"Got Rum?" March 2023

Got Rum? ®

e ditor and Publisher: luis@gotrum.com

e xecutive e ditor: margaret@gotrum.com

Cigar and r um: philip@gotrum.com

Angel’s s hare: paul@gotrum.com

r um h istorian: marco@gotrum.com

r um in the n ews: mike@gotrum.com

Cooking with r um: sue@gotrum.com

w ebmaster: web@gotrum.com

d irector of Photography: art@gotrum.com

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news@gotrum.com

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F rom T he edi T or March of the Sugarcane

For us in the n orthern hemisphere, m arch represents a turning point weather-wise: winter’s chill moves to the rear-view mirror as s pring weather starts to appear on the horizon.

The arrival of warmer weather, however, also signals the emergence of weeds around our sugarcane stalks, ready to compete for nutrients and space with our sweet crops!

Chemical, mechanical and/or physical approaches to weed control are actively being applied throughout cane fields in our part of the world: it is important to reduce plant competition so that the sugarcane’s yield at harvest time is as bountiful as possible.

i f you are a long-time reader of this magazine, then you probably are familiar with my predilection for metaphors and the parallels i like to draw between agriculture and our everyday life.

w eed prevention and control in the fields is akin to proper organization and planning around the office or at home: remove existing clutter, prevent future clutter accumulation, and know where your crucial belongings are located, so that you can quickly retrieve them during an emergency.

s peaking of emergencies, here in Central Texas, the winter ice storms are becoming the yearly norm, forcing residents to be better prepared to face blackouts for days, with outdoor temperatures well below the freezing point. Thankfully, sugarcane scientists have been developing hardier strains for many years, and more coldresistant varietals are now available for cultivation.

w hile these cold-hardy varietals were originally intended for extending the sugarcane growing zones farther n orth, they are now an excellent option for

maintaining the existing production areas subject to the colder winter conditions.

r eturning to our metaphor, how is your “garden” (home, office)? i s it well organized and ready for all your projects and tasks to flourish? o r is it covered in weeds, insects and remnants from previously completed tasks? Are you prepared to survive the changing climate conditions and the upcoming tasks? i invite you to spend a few minutes each day nourishing your soul and maintaining your workspace, so that you can better enjoy the warm weather when it arrives.

Cheers!

l uis Ayala, Editor and Publisher

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rumconsultant

do you want to learn more about rum but don’t want to wait until the next issue of “got rum?”? Then join the “rum lovers unite!” group on linkedin for updates, previews, Q&A and exclusive material.

s sh A re

by Paul s enft

Copalli w hite o rganic r um

m y name is Paul s enft - r um r eviewer, Tasting host, Judge and w riter. m y exploration of r ums began by learning to craft Tiki cocktails for friends. i quickly learned that not all rums are created equally and that the uniqueness of the spirit can be as varied as the locales they are from. This inspired me to travel with my wife around the Caribbean, Central America, and u nited s tates visiting distilleries and learning about how each one creates their rums. i have also had the pleasure of learning from bartenders, brand ambassadors, and other enthusiasts from around the world; each one providing their own unique point of view, adding another chapter to the modern story of rum.

The desire to share this information led me to create www.RumJourney.com where i share my experiences and reviews in the hopes that i would inspire others in their own explorations. i t is my wish in the pages of “ g ot r um?” to be your host and provide you with my impressions of rums available in the world market. h opefully my tasting notes will inspire you to try the rums and make your own opinions. The world is full of good rums and the journey is always best experienced with others.

Cheers!

The Copal Tree distillery is in the southern rainforest of Belize, and uses non- gmo , heirloom sugar cane grown at the neighboring Copal Tree Farm for their rum line. w ithin two hours of harvesting the cane, it is pressed to ensure the freshness of the sugar cane juice. To produce their white rum, the company ferments the juice using yeast and rainwater harvested from around the property. After fermentation, they distill the liquid in column and pot stills to create the components of their final blend. This blend is rested for six months in stainless steel containers before being blended to 42% AB v and bottled on-site. d ue to the distillery’s unique location, they strive to be an environmentally zero impact company, using their dried cane bagasse to fuel their distillery’s boilers and coiling systems. They then use the ash to fertilize their sugar cane fields. Any wastewater generated by the distillery is filtered and used to water the plants and crops around the property.

Appearance

The 700 ml bottle used for their entire line is a tall bottle with a short neck and a thick base. The bottle is sealed with a clear security wrap and has a long top label that covers the wooden cap, holds a plastic cork, and goes down two sides of the neck. The front label contains basic information, whereas the back label contains information about the company and the product. The liquid is crystal clear in the bottle and glass. s wirling it produced a thin band that beaded up slowly and released a single round of legs before evaporating, leaving behind a ring of residue.

n ose

The aroma of the rum begins with the smell of freshly cut sugar cane, followed by a strong hit of lemon-orange citrus notes and grilled pineapple. The fruit esters are balanced by an intriguing array of mineral and earthy notes that remind me of some other r hum Agricoles and Cachaças i have sampled over the years. The alcohol is always present, but not overpowering, augmenting instead of suppressing the notes in the profile.

Palate

The palate is very similar to the aroma, the citrus notes pave the way as the alcohol wraps the tongue and conditions the mouth with a light vanilla note. The cooked pineapple is present, with the addition of ripe banana, breadfruit, and papaya that cover the midpalate. The cane and earthy mineral notes form the baseline and transition with the other flavors into a long, dry finish.

Review

i had heard about the Copalli rum line for a few years and was happy to finally acquire a bottle to review. i admit i was curious about the product after hearing so much about it. i did not have any expectations concerning the flavor profile but was pleasantly surprised at the fruity complexity balanced by the mineral notes. i tried the rum in a couple of cocktails, and the flavors of the spirit held up nicely. Fairly priced, i found this to be a quality rum that can be easily enjoyed neat, with an ice cube or mixed in a d aquiri, punch, or light fruit-based cocktail. i look forward to exploring the other two products in their line, as this one sets a high bar for them. i n the u nited s tates, the Copalli rum line is currently available in California, Florida, and n ew York, as well as at certain online retailers.

T he A ngel’ s sh A re

by Paul s enft

r on del Barrilito Three s tars

r on del Barrilito was established in 1880 by Pedro Fernandez at the h acienda s anta Ana in Bayamon, Puerto r ico. The company lays claim to being the oldest rum produced in Puerto r ico and states that they have continued to use the same methods to create their product since it was founded. The Three s tar s uperior e special is a blend of rums aged between six and ten years in white oak barrels that were used for aging o loroso s herry in Jerez, s pain. A small portion of the rum is infused with dried fruits and spices to help give the spirit its signature flavor and aroma prior to aging. After the rum matures to the blender’s specifications, it is blended to 43% AB v. The company claims it uses no artificial flavors or coloring with their product, and the water used for the blending of the rum comes from rainwater collected at the hacienda.

Appearance

The rum is sold in a white, cylindrical tube with black and gold script. The information on the tube and the labels of the bottle are the same and disclose much of the same information shared in the introduction. The synthetic cork is secured to the bottle by a clear security wrap on top of the cork cap, and the label reads “est. 1880.”

The liquid in the bottle had a dark reddish amber color that reminded me more of a sherry than a rum. The rum lightens considerably when poured into the glass. After swirling it, a thick ring formed, and as it expanded, it dropped several rounds of legs down the side of the glass. After a few minutes, it evaporated, leaving behind thick beads and residue in its wake.

n ose

The aroma of the rum leads with a light ethanol note that reveals notes of vanilla, raisins, rock fruit, cooked bananas, allspice, and toasted oak.

