Celebrate National Rum Day with the Bartenders who Crafted Together the Limited-Edition Santa Teresa 1796 Rum Label

Happy National Rum Day!

Celebrate this year with Santa Teresa 1796 Rum, the Venezuelan super-premium brand, and the bartenders who participated in the Crafted Together program—creating a limited-edition bottle label honoring the industry in the face of adversity caused by COVID-19.

Santa Teresa brought over 25 bartenders from parts of the world, including Los Angeles, London, Miami, and Madrid, and New York to conceive a new label for the Crafted Together 1796 limited-edition bottle.

Santa Teresa 1796 Rum

Inside the limited-edition bottle is Santa Teresa 1796—a bold elegant rum aged in bourbon oak for up to 35-years and then with the Spanish solera method. The result is the perfect spirit with notes of wood, dark chocolate, leather, and nuts.

We asked some of the Crafted Together program’s participating bartenders what they enjoy about Santa Teresa 1796 and their favorite rum cocktails in the spirit of National Rum Day today.

Meaghan Dorman Photo by Eric Medsker

Meaghan Dorman, bar director of four cocktail bars in NYC who participated virtually in the program says, “I have always been a fan of Santa Teresa 1796 rum, it’s an elegant layered spirit. I love a half bourbon, half Santa Teresa Old Fashioned. But my favorite rum cocktail is Hotel Nacional.”

Ben Potts

Ben Potts, of Beaker & Gray, Miami, has also always been a fan of Santa Teresa 1796 Rum, “It’s a delicious Venezuelan rum that I’ve been a fan of for many years. The brand does substantial local outreach but is also dedicated to helping the global bartending community. I like to drink it on the rocks or in a Rum Manhattan. My favorite rum cocktail though is the Old Cuban, it works very well with Santa Teresa 1796.”

Kellie Thorn

Contributing a small painting of her little parlor palm for the label, Kellie Thorn of the Hugh Acheson Restaurant in Atlanta wanted to share her love of gardening with the bartender community for the limited-edition label. “It was so great to connect with other bartenders and help raise money for our community,” she says. “I like drinking Santa Teresa neat or on a large cube, but one of my favorites is in a Rum & Tonic. It’s such a good highball especially when using an aged rum.”

Christa Havican

For her contribution, Christa Havican of Nobie’s in Houston created a stained-glass panel that was used in a photograph on the Santa Teresa limited-edition label. “I like drinking Santa Teresa neat or in an El Presidente. Also, there is the Vamos a la Playa, served at the Toasted Coconut in Houston, made of rum, mezcal, pineapple shrub, and lime—it’s perfect in this cocktail on a hot Texas day!”

The label for the limited-edition bottle symbolizes the sheer resilience and creative talent of the bartending community. Note that all bartenders were compensated for their time and creative input. Describing the label’s unique process, Katie Redlien, Santa Teresa 1796 brand director, elaborates, “Each bartender participant submitted an individual design, with styles ranging from photography to charcoal drawings to paintings, which was then compiled into a mosaic that graces our Santa Teresa 1796 Crafted Together limited-edition bottle. Just as the different designs come together to make a whole, the trade is comprised of incredible individuals, who create a truly spectacular community when they work together.”