What is Ron Miel? The Complete Guide to Canarian Honey Rum

What is Ron Miel? The Complete Guide to Canarian Honey Rum

If you have ever been to Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria or any of the other Canary Islands, there is a good chance you came across a small amber bottle of something called Ron Miel. You may have tried it on the last night of your holiday and wondered what it was. You may have bought a bottle to take home, run out, and found yourself searching for where to get more.

This is the complete guide. What Ron Miel actually is, where it comes from, how it is made, the best brands, and how to drink it.

What does Ron Miel mean?

Ron Miel is Spanish for honey rum. The name is straightforward: ron means rum, miel means honey. It is a rum-based liqueur made by blending aged rum with natural honey and other aromatic ingredients. The result is smooth, sweet but not cloying, warm without the harshness of a straight spirit. It typically comes in at around 20% ABV, which puts it closer to a liqueur than a traditional rum.

The key thing to understand is that authentic Ron Miel is specifically Canarian. The term refers not just to a flavour profile but to a protected category of spirit with its own legal definition and geographical designation.

Where does it come from?

The story of Ron Miel begins with Christopher Columbus. Around 500 years ago, Columbus began his voyages to the Americas. During one crossing, his ships ran into difficulty and were forced to put into port in the Canary Islands. This created a new and regular sea route: the passage to and from the Americas now passed through the archipelago as a matter of course.

Through this route, the Canary Islands became one of the first places in Europe to encounter the products of the new world. Sugarcane was among them. The islanders learned how to ferment and distil it from the indigenous people of the Americas, producing rum in a tradition that predates most Caribbean rum production. The sugarcane plantations on the islands also attracted bees, and the local honey became celebrated across Spain. At some point, an islander combined the two. Ron Miel was born.

For centuries it remained a regional speciality, drunk at home and passed between families. It was only in the latter half of the twentieth century, as the Canary Islands became one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations, that it reached a wider audience. Millions of British, German, Swedish and Dutch tourists discovered it each year, and the bottles they brought home in their luggage created a slow but steady demand across Europe.

What is the Denomination of Origin?

In 2005, the Canary Islands government created a formal protected designation for authentic Ron Miel: the Denominacion Geografica Ronmiel de Canarias. This designation sets the legal requirements that a honey rum must meet before it can be called Canarian Ron Miel.

To qualify, the product must be made in the Canary Islands from Canarian rum and Canarian honey. The honey content must be at least 2% by volume. The ABV must fall within a defined range, typically 20% to 30%. Any producer using rum or honey from outside the islands, or producing the spirit elsewhere, cannot use the designation.

This matters when you are buying Ron Miel in the UK. There are honey rums on the market that are inspired by or modelled on the Canarian original but made in Britain or mainland Spain. They are not the same thing. If you want the genuine article, look for the denomination on the label, or buy from a supplier who imports directly from the Canary Islands.

How is Ron Miel made?

The base of Ron Miel is sugarcane rum. In the Canary Islands, rum has been distilled since the sixteenth century, and the distilleries that produce it today follow methods that have been refined over generations.

The most common production method uses rum distilled from sugarcane molasses, aged in American oak barrels. The sea air and the constant temperature of the Canarian cellars contribute to the character of the spirit as it matures. Once the rum has aged, it is blended with natural honey and a proprietary mix of aromatic ingredients, which vary between producers. Some use orange blossom honey for a lighter, more floral profile. Others use darker, more complex honeys from the Canarian highlands.

A smaller number of producers, most notably Ron Aldea from La Palma, use rum distilled directly from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses. This method, sometimes called rhum agricole in the French Caribbean tradition, produces a rum with a more intense, aromatic character that carries through into the finished honey rum. The Aldea approach is considered by serious rum enthusiasts to be among the finest expressions of the category.

The main producers

Artemi is the most recognisable name in Ron Miel, particularly in the UK. Founded in Gran Canaria in 1940 by Felipe Quintana Dominguez, the brand takes its name from Artemi, an aboriginal king of the island who died in 1405. The values the name carries, honour, tradition and craftsmanship, are built into the brand identity. The Artemi Ron Miel is the bottle most British holiday-makers have encountered in the islands, and it has earned a 4.8-star rating from over 900 reviews on Amazon UK. Artemi became part of the Arehucas group in 2005 and is now produced at a modern facility in Telde, Gran Canaria.