Palate

The first sip of the rum opens with notes of caramelized vanilla, banana, cinnamon, and allspice. m idpalate: an astringent oak note dominates briefly as it fades, and the raisin and rock fruit from the aroma come in along with notes of graphite, herbal tea, walnuts, and dried tobacco leaf. As the rum begins to fade, the astringency and oak tannins return, leading to a long, dry finish.

Review

o ver the years, the information concerning the source of r on del Barrilito’s rum has changed, but the one thing that remains consistent is that it is always sourced from a Puerto r ico based distillery. The rum itself is an interesting product in the sense that there are quite a few flavors going on, the heaviness of the sherry influence is undeniable, along with the strength of the fruit flavors. The juxtaposition of sweet fruit and the spice notes and oak tannins was a bit extreme at certain points during the evaluation process, which led me to understand why some folks are huge fans of the products and others are not. Because of the use of maturation of fruits and spices to help create the flavor profile, many consider this a spiced rum product. For me, the astringency was a bit off-putting, but i enjoyed the balance and interplay of the flavors. These flavors lead to it being a quality ingredient in some tropical and fruit based classic cocktails that call for a Puerto r ican or s panish style rum in the recipe. i have been told it pairs well with cigars, and i know it goes well with Forteza milk chocolate candy. o verall, the rum is a good choice for bartenders looking for a workhorse ingredient as well as anyone looking to sip on a rum with an interesting complexity.

COOKING WITH RUM

Bringing the Spirit of the Cane Into the Heart of the Kitchen!

by Chef Susan Whitley

s pirited s pring Mix s alad

i ngredients:

• 4 oz. s pring g reens s alad Blend

• 1 oz. Arugula

• ⅓ C. Dried Cranberries

• 1/8 C. Pecans, chopped (or substitute with walnuts)

• 1/8 C. Pepitas

• 1/4 C. g oat Cheese, crumbled

• ¼ C. e xtra- v irgin o live o il

• 1 Tbsp. Apple Cider v inegar

• 1/2 Tbsp. d ark r um

• 1 ½ tsp. h oney

• 1 tsp. d ijon m ustard

• ¼ tsp. s ea s alt

• g round Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. i n a large bowl add all ingredients and mix well.

2. d ivide into 2 salad bowls.

Roasted Chicken with Pear-Rum g ravy

i ngredients:

• 1 (6 pound) r oasting Chicken

• s ea s alt

• g round Black Pepper

• 1 large bunch fresh Thyme

• 10 s prigs of o regano

• 1 lemon, halved

• 1 head garlic, minced

• 1/4 s tick Butter, melted

• 1 l arge Yellow o nion, thick slices

• 1 l arge r usset Potato, cut in half inch slices

• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks

• 1 bulb of fennel, cut into wedges

• o live oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. r inse the chicken inside and out. r emove any excess fat and pat the outside dry. l iberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. s tuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, potatoes, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil. s pread vegetables evening around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

3. r oast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. r emove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. s lice the chicken onto each plate. d rizzle the Pear- r um g ravy (see recipe) on top of the chicken and serve with the vegetables.

Pear-Rum g ravy

i ngredients:

• 4 Tbsp. Butter

• 1/2 C. All-purpose Flour

• 2 C. Chicken Broth

• 3/4 C. Pear Juice

• 1/4 C. d ark r um

• s ea s alt and Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. m elt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. o nce the foam subsides, stir in the flour and cook until light brown, about 2 minutes. g radually add the chicken broth and pear juice.

2. s immer over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. s tir in the rum and season with salt and pepper. s erve over roasted chicken.

Imbiber’s The Almanac

Are you looking for festive reasons to raise your glass this month?

h ere are a few of them!

w rite to us at info@gotrum.com if we missed any!

MAR 3 i rish Whiskey Day

MAR 3 n ational Mulled Wine Day

MAR 5 n ational Absinthe Day

MAR 15 e spresso Martini Day

MAR 17 s t. Patrick’s Day

MAR 20 Bock Beer Day

MAR 27 i nternational Whiskey Day

Imbiber’s The Almanac

Featured Cocktail: r um e spresso m artini

(Celebrated on m arch 15)

r um e spresso m artinis have been featured numerous times in this magazine. w e invite you to review Philip’s Cigar & r um Pairings for a few examples.

Below is an excellent recipe from Cris d ehlavi, our m use of m ixology. i t was originally published last month and is an excellent cocktail to celebrate with on m arch 15th.

Beware though, you may crave it throughout the s pring and s ummer!

R u M es PR esso MAR tini

i ngredients:

• 1.5 oz. Aged Jamaican r um

• 1 oz. Coffee l iqueur

• 1.5 oz. e spresso

• Three dashes of o range Bitters

• Three drops s aline

Directions:

s hake well with ice, and strain into a Coupe (or m artini, if you don’t have Coupe) glass. Zest an orange peel over the top and discard. g arnish with three chocolate-covered espresso beans.

t H e M use of M i X ology

by Cris Dehlavi

n o and l ow Proof Cocktails

m any people adjust their alcohol consumption at the beginning of a new year; for some, it is simply a “ d ry January,” and for others, that continue throughout the year. The challenging and depressing side effects of 2020 and the ever-looming threat of Covid were tough for a lot of folks, and it seems people either drank more than before or used the lockdown as an opportunity to get in shape. w hether your reason is health-related or you simply do not want to drink, no-proof (non-alcoholic) and low-proof cocktails have become a trend on cocktail menus, and i think it’s here to stay.

m y name is Cris d ehlavi and i am a native of Arizona, but have lived in Columbus, o hio since 2002. i just took on an exciting new role as the Brand e ducator for Columbus for d iageo brands. i ran the bar program at “ m ”, of the Cameron m itchell r estaurant group from 2002-2020. i am currently the v ice President of Columbus us B g and was one of the founding members of the chapter.

i n 2013, i attended the rigorous B.A. r . 5 d ay s pirits Certification and have been recognized as one of the top mixologists in the u s .A. i am one of the senior managers of the prestigious apprentice program at Tales of the Cocktail and work as a mentor to many bartenders around o hio.

m y contribution to g ot r um? magazine will include everything from reviews of national cocktail events, articles on mixology, garnish trends, recipes and techniques, to interviews with some of the leading bartenders in the industry.

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 20

n on-alcoholic drinks are historically BA d . s o bad that we used to call them “mocktails” until someone along the way realized that was a derogatory term for something you are going to consume. Bartenders didn’t really care to make them, so you would usually receive an overly sweet juice concoction. o ver the last few years, that has changed, and bartenders are getting extremely creative with spirit-free cocktail ingredients, from the glassware it is served in, to the garnishes that adorn them.

s o, what is a low-proof cocktail? i t can actually mean several different things. First of all, let’s understand what “low proof” is. d epending on who you ask, some people will tell you that any spirit under 40% AB v (alcohol by volume) is low-proof, whereas others will say that number should be 25% AB v. Previously, low-proof cocktails were made with liqueurs or vermouths as the base spirit and sometimes topped with a sparkling wine. As this trend has continued, the mixology community has heavily embraced it and gotten highly creative.

