Rum from Granada — sugar cane and Ron Montero in Motril

Sugar cane is not a Caribbean plant that later washed up here. It came from Asia. Arab farmers brought it to the Granada coast more than a thousand years ago. From this shore the crop crossed the Atlantic with the first American voyages. What you drink in Motril is rum made on that old European cane coast, not a copy of Havana poured for tourists.

The last commercial harvest on the Costa Tropical was in 2006. Avocado, mango and plastic houses took the vega. A few plots have been put back for tradition or research. The visit that still works is Ron Montero, a family bodega founded in 1963, and the old sugar mills turned museum. From the Costa del Sol that is the A-7 east, about an hour and a quarter. It is a Motril morning, not a Granada city afternoon.

*Tour times at the bodega change. Check before you set out.

Cane on this coast

Through the nineteenth century the western Costa of Malaga, the Axarquia and the Granada shore around Motril and Salobreña were sugar country. Mills — ingenios — crushed cane with steam. In 1828 a rum from Motril took a prize at an industry show in Madrid. That is a dated fact. Claims of “the oldest rum in Europe, six hundred years ago” are local talk, not a label you can verify on a bottle.

The Spanish crown kept a tight hand on distillation in the American colonies for a long time. Cuban rum as a big trade is later than people think. After 1959 some Cuban know-how moved; the house you visit in Motril is still a Granada sugar family, not a relocated Havana brand.

Commercial cane here ended with the last zafra in 2006 and the closure of the last mill. Molasses for today’s rum is no longer a field of local cane stretching to the sea.

How rum is made

Rum starts with sugar cane: fresh juice or, more often, molasses left after sugar is taken out. Yeast ferments that liquid. A still concentrates the alcohol. The clear spirit then sits in oak. Colour and taste come from the wood and from time. Some bottles stay pale. Some go through a solera, the same stacked-cask idea as sherry: young spirit tops up older spirit.

Ron Montero works that way in Motril. You will hear Pálido for the lighter glass and Reserva for the longer stay in wood. There is also a coffee liqueur from the same house. Caramel on a cheap supermarket rum is a different product.

What to see in Motril

The bodega is the working stop: history of the cane, the stills, a tasting. Tours run in Spanish, English and French. Groups should write first. The address is on the coast plain, with parking when it is free.

Ron Montero (map)

The industrial sugar story sits in the old mills. Fábrica del Pilar is now the Museo Industrial del Azúcar: the machinery of a steam-age mill that closed in 1984. Pair the museum and the bodega if you have the morning. Do not add the Alhambra to the same clock.

How to reach Motril from Malaga

The A-7 runs east along the coast. Motril is past Nerja and Almunecar. A hire car from Malaga Airport is the simple way. A private transfer can leave you at a hotel on the Costa Tropical; the bodega is then a short local drive.

Car hire at Malaga Airport

From Malaga Airport follow the A-7 toward Motril. About an hour and a quarter. The bodega and the sugar museum are on the plain, not in the Alpujarra.

Car hire at Malaga Airport

Book a taxi

From Malaga Airport or your Costa del Sol hotel to Motril or Almunecar. Stay on the Tropical coast if you want the bodega in the morning and the shore in the afternoon.

Book a taxi

*No credit-card details or advance payment are needed to request a quote. Cancellation is free. Book ahead in high season to avoid price rises and to secure the car or group size you need.

Other options

Buses from Malaga run the coast to Motril and Almunecar. From Fuengirola, Torremolinos or Marbella go into the Malaga bus station first, or change on the A-7 corridor. There is no useful train to Motril.

From Granada city the road drops to the coast through the Lecrin valley — a different approach, fine if you are already inland. From the Costa del Sol the sea road is the straight one.

Practical tips

Ron Montero is the working bodega. The sugar museum is the industrial past. Both are in Motril.
Commercial cane fields are gone. Do not expect a harvest tour in a sea of stalks.
Check the bodega before you drive. Group visits need a message.
This is not a Granada city day. The Alhambra is the other side of the range.
The driver does not drink the tasting. The A-7 is fast and busy.

Frequently asked questions about rum in Granada

Is sugar cane still grown here?

The last commercial harvest on this coast was in 2006. A few plots have returned. The rum you taste is not crushed from a vega full of cane the same morning.

Did rum start in Malaga?

Cane came to this coast from the east, then went to the Americas. Caribbean rum grew into a world trade later. Motril has an old cane story. It is not the birthplace of West Indian rum.

Can I visit Ron Montero?

Yes. It is a family bodega with tours and a tasting. Check the day and language before you leave the Costa. Groups should get in touch first.

Is this the same as sherry?

No. Rum is distilled from cane or molasses. Sherry is wine from Jerez. Some rum here ages in a solera, which is a method they share, not the same drink.

How far from Malaga?

About an hour and a quarter on the A-7 to Motril. Nerja and Almunecar are on the way if you want a swim after the tasting — with a designated driver.

Is there a train?

No useful train. Bus along the coast, or a car from Malaga Airport.