Arehucas is the oldest and largest rum producer in the Canary Islands, having distilled continuously since 1884 in Arucas, Gran Canaria. In 1892 the distillery was granted the title of Supplier to the Royal House and Court of Spain by the Queen Regent Maria Cristina of Austria, a distinction it retains to this day. Over 95,000 people visit the distillery each year, making it one of the most visited attractions in the archipelago. The Arehucas Guanche Ron Miel is named after the indigenous Guanche people of the Canary Islands and is aged in American oak for a subtler, more complex character than the standard style. Arehucas also produces the Ron Miel Indias, made with orange blossom honey for a lighter, more floral profile.

Ron Aldea from La Palma is the hidden gem of Canarian rum. Founded in 1936 by Don Manuel Quevedo Aleman, a man who learned his craft working in Cuba and Puerto Rico before returning to the islands, Aldea is now run by the fourth generation of the Quevedo family. The distillery sits on a cliff above the sea on La Palma, surrounded by sugarcane plantations, and uses the same copper pot still that Don Manuel commissioned in 1936. Everything is done by hand: the cane is pressed daily, the fermentation takes up to 30 hours with no chemical additives, and the master distiller personally tastes each barrel to decide the right moment to bottle. The Aldea Ron Miel is made with La Palma honey and is lighter and more floral than the Gran Canaria styles.

How does it taste?

The honest answer is that it depends on the producer, but there are common threads. Ron Miel is smooth. The sweetness from the honey rounds off the edges of the rum base in a way that makes it approachable even for people who do not normally drink spirits. There is warmth from the rum, sweetness from the honey, and an aromatic complexity from the botanicals that each producer adds.

The Artemi style is amber in colour, with honey and dried fruit on the nose and a warm, lingering finish. The Arehucas Guanche is slightly richer and more complex, with subtle oak and a hint of citrus from its longer time in barrel. The Aldea expression is lighter and more floral, reflecting the different character of La Palma honey and the agricultural rum base.

None of them are cloying or artificially sweet in the way that some flavoured spirits can be. Drunk correctly, they taste like a considered product made by people who care about what they are producing.

How to drink Ron Miel

The classic way, and the way it is most commonly drunk across the Canary Islands, is over ice. A generous measure, two or three ice cubes, and nothing else. The cold takes the edge off the sweetness and releases the honey and rum aromas. This is the version you remember from the terrace on your last night of holiday.

A hot toddy is equally good, particularly in winter. A measure of Ron Miel in hot water with a squeeze of lemon. The honey in the rum does most of the work, and the result is one of the most soothing cold-weather drinks imaginable.

With lemonade, it makes a simple and excellent long drink. One part Ron Miel to three parts lemonade over ice. For a more interesting variation, swap the lemonade for ginger beer.

Less obviously, a drizzle of Ron Miel over good vanilla ice cream is one of the most unexpectedly good things you can do with a bottle. The honey rum soaks into the ice cream as it melts and creates something genuinely remarkable. Try it once.

For a proper cocktail, see our full guide to Ron Miel cocktails, which includes five recipes from over ice to an espresso martini made entirely from Canarian spirits.

Is Ron Miel gluten free?

Rum is distilled from sugarcane, not from grain, which means it is naturally gluten free. The honey and botanical additions are also gluten free. Ron Miel does not contain gluten and is suitable for people with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity. As always, it is worth checking the specific product label if you have a severe allergy, as production processes vary between distilleries.

Where to buy Ron Miel in the UK

Authentic Canarian honey rum is not widely available in UK supermarkets. The brands that British tourists actually encounter on holiday, Artemi, Arehucas and Aldea, are specialist imports that require a dedicated supplier.

We stock the full range of all three distilleries with UK delivery:

All are delivered to UK mainland addresses. No airport required.

Looking for a gift for a rum lover? Our gifts for rum lovers guide covers every budget, from the classic Artemi Ron Miel to rare collector expressions from Ron Aldea.

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