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 22

s yrups, juices, herbs, botanicals, and craft sodas have added to the innovation, and lower-proof vodkas, tequilas, and other spirits. Cocktail menus worldwide have made space for no and low-proof cocktails, and those that enjoy them demand that they be as pretty and delicious as the classics.

s o why am i writing about this in a rum magazine? o ne reason is that i like to talk about the current trends and fads. The other reason is that there is another way to make a lower-proof cocktail, and that is to simply reduce the amount of spirit in the cocktails. i f the recipe calls for 2 ounces of rum, you can bring that down to 1 ounce and still have a fine drink. m aking it a “long drink” by serving it in a tall glass with extra of the mixer is another trick. o ne of my all-time favorite cocktails is the French 75, which is traditionally made with either cognac or gin, but you know i love to play around with recipes. h ere is my low proof, rum French 75. e njoy!!

Caribbean 75

i ngredients:

• .75 oz. l ight r um

• .5 oz. s imple s yrup

• .5 oz. l emon Juice

Directions:

s hake well with ice, and strain into a coupe or flute glass. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a twist of lemon. Pro-tip: i f you have fresh berries, muddle a few in the bottom of your cocktail shaker and double strain for another layer of flavor.

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 23

LIBRARY

r eviews of books related to sugarcane, milling, fermentation, distillation, aging, blending and other topics related to the production or history of rum.

www. r um u niversity.com

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 24

Craft Cocktails at Home: o ffbeat techniques, Contemporary Crowd- Pleasers, and Classics Hacked with s cience

By Kevin l iu

(Publisher’s r eview)

Think of i t as Your Ph d in d rinking.

i n Craft Cocktails at h ome, you’ll embark upon a oneof-a-kind journey as you learn how to make some of the world’s most innovative, unique, and delicious cocktails.

Taste scientists, engineers, and talented bartenders with decades of experience all contributed their expertise to create this must-have guide for novices and professionals alike.

e ver wondered what makes water taste good? Curious about what really happens during the barrel-aging process? i nterested in which “molecular” ingredients have the best texture?

These questions and more, answered inside. w ith 250 pages and 65 recipes.

About the author

After high school, Kevin got a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and a master’s from mi T, but it wasn’t until he finally finished going to school that he realized how cool science is. h e started writing about food and science online at s cienceFare.org in 2011, where his current “research” interest is the science of cocktails.

Publisher: Kevin l iu; 1st edition

(February 24, 2013)

l anguage: e nglish

Paperback: 254 pages is B n -10: 0615766382 is B n -13: 978-0615766386

i tem w eight: 15.2 ounces

d imensions: 6 x 0.58 x 9 inches

your o ne- s top s hop for Aged Rums in Bulk!

• Column- d istilled, Pot- d istilled or Blends

• h igh Congener ( i ncluding h igh e sters), l ow Congener or Blends

• Aged in American or French o ak Barrels

• Aged in r ye w hiskey, Bourbon, Tequila, Armagnac, Port, s herry and w ine Barrels

• s ingle Barrels and s econd Aging/Finish

• d istilled in the us A, Central America, s outh America or in the Caribbean

• o ver 150 m arks/ s tyles Available, plus Custom Blends

• l ow m inimums and Fast Turnaround, w orldwide s hipping

t H e R u M H isto R i A n

by m arco Pierini

i was born in 1954 in a little town in Tuscany ( i taly) where i still live. i n my youth, i got a degree in Philosophy in Florence and i studied Political s cience in m adrid, but my real passion has always been h istory and through h istory i have always tried to understand the world, and men. l ife brought me to work in tourism, event organization and vocational training, then, already in my fifties i discovered rum and i fell in love with it.

i have visited distilleries, met rum people, attended rum Festivals and joined the r um Family. i have studied too, because r um is not only a great distillate, it’s a world. Produced in scores of countries, by thousands of companies, with an extraordinary variety of aromas and flavors, it is a fascinating field of studies. i began to understand something about sugarcane, fermentation, distillation, ageing and so on.

s oon, i discovered that rum has also a terrible and rich h istory, made of voyages and conquests, blood and sweat, imperial fleets and revolutions. i soon realized that this h istory deserved to be researched properly and i decided to devote myself to it with all my passion and with the help of the basic scholarly tools i had learnt during my old university years.

i n 2017 i published the book “A meri CA n rum – A s hort h istory of r um in e arly America”

i n 2019 i began to run a Blog: www. therumhistorian.com

i n 2020, with my son Claudio, i have published a new book “F ren C h rum – A h istory 1639-1902”.

i am currently doing new research on the h istory of Cuban r um.

his

C on T inuous s T ill

The first decades of the 1800s were a period of enormous scientific and technological progress in sugar making and in distillation, progress that came first from France.

r egarding sugar making, this is the period when beet sugar arrived on the e uropean markets. Actually, the potential of beet regarding sugar production was already well known to e uropean chemists, but until then nobody had taken particular notice. n apoleon was the first to invest a lot of resources in the development of beet sugar as an economic weapon against his great enemy, g reat Britain. d uring the e mpire, a large sugar beet industry was operating in France. i mmediately after the defeat of n apoleon and the return of a Bourbon king on the throne of France, the new industry floundered, but with the help of new technological developments and of the s tate, it quickly returned to prosperity and by 1835 some four hundred factories were producing nearly 80,000,000 pounds of beet sugar, more or less a third of global French

consumption. s oon, all over e urope many governments followed the example of France, supporting the cultivation of sugar beet and the production and consumption of beet sugar. For the first time, e uropeans could consume sugar in abundance and at reasonable prices, without the necessity of expensive import costs from distant colonies. As early as 1840 beet sugar surpassed cane sugar in the French and g erman markets. ( s ee my article “ n AP oleon , sug A r B ee T A nd rum ” in the o ctober 2019 issue).

The French sugar planters of m artinique and g uadeloupe risked ruin and the French government supported them with large loans to develop new sugar plantations and by granting them a monopoly on the French cane sugar market. The production increased, but cane sugar could no longer compete in quality and price with beet sugar, for the producers of beet sugar had the advantage of lower costs, as well as more advanced technology. “The situation began to shift in 1841, when Paul d aubrée, a French industrialist, proposed to the colonists of g uadeloupe and m artinique that they follow the example of the beet sugar producers by separating farm work from industrial work. According to d aubrée, this could be accomplished by building totally mechanized Usines Centrales (Central Factories) to process large quantities of sugarcane cultivated simultaneously on several plantations.”

(F.

m oya Pons

“ History of the Caribbean ”)

The first steam-powered central factories capable of grinding great quantities of sugarcane from ten or twelve planters, greatly reducing costs, were built in the French Caribbean between 1844 and 1848; cane sugar was now competitive with beet sugar again.

The Cuban s ugar Barons adopted very quickly the new mechanized manufacturing processes in their large plantations, called Ingenios , as indeed they did with other modern innovations such as steam, railways, etc. but without separating farm work from industrial work, and around 1850 Cuba became one of the biggest producers of sugar in the world. i t is important to remember that this sugar boom happened

as part of an impressive economic and demographic growth ( s ee the article “ sug A r , r AC e A nd grow T h ” in the d ecember 2022 issue).

r egarding alcoholic distillation, this is the period when the Column s till arrived. i think it is useful to read again the fundamental, and so far unrivaled, r .J.Forbes’ “ Short History of the Art of Distillation ”. “For here the French technologists were supreme in the early nineteenth century, they were the men ‘distilled out of our virtues’ who led in the art. … the genius of the French distillers of the first two decades of the nineteenth century started an avalanche of patents of new distilling systems and apparatus … The pioneer of the new still was e duard Adam … his new distilling apparatus ‘to prepare alcohol in one operation’ for which he got a patent on m ay 29th 1801 … s o Adam, s olimani, Barre and Brunere had introduced the idea of running the first condensate counter-current to the vapors and thus enriching it to produce the desired strength of the alcohol in one run. …The final step of using the principles introduced by Adam etc. to build a distilling column was taken by Jean Baptiste Cellier Blumenthal.” The apparatus was designed for continuous operation and he may be truly regarded as the inventor of the modern fractionating column. Cellier introduced the idea of a continuous stream of wine entering the preheater and a continuous stream of spent residue leaving the still. A few years later, also the e nglish inventors were drawn to the problem and the crown of their efforts was Aeneas Coffey’s continuous still, patented in 1830. “The Coffey still was an immediate success. … They easily gave 80% alcohol in one operation and therefore worked very cheaply as compared with the continental stills.”

n ow, for the sake of clarity, about what exactly a Column s till was (and is) and how exactly it differs from the traditional Pot s till, let’s read what r ichard s eale wrote some years ago on his personal FB page, later published in one single article - “Aeneas Coffey, John Dore and Foursquare ” - on rum di A ries B log , February 9, 2021.

