Reiniel Vicente Diaz
Master Blender & Product Manager
Reiniel Vicente Diaz, second-generation rum maker, joined Bayou® Rum in 2013. As Master Blender and Product Manager, Reiniel controls the entire process of making Bayou’s award-winning rums, including raw materials, fermentation, distillation, aging and blending.
Reiniel was born into the art of rum production in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, and raised in a city surrounded by sugar cane fields, sugar mills and a rum distillation facility. From a young age, Reiniel followed in the footsteps of his father Omar Vicente, who was Master Blender of a Cuban rum distillery for 15 years. At age eight, Reiniel’s father relocated the family to the Dominican Republic. At age 16, Reiniel began working alongside his father in the design, preparation and tastings of fine rums at the Oliver & Oliver rum company.
His passion for the study of distillates and the processing of rums led him to study chemical engineering at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. Reiniel’s extensive experience and talent enabled him to work for several Dominican rum companies where he developed numerous products, before ultimately moving to the United States to develop Bayou Rum.