Dos Maderas, from the New World to Spain

4 July 2025 | Interviews & Meetings
Dos Maderas, from the New World to Spain

Hello, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Dos Maderas is well known among rum enthusiasts, but the company behind this rum remains relatively unknown. Could you tell us more about the history of the company behind Dos Maderas — William & Humbert?

Bodegas Williams & Humbert is one of the major players in the Sherry and Brandy industry. Founded in 1877 by Alexander Williams and Arthur Humbert, the bodega helped establish Spain’s first official D.O. (Denomination of Origin) in the 1930s: Jerez-Xérès-Sherry. Since its beginnings, Williams & Humbert has preserved some of its original wines and brandies in high-quality oak barrels. These soleras form the foundation for the development and aging of every Sherry produced by Bodegas Williams & Humbert, the largest bodega in Europe under one roof, home to over 60,000 American oak barrels used for aging Sherry, Brandy, and Rum.

Since the early 1990s, the company has been owned by the Medina family. In 2018, Filipino businessman Lucio Co became a shareholder. Today, the bodega is run by the second generation of the Medina family, alongside a team of highly skilled professionals. This team is constantly focused on innovating new creations, reflecting the best of their terroir and heritage. All of this is done with deep respect for tradition and legacy, and with one main goal: quality. That quality is rooted from the very beginning, through careful attention to the vineyards and grape varieties, and continues through every stage in the bodega, where their Sherries, brandies, and spirits are slowly aged.

Today, Williams & Humbert owns more than 50 brands distributed in over 70 countries.

The Bodega's barrels
The Bodega's barrels

How does the name Dos Maderas reflect the products?

“One spirit. Two cultures.” This is the perfect definition of our rum, Dos Maderas, which means “Two Woods” in Spanish—referring both to the Caribbean and Jerez, as well as to the two types of casks used in its aging process: casks that previously held bourbon in the Caribbean, and American oak casks in Jerez that were previously seasoned with very old Sherries—Palo Cortado “Dos Cortados” (30 years old) and Pedro Ximénez “Don Guido” (20 years old).

How do you select the rums from Barbados and Guyana?

Bodegas Williams & Humbert is one of the major players in the Sherry and Brandy industry. Founded in 1877 by Alexander Williams and Arthur Humbert, the bodega helped establish Spain’s first official D.O. (Denomination of Origin) in the 1930s: Jerez-Xérès-Sherry. Since its beginnings, Williams & Humbert has preserved some of its original wines and brandies in high-quality oak barrels. These soleras form the foundation for the development and aging of every Sherry produced by Bodegas Williams & Humbert, the largest bodega in Europe under one roof, home to over 60,000 American oak barrels used for aging Sherry, Brandy, and Rum.

Since the early 1990s, the company has been owned by the Medina family. In 2018, Filipino businessman Lucio Co became a shareholder. Today, the bodega is run by the second generation of the Medina family, alongside a team of highly skilled professionals. This team is constantly focused on innovating new creations, reflecting the best of their terroir and heritage. All of this is done with deep respect for tradition and legacy, and with one main goal: quality. That quality is rooted from the very beginning, through careful attention to the vineyards and grape varieties, and continues through every stage in the bodega, where their Sherries, brandies, and spirits are slowly aged.

Today, Williams & Humbert owns more than 50 brands distributed in over 70 countries.

Le rhum Dos Maderas tiré des fûts
Le rhum Dos Maderas tiré des fûts

Dos Maderas is a range of several products. Could you walk us through them and explain what makes each one unique?

Dos Maderas 5+3 takes its name from its aging process: it rests first for 5 years in its place of origin in the Caribbean, in American oak barrels, before being transported to the Williams & Humbert Bodegas in Jerez, where it enters the second phase of its aging—3 more years in sherry casks that previously held our "Dos Cortados" (a 30-year-old Palo Cortado VORS Sherry).

Once this Dos Maderas 5+3 reaches maturity, it undergoes a third aging phase of 2 years, this time in barrels that aged our "Don Guido" Sherry (a 20-year-old Pedro Ximénez VOS), resulting in the creation of Dos Maderas 5+5 PX.

The premium expression, Luxus, is aged for 10 years in the Caribbean, followed by an additional 5 years in casks that held our Don Guido PX Sherry, at the Williams & Humbert cellars in Jerez.

Selección is the result of a careful blend of the finest rums used in both Dos Maderas 5+5 PX and Luxus. To craft this exceptional rum, a prior selection is made from the most refined casks of Dos Maderas 5+5 PX, as well as rums aged for 10 years in the Caribbean in former Bourbon barrels—the foundation of Luxus. The fusion of these two elements gives birth to Selección.

Finally, Dos Maderas Atlantic, as its name suggests, has crossed the Atlantic to unite the best of the Caribbean and Jerez, the birthplace of Sherry. True to the spirit of the Dos Maderas range, Atlantic is a blend of rums from Barbados and Guyana. These rums are first aged for 5 years in the Caribbean, before being transported to Jerez in southern Spain, where they rest for an additional year in ex-Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks.

Do your rums contain added sugar? If so, how much?

The Sherry casks we use are around 100 years old, and throughout that time, they’ve been used to age our Sherry wines. As a result, the influence of Sherry aromas is predominant in the aging process of Dos Maderas.

The rum’s color and sweetness come from the Pedro Ximénez (PX) that remains absorbed in the wood of the casks used to age Dos Maderas. In particular, the Pedro Ximénez Don Guido, which has aged for 20 years in these Sherry barrels, contributes its sweet and velvety notes to the rum.

That sweetness is then refined by the addition of PX, bringing the sugar content to 20 grams per liter.

One of the most important figures in the production of your rums is your cellar master, Juan José Mesa. What could you tell us to get to know him better and better understand his work?

Juan José Mesa, Technical Director, oenologist, and Master Blender at Williams & Humbert, is a globally renowned expert in the industry, with over 20 years of experience in prestigious wineries.

He has an outstanding academic background: he holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical sciences and oenology from the University of Cádiz, where he received the Excellence Award upon completing his oenology studies. He also holds a PhD in chemical sciences, with a dissertation supervised by renowned professors, focusing on the flor yeast used in Fino Sherry.

Specializing in fermentation, he completed doctoral courses in microbiology and analytical chemistry. He also served as a research professor at the University of Cádiz in the field of microbiology, and has published several scientific articles in international journals.

In addition, he served as President of the Andalusian Association of Oenologists for ten years.

Juan José Mesa, Maître assembleur
Juan José Mesa, Master Blender
Dans les chais de Dos Maderas
Inside the Dos Maderas aging cellars

Which expressions should one start with to discover the Dos Maderas range?

I recommend starting with the Dos Maderas 5+3 and Dos Maderas 5+5 to better understand the unique dual and triple aging process, which begins in the Caribbean and continues in Jerez.

This will also allow you to appreciate the essential influence of Sherry casks—which previously aged rare and distinctive wines such as our Palo Cortado VORS 30 years and Pedro Ximénez VOS 20 years—on the character and complexity of our rum.

Afin de poursuivre la lecture je vous propose de...

Découvrir tous les rhums Dos-Maderas

Propos recueillis par

Matthieu Lange
Conseiller en spiritueux