“The dichotomy is not pot still v column still but batch still v continuous still. All

still designs fall into one of the latter two categories. The addition of fractionation or enhanced rectification to a batch still is still a batch still. The simple batch still relies solely on the lyne arm for rectification. e nhancing this effect does not change the fundamental nature of the still. … A batch still will produce a changing output over time (colloquially the heads, then hearts, then tails) from a single charge (batch) that itself changes as it is distilled. A continuous still produces an unchanged output that varies by position (not by time) on an unchanging charge that is fed continuously. h eads, hearts, tails are drawn off simultaneously from different positions. This is the fundamental distinction between the two processes which also explains why the two can never make the identical spirit. … e arly column shaped stills (e.g. the columnar Pistorius still) should not be confused with a column or continuous still, it was a batch still and the s avalle or Cellier Blumental stills are not fitted with “a pot still” just because they had a pot shaped base/kettle – there were in fact continuous (or coloumn) stills.”

i t is important to underline yet again that when the new column stills began to be used, rum production and exportation in Cuba was already huge. i n 1820, José Agustín g ovantes had written: “The prohibition to export molasses or the duties imposed on it, have enriched us with stills that produce 30.000 pipas a year. The prohibition or the duties imposed on foreign rums have naturalized this branch of industry and not only satisfyed our needs, but we also export rum abroad and in s pain too.” ( l eonardo Padura “ La larga vida secreta de una fórmula secreta ”, 1988).

But, when did they arrive in Cuba? i found in the s panish archives some 1826 and 1827 patent applications regarding continuous stills, as we will see in the next article. And we already know that in 1832 the “ h andbook for d istillers” stated: “The old ones are the most common; there are several distilleries that have continuous distillation.” s o, in 1832 at the latest, we are sure that some continuous stills were already operating in Cuba.

According to the great work of m anuel m oreno Fraginals “ El Ingenio. Complejo económico-social cubano del azúcar ”, published in 1978 (in my opinion an essential reading if we are to understand X i X century’s Cuba), around 1840 some great distilleries began to be founded in h avana, m atanzas and Cárdenas. They were no longer within the sugar plantations as an ancillary activity, but they were built in the towns as a real, independent industry. And export grew. “Cuban rum exports, in 1854, accelerated at a remarkable pace. There were a few reasons. That year, Britain opened its ports to foreign produce and commodities, including rum. w estern e urope was in the throes of the oïdium blight … Cuba exported nearly three million gallons per year. s ix years later, Britain equalized foreign rum import duties, placing Cuban rum producers on a par with their British Caribbean competitors.” (A. m iller and J.Brown with d .Broom and n . s trangeway “ CUBA. The Legend of Rum ”, 2009)

The Cuban rum industry became of primary importance in the economy of the island, so much so that when in 1855 l eopoldo g arcía r uíz published the “ Manual de la fabricación del aguardiente de caña ” he stated that its objective was “to improve one of the most important industries” and then added that the Adam apparatus “is commonly used in this County”.

Two years later, in 1857, Justo g . Cantero published “ LOS INGENIOS Colleccion de Vistas de los Principales Ingenios de Azucar de la isla de Cuba ” The book is considered one of the best Cuban publications of the X i X century thanks to the numerous, beautiful lithographs by e duardo l aplante, which constitute also a mine of images of the Cuba of the time. i n the i ntroduction, Cantero wrote: “ r um distillation has also prospered and it has begun to be made properly: everybody is already familiar with the most advanced methods, the French, e nglish, Belgian stills & co., as well as Blumenthal, s anguier y Coffeg [Coffey?], d erosne, e grot, s hear & son &c, &c distillation apparatuses. w e have recently received the work which was published in Paris: d uplais, Traité des

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 30

liqueurs et de la distillation del alcools which we would like to get translated. The apparatus i have used is s hear and son from l ondon and it has given me wonderful results, producing a gallon of rum every gallon of molasses, which is the best you could wish for … o ver the last few years, a considerable number of stills have been installed, some of which capable of producing fifteen to twenty pipas a day, which means from 1695 to 2260 gallons.”

Towards the end of this period, Jacobo de la Pezuela in his “ Diccionario de la Isla de Cuba ” published in 1863-1866, wrote: “ s ugar is the main, but by no means the only product of the plantations. They produce molasses too … and the various types of rum of different degrees and kinds that are consumed on the island, and those that are meant for foreign markets ... From the alembics equipped with s hear, d erosne, s anguier, e grol Coffeg y Blumenthal distilling apparatuses, for each gallon of rum corresponding to 4 ½ bottles, we obtain the same quantity of rum of 30 degrees Cartier many times over. There are stills whose production exceeds 45 pipas a day.”

l et us conclude. To answer a question asked by my rum friend r ichard n icholson ( n ew Zealand r um s ociety), who was the first to use a column still in Cuba?

s adly, i do not know. o nly a deeper immersion in s panish and Cuban archives could, maybe, answer this question, but it is not in my plans, for now. For now, i think it’s enough to have demonstrated that the new continuous stills were adopted in Cuba at least as early as 1832. This means that in Cuba they were among the first to adopt them in the Caribbean (maybe the very first?), thanks to the dynamism of the Cuban s ugar Barons and also to the strong relations between Cuba and France, which we will return to in the future. And this early adoption is in my opinion very important, for it concurred to change Cuban rum for ever paving the way for its lasting, worldwide success. Yes, because as well as being more efficient and economical, producing a bigger quantity of spirit faster and at a lower cost, it soon became clear that the rum (and the whiskey) produced by the new Column s tills was qualitatively different from the old spirit made in traditional Pot s tills. i t was in fact another kind of rum. i t did not have any of the usual bad smell, the good old “rum stink’”. o n the contrary, it smelt pleasant. m oreover, it was lighter, easy to drink, and with a bit of ageing, it even tasted really good.

i think that’s enough for now, see you next month.

m arco Pierini

The process of making sugar could be very different according to time, places, markets, technical choices etc. i want to remember that for the sake of simplicity i call molasses all the many kinds of by-products it produced.

P os T s C ri PT um

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 32

BITTER Until The END

Join us as we explore the fascinating world of bitter flavors and their role in gastronomy, mixology and health.

Presented by

BITTER Until The END

s cience has classified flavors into five main groups, as perceived by our tongues. These groups are: s weet, s our, s alty, Bitter and -most recently- u mami.

m ost foods and beverages have a combination of flavoring compounds that give them their particular “footprint,” that can encompass several of these flavor groups. This new series is devoted to the Bitter flavor, and to its impact on our everyday life.

us from toxic plants and other substances, which often taste bitter. Although it gets a bad rap, bitterness can be used to create well-rounded and desirable flavor palates. You may not be aware of it, but bitterness is present in many of our favorite foods including chocolate, coffee, wine and barrel-aged spirits.

