oReizinho – April 2025
For the first time, we bring you a Portuguese Agricole Rum, EXCLUSIVE to the Tribe in Australia and rated 4 stars by TheFatRumPirate! The oReizinho is a refined agricole-style rum, crafted with precision to highlight the pure essence of sugarcane, offering fresh, grassy, and floral notes with a crisp finish.
We are super excited to feature a Portuguese rum for the first time. This artisanally created Agricole rum (and yes, it can legally be called Agricole) is from one of only a handful of rum producers in Portugal.
oReizinho is a family owned and run rum distillery from the island of Madeira. Owned and operated by Pedro Ferraira and his family – somewhat mysteriously, the distillery was ‘established in 1982 (under guidance form Pedro’s father), but officially started producing in 2012. From the beginning processing about 10 tons of cane, oReizinho now crushes over 300 tons annually.
Up until about 8 years ago, growth of the little distillery had been slow. But then a chance meeting with Peter Holland (ex That Boutiquey Rum Company and now Foursquare) changed all that.
In Pedro’s own words: “After meeting Peter Holland some 8 years ago we quickly became friends and he managed to open a lot of doors for me in England and France. “
And open some doors he obviously did for the family of rum producers. Between 2012 and 2019 their production went from 1300 litres to over 14,000 litres – more than a ten-fold increase!
As a sign of his friendship and respect, Pedro asked Peter to collaborate with him on blending a 3yo rum from his barrels of aging stock. After much long-distance discussions and many cask samples making their way across Europe to England (where Peter resides) – the blend of Pedro’s rums was decided on, it was cut down to its bottling strength of 45%… and the oReizinho Aged 3 Years was born!
We are proud to bring this rare rum to Australia for the very first time! Wes Bergin (aka TheFatRumPirate) rated it 4 stars in his review. In fact, his only criticism was that he couldn’t get his hands on any more… BUT YOU CAN! Don’t miss out on this unique and exclusive opportunity to taste a Portuguese Agricole rum, made in a traditional Portuguese Brandy still (called an “Alambique”) from this tiny (although growing every year!) artisan distillery.
Our Tasting Notes:
Nose: freshly opened bag of mixed dried fruit is first impression, then a jasmine note emerges wrapped in just the merest estery cloak of varnish and the merest sprinkle of umami there too
Palate: Big, sweet fruity rush with a mild hot-ginger tang, but then it quickly shows it’s dry side with some tannins emerging, there’s also a hint of saltyness that makes itself known
Finish: An almost smoky flavour on the finish – quite unlike peaty smoke in whisky (more sweet, less musty) – which dances very well with the sweet fruity notes.
Wow – this is not what I was expecting – lots more red fruit than I anticipated in an Agricole. A lovely floral note – but little of those fresh-cut grassy notes that usually stand out in Agricole. It’s different. Good different! Lots of flavours to discover in this one – it’s one of those rums where you find a new facet to it’s flavour profile after every sip. This is ‘chatting about it with a drinking buddy’ rum at its finest!
FROM OREIZINHO
We are a small family run distillery in Madeira Portugal basically being my father and I with the help of my wife and kids. Established in 1982 but officially producing in 2012 we started slowly, in the first year we processed 10 tons of sugarcane, slowly growing to 330 tons last year.
We proudly export to France, Germany, England, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg Mostly recently we shipped to the USA to an independent bottler and now very proudly to the Rum Tribe in Australia.
Our rum is distilled in the very unique “Português Alambique” For those that buy the bottle they can see it on the back label. These Alambiques are traditional in Portugal for the making of brandy.
We follow the same rules as the French Agricole rum however i think with the geographical position so rum has a more distinct flavour.
We get asked a lot why and what does Reizinho mean. ‘Rei’ means King in Portuguese. When ‘zinho’ or ‘inho’ is added to a word it means a small version of that thing. So i am Pedro but Pedroinho means small Pedro which is a term of endearment.
Hence, Reizinho is the little king. So… why call the distillery ‘Little King’?
Well, my Great Grandfather was born 2 months premature in 1875. Now the chances of survival for a premature baby in those days was almost nil. Back in those days there were no doctors readily available, and it being the middle of the night did not help. So the midwife rushed the newborn infant to the priest so that he could go to heaven and be baptized (obviously that was the mentality those days!). Anyway, the priest opens the door to see this newborn in the midwife’s hands pleading to have him baptized. So, the priest holding the child said “this infant will be Reizinho no céu” – A little king in heaven.
Obviously, he didn’t die otherwise I wouldn’t be writing right now. Not only that – but he lived to the age of 94 was a tall strong man who had 14 children!
O Reizinho is well known and loved in our local community.
Pedro
ABOUT OREIZINHO
The Florentino Izildo Gouveia Ferreira distillery, better known as “O Reizinho” (meaning “the little king”), is a family-run operation located in Gaula, in the southeast of Madeira. Established in 1982, it began as a small local mill pressing sugarcane for friends and family before evolving into a renowned rum distillery with international recognition.
At Reizinho, all rums are distilled in a traditional Portuguese alambique (pot still). After distillation, the rum rests in a 10,000L stainless steel tank for six months before being bottled or aged.
