In 1820, Juan Sebastián Serrallés came to Ponce from Spain and settled in Puerto Rico. Soon after, he built a sugarcane plantation and started a family in Ponce. In 1861, Don Juan Serrallés, son of Juan Sebastián Serrallés, founded the estate, a sugar cane plantation named after his wife Mercedes.

In 1865, Don Juan Serrallés brewed his first barrel of rum from a copper pot still imported from France. It was also this year that he made his first sale—the serrallés rum brewing tradition began. In the early 1830s, Don Juan Serrallés' son Juan Eugenio Serrallés completed the construction of Castillo Serrallés on a hill overlooking Ponce. This manor has been the family headquarters for 70 years.

In 1934, the DonQ brand was launched for the general market. The brand is named after Don Quixote, a literary figure in the novel that the family loves. Just as Don Quixote represents the exploration of the world, DonQ symbolizes the family's pursuit of rum brewing. In 1935, Ramon "Monchito" Marrero made pia Colada DonQ rum. As a bartender at the world-famous Beachcomber bar at the Hilton San Juan Caribbean, he stunned the 1950s with this original cocktail.

In 1985, Serrallés, Inc. acquired Puerto Rico Distillers, greatly expanding its brand scope. In 1998, DonQ launched its first seasoned rum, Don Q Limón.