What does the word “Bitter” mean?

m erriam- w ebster dictionary defines the word bitter (when used as an adjective) as: being, inducing, or marked by the one of the five basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, and often disagreeable and characteristic of citrus peels, unsweetened cocoa, black coffee, mature leafy greens (such as kale or mustard), or ale . The origin of the word goes back to m iddle e nglish, from o ld e nglish biter , going back to g ermanic * bitra(whence o ld s axon & o ld h igh g erman bittar “acrid-tasting,” o ld n orse bitr “biting, sharp”) and * baitra - (whence g othic baitrs “sharp-tasting”), derivatives from the base of * bītan - “to bite.”

How Does “Bitter” Actually t aste?

Bitterness is neither salty nor sour, but may at times accompany these flavor sensations. g

e volutionary scientists suggest that the ability to detect bitterness evolved as a way to protect

m any people are innately opposed to bitter flavors, but a liking for it can and is acquired. Compounds that have an alkaline p h , such as baking soda, often have a bitter flavor.

s cientific research has found that some humans are more sensitive to bitter flavors than others.1 These individuals are referred to as “supertasters” and are often of Asian, African, or s outh American descent. Being a supertaster may explain why some individuals find the flavor of vegetables highly disagreeable. m ost vegetables contain at least some bitterness, especially when raw.

Bitter f oods

d ark, leafy greens are well known for their bitter flavor. g reen leafy vegetables often increase in bitterness as they mature. For this reason, many people prefer tender young greens to their more mature -and bittercounterparts. Bitter green vegetables include kale, dandelion greens and broccoli.

Cocoa is another food that is enjoyed for its bitter flavor. Pure cocoa has a distinct bitterness, which can be used to balance flavors like sweet or spicy in other foods.

Adding sugar and cream to cocoa significantly reduces its bitterness, making it more palatable.

l ikewise, black coffee can be quite bitter. Although sugar and cream can be added to reduce the bitterness, many grow to enjoy the sharp flavor of black coffee. The type of bean and the unique roasting method will also impact coffee’s level of bitterness.

Citrus peels are well known for its bitterness, most of which resides in the white pith. As with most bitter flavors, it can be undesirable on its own, but when combined with other flavor elements, it can provide dimension and balance. o ther fruits and vegetables that may provide bitter flavors may include grapefruit, bitter melon, mustard greens, and olives. Beverages such as tonic water, bitters, and mate tea are all also considered bitter. Before shying away from bitter ingredients in the future, explore how they can be combined with complimentary tastes to build a complex and enjoyable flavor profile. Join

BITTER Until The END

Featured i ngredient: g reen Cardamom

s cientific n ame: e lettaria cardamomum

There are two main types of cardamom: black cardamom and green cardamom, and there is also white cardamom which is a bleached version of green cardamom. g reen cardamom is the kind found most often in n ordic and m iddle e astern cuisine, while recipes in i ndia and Asia will often specify whether green or black cardamom is used.

g reen cardamom is known as true cardamom . This is the most common variety you will see sold in the spice aisle of the supermarket. i t is the top choice for sweet dishes but also works well in savory dishes. The bleached version, white cardamom, has less flavor. i t is grown in tropical areas including i ndia, m alaysia, and Costa r ica.

Cardamom is used to spice both sweet and savory dishes. i t is widely employed in i ndian, m iddle e astern, Arabic, and s wedish cuisine. i t comes in two types and is used as whole pods, seeds, or ground.

( s ource: https://www.thespruceeats.com)

Did you Know t hat . . .

• i ts Antioxidant and d iuretic Properties

m ay l ower Blood Pressure

• m ay Contain Cancer-Fighting Compounds

• m ay Protect from Chronic d iseases

Thanks to Anti- i nflammatory e ffects g

• m ay h elp with d igestive Problems, i ncluding u lcers

• m ay Treat Bad Breath and Prevent Cavities

• m ay h ave Antibacterial e ffects and Treat i nfections

• m ay l ower Blood s ugar l evels

( s ource: https://www.healthline.com/)

w arnings:

i f used for a prolonged time and in large quantities, cardamom might lead to some unexplained allergic reactions.

s kin allergy known as contact dermatitis is a popular type of skin rash developed due to over intake of cardamom.

m ost anecdotal studies suggest that too much intake of cardamom causes gallstone complications.

s ome prescription medicines may interact with cardamom adversely and lead to serious health consequences.

( s ource: https://www.stylecraze.com/)

BITTER Until The END

f eatured Bitters Recipe: Cardamom Bitters

Cardamom is a commonly used ingredient in bitters, and for a good reason: its nutty, fruity, and piney taste contributes a wonderful dimension to drinks, especially to Fall cocktails.

Cardamom also matches well with nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon. h ere is a simple bitters recipe that you can quickly make at home.

i ngredients:

• 1 C. r ye w hiskey

• Full Zest of 1 l emon

• 2 Tbsp. g reen Cardamom Pods

• 2 w hole n utmeg s eeds

• 1 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns

Directions:

Put half of the whiskey and lemon in one jar and the other half and spices in the other. s eal both jars and shake well for a couple seconds. l et the lemon infuse for two to three days, and the spices for four to five days.

Filter out the solid ingredients when they smell just right, and combine the liquids in a new jar or bottle. Check how well the bitters turned out in a drink. d ilute with a bit of water or sweeten with a touch of simple syrup if needed.

g

Ru M in t H e ne W s

by m ike Kunetka

M ont A ny A D istille R s

m ontanya d istillers in Crested Butte, Colorado will be releasing their new rum, m ontanya Fuerza (which means strength), on m arch 8 in celebration of i nternational w omen’s d ay and w omen’s h istory m onth. Fuerza is a four-year-aged overproof rum, finished in an u ncle n earest barrel. m ontanya Fuerza will only be available at the m ontanya Tasting r oom in Crested Butte. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Crested Butte’s own m elanin m ountain Project and the label features artwork from B i P o C artist Amethyst m c d owell. Karen h oskins, m ontanya’s C eo and owner, was one of six individuals in the rum industry named The u ltimate & m ost Admirable C eo 2023 by The u ltimate Awards and The r um l ab. s ee paragraph below. https://www.montanyarum.com/

t H e ulti MA te A n D M ost ADM i RAB le C eo AWARD s

The u ltimate Awards and The r um l ab recognized the contributions of six rum industry Chief e xecutive o fficers for their exceptional performance and meritorious contributions to society in 2022. i n a ceremony at the m iami r um Congress, the six were presented with The u ltimate and m ost Admirable C eo Award. The recognized C eo s were:

These are the most recent and noteworthy headlines in the rum industry. i f you want us to share your news with our readers, please send me an email to: m ike@gotrum.com.

• m artha m iller, C eo of n ational r ums of Jamaica. m iller broke ground by being the first woman to hold this position in the Jamaican rum sector. s he is responsible for overseeing the operations of n ational r ums of Jamaica, a corporation comprised of five divisions and two distilleries.

• Jose Álvarez, C eo and Founder of s an Juan Artisan d istillers. w hen Álvarez’s landscaping business floundered with the economic collapse of 2008, he decided to grow sugarcane and make rum. Then, in 2017, h urricane m aria wiped out the cane fields he had worked so hard to cultivate. h e persevered and now TresClavos r um is his bestselling rum.

