OUR HISTORY
The history of Reserva do Zito’s mill starts around 1945 when, José Rufino, know as Zito, a young peasant running away from the dought of the inlands of Piauí state begins to work in an old sugarcane mill in the city of Passagem Franca in Maranhão state, of witch subsequently becomes the owner.
Among buriti palm trees and the Inhumas creek, Young Zito joins his own roots to the sugarcane ones and plant them in the perfect symbiosis to the point where he can no longer distinguish the sugarcane ones from his own. That is the scenario in witch he builds up his Family and writes his story fuelled by loads of sweat, work and cachaça.
Over more tham 70 years of operation, the cachaças produced in Zito’s mill have become well know in the region for their superior quality.
Consistently the mill has grown and put together the productive strength of two of his children who introduced some structural changes and the brand’s visual identity, always prioritizing the products quality maintenance and the wisdom given to them by their father since childhood to the presente day.
Reserva do Zito’s cachaças are handcrafted, obtained from the sugarcane juice cut manually and fermented by native yeasts. After fermentation, they use a copper still for the destilation process. Embracing the family tradition started by Zito. Reserva do Zito prides itself of bringing generous and witty cachaças, notable by the boldness of incomparable aromas and flavors.
JOSÉ RUFINO, ZITO
He was born in Croatá do Rufino, a town 18 km far from Picos - PI, where his parents, Pio Rufino and Teresa de Jesus got married, and Mr Zito, who goes by the name José Rufino da Silva, born on April 10, 1929. His parents moved to Passagem Franca - MA, his life was only 7 months old and they lived in the back of a trade.
Little Zito grew up in Passagem Franca and at the age of 15 he started working as a bricklayer in the still that produced cachaça consumed in the region that worked on the property where they lived. Gradually with the fruit of his work, he bought a piece of land here and there, until he bought a plot of land with almost 45 hectares.
He married Francisca Medeiros de Araújo, known as Chiquita, with whom he had 5 children.
Zito's life is marked by work and love for the land, the planting of sugar cane and the manufacture of quality cachaças. Mr Zito exercises his rural craft with mastery and the product of his still art enchants and pleases or tastes the most demanding connoisseurs.