create a white rum that was good enough to drink on the rocks and a natural cacao rum that would change what people expect from a flavored spirit. After years of searching, they finally found Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez, the legendary Maestro Ronero who’d carved out a distillery from the jungles of Panama. Together they created Selvarey, a rum to evolve your spirits.