• Jose r . Ballesteros, C eo of d estilerias u nidas. José r afael, who was raised in the field of distilling and manufacturing spirits, took over the family firm and turned it around. i n 2002, they purchased l icoreras u nidas ( lus A) and several of its brands, including the renowned r on d iplomático, to his great delight.

• Karen h oskins, C eo of m ontanya d istillers. Karen started m ontanya d istillers in s ilverton, Colorado in 2008, at a time when the industry was dominated by men. s he had to fight to be taken seriously for her first decade in business. s he is passionate about gender equality and environmental sustainability. m ontanya was the world’s first certified B Corp rum distillery.

• Alexandre g abriel, C eo of m aison Ferrand. g abriel started m aison Ferrand in 1989 with a mission to preserve age-old, craft production methods that capture the true expression of the spirit. i n 1996, he created Citadelle g in, the g in de France, spearheading the movement for French gins. Alexandre then introduced Plantation r um in 1999, reflecting his passion for old rum-making techniques and introducing his trademark double-ageing process.

• s teve Jefferson, C eo and Co-founder of Kuleana r um. o n a family trip, s teve noticed the similarities between m artinique and his home state of h awaii. After discovering the existence of h awaiian heirloom sugarcane varietals, s teve decided to make rum from fresh pressed sugarcane juice. s ee my article on s teve and Kuleana r um on page 48.

https://therumlab.com/ https://theultimateawards. com/

WAR e H ouse #1

Czech r epublic independent bottler, w arehouse#1, has released a line of rums that are all unaged white spirits from iconic Jamaican distilleries, bottled at 63%. They include:

• w arehouse #1 o verproof w hite r um hl CFhl CF or “ h ampden l ight Continental Flavored” is the result of traditional wild fermentation and distillation that has been maintained in Jamaica’s Trelawny area for centuries. w ith an ester content between 500-600, this rum is not as intense as other rums produced by the h ampden distillery, but it is still funky, fruity and aromatic.

• w arehouse #1 o verproof w hite r um s TC he - This rum originated in Jamaica’s l ong Pond d istillery, which was founded in 1753 and is famous for its distinctive, funky rums that are created through an authentic distillation process. The abbreviation s TC e or “ s imon Thompson Cambridge e state” refers to the ester content classification used by the Cambridge distillery, which disappeared in 1947. The ester content in this rum varies between 550-700 g/h l PA..

• w arehouse #1 o verproof w hite r um r iver

m umma e dition w P/CJ n – The “mumma” is a creature that combines a mermaid and a jellyfish and protects the fresh waters of Jamaica’s rivers. This w orthy Park contribution is said to be made from fresh cane juice from their own plantation.

• w arehouse #1 o verproof w hite r um Anansi e dition n Y e / hm - n ew Yarmouth e state is a mysterious distillery standing in the Clarendon area near Clarendon d istillery and m onymusk s ugarworks. The owners of the distillery are extremely secretive, information is scarce, and therefore even independent fillings are very rare. This heavy, fruity rum is bottled at a typically Jamaican AB v of 63% with an ester content between 500-700g/ hl PA.

• w arehouse #1 o verproof w hite r um John Crow e dition do C – This offering comes from h ampden e state, a fabled distillery nestled between the mountains of Cockpit Country and the sea at Trelawny. l egend has it that Jamaican brandy was stolen here by members of a criminal gang from Trelawny. The brandy was named John Crow, because a person had to have a stomach as strong as a vulture, which is called “John Crow” in Jamaica, in order to drink it. do K, or d ermot o wen Kelly, h ampden e state rum brand with the highest ester content, hovering around 1600g/bl.

• w arehouse #1 o verproof w hite r um r olling Calf e dition T e CA – The r olling Calf is a mythical creature from Jamaican folk culture that belongs to the so-called d uppies or ghosts. The r olling Calf is said to be the spirit of a dead person who has taken the form of an animal that roams the night looking for troubled souls. The T e CA w ild r um from l ong Pond d istillery has an ester content of 1300 g/ml.

• https://www.warehouse1.cz/

PAPA’ s P il AR

Chief Conservation o fficer, m ike m yatt, recently visited the i .CA re organization in i slamorada, F l to donate $25,000 to support reef restoration, conservation and education efforts. Key w est r um m aker and marine biologist, s hawn m artin, joined the i .CA re folks for their d ive & Transplant d ay, helping to transplant coral and monitor the health of previously transplanted corals. i .CA re is dedicated to restoring the reefs of i slamorada, including the world-famous Alligator r eef. https://www.papaspilar. com/ https://www.icareaboutcoral.org/

MA tugg A D istille R y

A new age of rum-distilling is on the horizon for s cotland, as the award-winning m atugga d istillery launches its private cask ownership program to the public. i nspired by the success of s cotch whisky, the distillery is offering people the chance to tap into the emerging market of rum cask ownership and to be ‘part of s cotland’s distilling history’. r evered whisky expert Charles m ac l ean, m B e believes the move will ‘put s cottish rum on the map’. A limited number of casks are available for an initial investment of £3,300 each. The result will be circa 350 bottles of 3-year-old rum per ex-Bourbon cask, produced using a 2,000-litre copper pot still by head distiller and leading craft rum expert, Paul r utasikwa. The exclusive cask ownership is available on a first come, first filled basis in what Paul describes as “a milestone moment for s cottish rum”. Paul said: “This is an opportunity like no other to join us on a very special journey. s cotland has a little known and very deep rum heritage linked to the Age of i mperialism. n ow, in 2023, we’re part of s cotland’s exciting new wave of rum distillers and there’s a real opportunity for us to create history and take s cottish rum worldwide.” m atugga was one of the first u K businesses to produce rums distilled from scratch. Alongside his wife Jacine, Paul set-up the l ivingston-based distillery in 2018. Their artisanal cask-aged and spiced rums have won multiple international awards, including two g old medals at the r um and Cachaça m asters.

https://www.matuggarum.com/

CA ne isl A n D

Cane i sland r um offers an authentic range of rums from selected Caribbean and Central American countries. These rums truly represent the style and tradition of the origins and distilleries. The rum selection of Cane i sland r um consists of s ingle i sland Blends and s ingle e state r ums. The s ingle i sland Blends are blends of rum coming from different distilleries from one island. The s ingle e state r ums are sourced from one single distillery. Their recent 12-year n icaragua s ingle e state is one of those rums and has an interesting story. The label says 100% Tropical Aged, but there is a twist. i n 2006, the Compañía l icorera de n icaragua sold a big batch of freshly distilled bulk rum to a company in the Philippines, along with enough staves of exbourbon barrels to start the aging of the rum. Twelve years later, Cane i sland bought the whole batch from the company in the Philippines through a rum broker. Compañía l icorera de n icaragua has long since stopped selling bulk rum, as their own brands have grown, and it is now very difficult to find n icaragua rum from independent bottlers. The rum’s 12-year-old history has spanned the globe, and just like all their s ingle e states, the age statement refers entirely to tropical aging, albeit the tropical climate of the Philippines, not n icaragua.

https://www.caneisland-rum.com/

D on t H e B e ACHC o MB e R

l ast year, 23 r estaurant s ervices acquired and added the iconic d on the Beachcomber restaurant brand to its already impressive portfolio. l ast month, in honor of d onn’s birthday (February 22), the Tampabased hospitality company has moved forward with an expansive growth strategy for its new tiki-themed restaurant brand. According to m arc Brown, President of 23 r estaurant s ervices, there are currently two d on the Beachcomber restaurants and bars under development in Central Florida, with the first slated to open by the end of the year. e ach of the restaurants will feature the eccentric, Polynesian-inspired design and flamboyant, rum-based drinks that have become synonymous with d on the Beachcomber locations for more than 90 years. “ d on the Beachcomber is the most iconic brand in tiki history, so it’s impossible to overstate how excited we are about what lies ahead,” said Brown. “ w e look forward to leveraging our expertise in management and operational excellence to reintroduce the world to the legend that is d on the Beachcomber.” The expansion is being supported by a newly assembled advisory board made up of some of the most influential voices in tiki culture over the last 30 years. They are:

• Tim “ s wanky” g lazner – d onn Beach historian currently working on a book and documentary about d onn Beach. Author of m ai-Kai: h istory and m ystery of the i conic Tiki restaurant.

