With an enthusiasm rivaled only by our passion for quality, we’ve invested significant time, knowledge, and resources in making our distillery a leader in clean, green production practices in the spirits industry.
Not only do we reap the benefits of real energy return and useful post-production materials, but we also get to do what’s best for the people and wildlife of our lovely island, Puerto Rico.
We approach environmental responsibility as the challenge of finding ecologically conscious solutions within the context of an economically viable enterprise. Our waste reclamation program not only allows us to maximize our production capacity, but also provides valuable energy return and cost reductions in the form of biogas, electricity, service water, and industrial products that we can sell to other businesses. All this while doing what’s best for the vibrant ecosphere of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Sea.
Don Q is a pioneer among spirits producers when it comes to clean, environmentally conscious business practices. We have invested millions of dollars and significant time and brainpower in the creation and implementation of our distillery’s waste treatment system. Connecting a series of self-contained processes into an innovative cycle of waste treatment and energy harvest proved to be a worthwhile challenge.
Water
Our source of water is surface water that flows from the volcanic mountains just north of the distillery. We pre-treat this fresh water and use it for the dilution of the molasses prior to fermentation.
Molasses
Molasses, the raw material required to produce our rum, is the byproduct of granulated cane sugar production. The heat applied to cane juice releases some of the sugars as crystals while caramelizing the remaining sugars in the molasses. This process also gives molasses its golden-brown color.
Fermentation
While diluted molasses ferments, it releases CO2. This useful gas can be recaptured and utilized in a number of industrial applications.
Distillation
Distillation is an energy-intensive process in which steam is forced through columns in order to separate the alcohol from the fermented molasses "beer". Once alcohol is removed, what remains is a large volume of wastewater. The wastewater is laden with organic material—basically everything from the molasses "beer" except the alcohol. At Destilería Serralles we are proud to say that since 2005 none of our wastewater ends up in our ocean or rivers.
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