“The operation went very well and, after tasting, we have something fabulous, it is a very tasty rum, very round, very easy to drink because it has matured. It is an experience to continue,” manager, Miguel Faria told the Lusa agency.


The 363 still-submerged bottles will remain at a depth of between eight-ten metres for 12 months. They are subjected to seawater temperatures between 17-24ºC. The animal life that has attached to the bottles will be studied by MARE - Centre for Marine Sciences and the Environment.


605 bottles of “Rum Agrícola Madeira 970 Reserva” packed in five metal cages, were put into the sea of the Quinta do Lorde Marina, in Caniçal, on March 30, in an unprecedented experiment.


The aim was to determine the evolution of the organoleptic properties (which impress the senses) of the rum in underwater maturation.
The rum produced by the distillery, which has already won several international awards, is mostly destined for export to the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy.


The rum deposited in the ocean is the ‘970 Reserve’, obtained exclusively from the alcoholic fermentation of fresh sugar cane juice and subsequent distillation, and then aged for six years in French oak barrels.


Located in the small, quiet village of Porto da Cruz, Engenhos do Norte is one of the few distilleries operating in Madeira and the only one with steam machinery that goes back to the times of the Industrial Revolution.


According to the IVBAM - Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artesanato da Madeira, in 2018, 518,062 litres of Madeira Rum were bottled, which generated a revenue of €2.5 million.