• m artin Cate – Author of s muggler’s Cove, as well as the owner of the bar by the same name.

• s ven Kirsten – Tiki historian and author of four tiki books, including The Book of Tiki, which is touted as a veritable bible within the genre.

• John m ulder – Famous tiki mug designer and owner of e ekum Bookum Tiki m ugs.

• d anny “Tiki d iablo” g allardo – Famous designer of tiki carvings, ceramic cocktail mugs and complete tiki bar interiors.

m arie King, former Beverage d irector and g eneral m anager of Tonga h ut in h ollywood, California, has joined the 23 r estaurant s ervices team as d irector of Beverage. “Assembling this dynamic and legendary group of experts to serve as our advisory board was the first step in developing a plan to share and represent the history and life of d on the Beachcomber with the utmost authenticity,” said Brown. “ w e could not be more excited to share the work we are doing together to bring d on the Beachcomber back to life.” d on the Beachcomber was founded by d onn Beach (born e rnest r aymond g antt), an American adventurer, businessman, and w orld w ar ii veteran. After traveling in the s outh Pacific and the Caribbean, he worked as a valet, dish washer, bootlegger, and movie advisor for a number of years. i n the early 1930s, Beach opened the very first d on the Beachcomber in h ollywood, California, a block off h ollywood Boulevard. i nspired by his travels and the s outh s eas movies, he filled the new place with a collection of odds and ends he found and imported during his excursions (bamboo, fishing floats, grass mattings, etc.).

https://www.23restaurants.com/

M

ount g

A y R u M

m ount g ay r um is celebrating its 320th birthday this year with the launch of Black Barrel Cask s trength r um. The brand claims that it is the oldest-running rum-producing distillery, having been established in 1703. “The year is monumental for m ount g ay,” noted Antoine Couvreur, m anaging d irector for m ount g ay, according to s pirit’s Business. “As we celebrate 320 years of heritage and tradition, we also keep our pioneering spirit and have tasked ourselves with being the industry leader in sustainability. w e must give back to the land we use and the people who live on it to ensure its future. This year also honors the expertise of our incredible team with new and limited releases coming out throughout the year. s tay tuned.” The anniversary rum is distilled in copper pot and column stills, matured in American whiskey casks and finished in charred Bourbon casks much like the famous Black Barrel. h owever, this new expression is bottled at cask strength with a 66% AB v. This new edition to the m ount g ay lineup is a distillery exclusive. The special release of around 1,500 bottles is only available at the m ount g ay d istillery and v isitor Center in Barbados. https://www.mountgayrum.com/

CAP t A in M o R g A n

Captain m organ will unveil its new label this month. The new design builds on the s pice o n campaign which celebrates the spice of Captain m organ’s liquid and ‘spice’ as the individuality people bring to social situations. The new pack puts the quality, flavor and most importantly the spice of the liquid at the forefront of the design. The design features a bold color palette and the addition of a dynamic and expressive gold brush stroke that reflects the golden spice and smoothness of the drink. s amori g ambrah, g lobal Brand d irector of Captain m organ, told l abel & l abeling ‘This new pack design heroes the delicious spice of our liquid and character as a brand. i t will allow us the flexibility we need to show up in a dynamic way in our sponsorships, live events, collaborations, and packaging around the world. This launch comes at an exciting time of transformation for Captain m organ, as we evolve how we communicate with our consumers.’ The new pack also includes a refreshed version of the brand’s famous Captain icon, maintaining recognizability while allowing the liquid to shine through as the hero – reinforcing the brand’s enduring smooth and delicious taste amid an explosion of flavor innovations within the spirits category over recent years. https://www.captainmorgan.com/

BR i X D istille R s

s pirit Business reported that Australian rum producer Brix d istillers is aiming to raise A u $15 million to build a new distillery in s ydney. e stablished in 2017, the premium rum brand is looking to ‘reinvent Australian rum culture’, as consumer demand for premium rum increases. This new funding round will

be put towards the full construction of a new ‘stateof-the-art’ rum distillery in s ydney that will hopefully see production capacity reach one million liters of rum annually to meet ‘surging’ local and international demand. Brix d istillers currently produces premium rum at its distillery in s urry h ills, s ydney. i n the past four years the producer has seen its revenue growth rate reach 60% per year. Brix w hite Cane s pirit is crafted in s urry h ills from premium Australian molasses, sourced from the cane-fields of Queensland and n orthern nsw . Brix announced their second s ydney aged Brix rum, The s elect Cask s eries - Tawny Finish r elease. This handcrafted rum has been matured in French oak casks, sourced from Brokenwood & Thomas w ines, two world-class wineries in the h unter v alley, nsw https://www.brixdistillers.com/

K i RK and s W eeney

3 Badge Beverage Corporation announced the launch of its Kirk and s weeney g ran r eserva s uperior r um barrel program. This program offers a special opportunity for trade buyers to taste Kirk and s weeney g ran r eserva s uperior r um samples finished in a variety of cask influences, including, but not limited to bourbon, sauternes and sherry barrels. Trade accounts can then select a custom barrel-finished product exclusively tailored for their customers.“ w e are thrilled to launch this barrel program for Kirk and s weeney, considering it is our largest global brand,” said August s ebastiani, President of 3 Badge Beverage Corporation. “This program reflects the adventurous spirit of this label, as well as our commitment to keeping up with demand, all while still offering the ultrapremium, handcrafted d ominican rum our clients and consumers have come to expect.” e ach bottle will feature a limited-edition gold neck made of sleek metal that prominently displays “ s ingle Barrel” for differentiation from the existing g ran r eserva s uperior offering. A custom-printed tag that includes the barrel type, finish time, bottle number, and account name is also included with each purchased bottle. Additionally, each account will receive the barrel head from the barrel selection. Barrels will be offered on limited availability. h andcrafted in the d ominican r epublic, Kirk and s weeney r um adheres to the very strict regulations to be called “ d ominican r um.” The process begins with handharvested, high-quality sugarcane that is pure. The byproduct of the sugarcane, “Blackstrap m olasses,” is then carefully fermented and distilled. The rum is then aged in a variety of American and French oak barrels, with the distiller conducting various steps of dumping, blending, and re-barreling through the years. The final blend for Kirk and s weeney g ran r eserva s uperior is aged on average between 6 and 25 years. The secondary barrel finish time will vary in length. https://www.kirkandsweeneyrum.com/ spirits/reserva-superior/

n ext 3-Day Rum Course: s eptember 6-8 2023

The r um u niversity® is proud to announce the date for its next 3-Day Rum Course , which will be offered at m oonshine u niversity’s state of the art facility in l ouisville, KY.

