From Cuba to Panama to Denver: Yolo Rum

Yolo Rum's Phillip Guerin

A love story.  A passion story.  How could a story about premium sipping rum be about anything else?  Phillip Guerin, president of the Denver distributing company that sells Yolo Rum in the U.S., tells that story.

The idea, the philosophy came first, says Guerin.   The brand’s name is the acronym for the popular credo  ”you only live once.”  Next, he and his wife went on a search for a fine rum and discovered Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez, a Cuban master rum blender (ronero), who lives in Panama and now distributes two of his formulas exclusively through Yolo .

Music on this feature by the Andrews Sisters, “Rum and Coca-Cola” (Don Pancho would not approve), from the CD Billy Crystal presents the Milt Gabler Story, and Frank Emilio, “Rico Melao,” from the CD Ancestral Reflections.