It was 1880 when Andres Montanar Brugal left the small village of Sitges, Costa Brava, Catatonia, Spain. He settled in Cuba, and after a few years moved to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. He buys a coffee finca and in 1888 creates an ingenio azucarero, ingenio Cuba, owns cane plantations, produces sugar and initially agricultural rum by fermenting guarapo, fresh cane juice. In 1888, he founded Brugal & Co., using his rum experience gained during his Cuban years. For 50 years his company grew, until the nationalisation in the 1930s of the sugar mill and cane plantations by dictator Trujillo. The first Brugal warehouse for ageing rum in oak barrels dates back to 1920. In 1976, with the introduction of Extra Viejo, the company developed the premium rum segment in the Dominican Republic. In 1998 Brugal launched Brugal Limòn, Brugal Pasiòn and Unico. In 2008, the Scottish group Edrington buys Brugal's 80%. Franklin Baez Brugal remains president and the family continues to be responsible for production.
