Pitú

The Pitú rum brand was founded in 1938 in the town of Vitória de Santo Antão in the state of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil. It was named after the local stream ‘Pitú’, which was home to freshwater shrimp that became the symbol of the brand and are also depicted on the labels. It was founded by the Ferrer de Morais and Cândido Carneiro families, and the production tradition has been passed down through four and five generations of this family-run company.

The distillery is located in the tropical region of Pernambuco, which is considered the birthplace of sugar cane in Brazil and is often referred to as the ‘land of cachaça and carnival’. Pitú produces more than 90 million litres per year, combining traditional methods with modern technologies and an emphasis on consistent quality, including ageing in wooden tanks as part of the finalisation process.

Pitú was one of the first Brazilian cachaças to be exported, to Europe in the 1970s and to the USA in the 1980s. Today, Pitú can be found in more than 50 countries and is the most exported cachaça brand in the world. It is the best-selling cachaça in the domestic market in north-eastern Brazil and ranks second worldwide.