This course is designed for both existing and future rum distillers and brand owners, the 3-day workshop combines theory and practice to provide attendees with a practical, hands-on education on all things rum. From the financial, marketing, and regulatory considerations to the distillation, aging, and blending processes, every student will leave this course with a nuanced understanding of rum production, the spirits business, and how rum fits into the global, economic landscape.

o f course, you won’t miss out on any of the fun stuff: you’ll get to explore the science of rum production while getting your

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hands dirty distilling at our oncampus facilities. w e’ll also explore the history, category styles, and production methods for rum, as well as its mash bills, fermenting, distilling, and finishing processes. w ith rum tastings and sensory training sessions set up throughout the course, you’ll discover a variety of rum expressions and styles, and get a feel for the versatility of this delightful spirit.

w hether you’re a seasoned rum distiller or newbie to the business, this class is for anyone who has or is planning to open and/or operate a distillery; production team members (blenders); and anyone else interested in refining their knowledge of rum production.

This class is co-taught by l uis and m argaret Ayala, Co-Founders of t he Rum u niversity® and g ot Rum? m agazine.

6-Day Distiller Course, 2023 s chedule

The r um u niversity® is responsible for in-person teaching of the Rum Curriculum of the 6-Day Distiller Course offered by m oonshine u niversity at their state of the art facility in l ouisville, KY.

The 6-Day Distiller Course is designed not only to give the most comprehensive technical training and business management education in the industry, but also to offer participants social and networking opportunities with other participants, suppliers, industry professionals and world-renowned master distillers.

The r um section of the 6- d ay d istiller Course covers the following topics:

• r um definition (technical, legal, chemical)

• Alcohol congeners, quantifications and differentiations

• s ugarcane origin, cultivation, harvest and processing

• Business and economic aspects of the rum industry

• o rganoleptic assessments of rum via tasting exercises

• o verview of fermentation, distillation, aging and blending

• h ands-on distillation equipment experience

• Q&A

To register or to check for availability, please visit their website at www.moonshineuniversity.com. These are the 2023 dates:

• m arch 26-31, 2023

• m ay 21-26, 2023

• July 23-28, 2023

• o ctober 22-27, 2023

Additional Rum u niversity® Material

Click on the images to go directly to the ordering page. i f that does not work, copy and paste the links into your browser:

t he Rum l aboratory: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2140141

t he Rum Biography: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2139570

Rum Aging s cience Vol1: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2140574

f ermentation Primer: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2139000

i deas t hat Changed t he Rum World: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2140228

Rum Aging s cience Vol2: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2140576

HAWA ii A n R u M t RAV els PAR t i

by m ike Kunetka

After a year and a half of planning, our big family vacation to h awaii finally happened last d ecember. m y wife and i , our kids, grandkids, in-laws and outlaws spent time on the big island of h awaii and on o ahu, both of which coincidently (or not) have rum distilleries. d epending on who you ask, h awaii has between eight and eleven of the world’s thirteen climate zones. w e swam with 14-foot m anta r ays, hiked lush green forests and saw two volcanoes erupting at the same time. After all that excitement, the family decided to have some beach time and i drove to meet s teve Jefferson, Co-Founder and C eo of Kuleana r um w orks, at their sugarcane farm near u polu Point. Kuleana has fortyfive acres on the northern most point of the island where they are growing forty varieties of heirloom h awaiian sugarcane. This area has a rich history of growing sugarcane that dates back to the mid 1800’s.

i n August of 2019, m argaret Ayala, Publisher of g ot r um m agazine, interviewed s teve as Kuleana was just starting. i thought it might be time for a follow-up article. - m ike Kunetka

m K: s teve Jefferson ( s J) is a lifelong adventurer and entrepreneur who thinks, moves and talks at a dizzying pace. h e studied Creative w riting at the u niversity of California at s anta Barbara, rode a motorcycle with his soon-to-be wife through forty states, got married and sailed from s an Francisco to m exico to h awaii on a 38-foot sailboat and then started a construction company. i asked him how Kuleana came about.

s J: At the time, we had little kids and the housing market looked like it was going to peak around 2006, 2007. w e sold the last two houses we built and bought a catamaran. w e decided we were going to cruise around the Caribbean with our one and three-yearolds while the housing market cooled off. w e didn’t want to be stuck here. w e are cruising around and one day we go to m artinique and taste some r hum

s teve Jefferson, Co-founder and C eo of Kuleana r um w orks, h awai’i.

Agricole. w e were blown away. ‘ w hat is this stuff? w here has this been our whole life?’ They go, ‘yea it’s made from fresh sugarcane juice.’ w e ask ‘why don’t we have any of this in the us ?’ ‘ w ell, you guys can’t really grow sugarcane. s econd of all, you guys add sugar, flavors and coloring and stuff. w e take it and sell it in France and all over e urope instead.’ The whole time we are on m artinique, we are thinking this is just like h awaii. Plants are like h awaii. People are like h awaii. l atitudes are very similar. Both had histories that were tied to sugarcane. Both even had volcanoes. The analogies were just obvious. i looked at my wife and said we have to move back to h awaii and start a rum factory.

m K: i can’t imagine there are a lot of wives in the world whose husband tells her ‘ h oney, we are going to build a rum distillery’ and they would be okay with it.

s J: w ell, she hears this weird stuff from me all the time. For her, it was yea, just throw it on

the list. At the same time, we are sailing around looking for land to build a bed and breakfast. But for some reason, the rum thing totally stuck. w e came back here and started learning how to make rum, playing around with a still with our original partners, Chris and l ora s chlarb’. w e started by trying to replicate sugarcane juice by mixing some molasses in water, and some brown sugar and some white sugar and we came up with this recipe for what we thought tasted like sugarcane juice. Then we learned about this guy n oa l incoln (pictured above), who was working on his Ph d on the h awaiian Field s ystem and he has discovered all these heirloom varieties of sugarcane. w e are like what? h e goes ‘yea, there are 35 varieties of h awaiian heirloom sugarcane.’ h e is a soil scientist and he took dn A of all the plants and realized that all forty varieties of the sugarcane had the same dn A. h e pieced it all together and got a Ph d from s tanford for figuring this out. w hen the original voyaging canoes showed up here a thousand years ago, sugarcane was one of about twentyfive plants they brought with them.

NOTE: The Kuleana logo is a drawing of that ancient voyaging canoe.

SJ: They had some really good ideas and this great culture and they land on the island. Are they Hawaiian that night? No, they are Tahitian; they showed up from Tahiti. They are probably excited to be here because they don’t know where here is. They take their plants out of their boat and put them in the ground. They have done this throughout the entire Pacific. Hawaii was the very last archipelago that they settled. For 3,000 years they have been sailing around, settling all these islands with their plants and their culture. They are good at it. They don’t have compasses to guide them; they do this by watching the ocean and the stars. They show up and take their past with them and they put it in the ground and this is their future. That’s literally putting their culture in the ground. That’s a definition of culture. That is what they need to be a people and those are their rules and that is how they do things. They have committed to this place. That’s the moment they became Hawaiian. From those two or three cane plants they brought with them, they developed these 35 varieties. As things mutate, they would say that’s cool and they would put it in the ground. Oh, that one is purple, that one has blue stripes, etc. They did this for 100’s of years, probably about 800 or 900 years. This was hundreds of years before a single Pacific cane was brought to the Caribbean.

For us, this was the best story ever. We were going to make rum Agricole and we just stumbled across these heirloom varieties of sugarcane. This is awesome. We go to this little botanical garden where Noa had dropped off his plants and got cuttings from everything and literally grew them in pots in our yard for 6 months. Then we leased a two-acre plot and planted that out and started making rum. We used cuttings from that plot to start the farm you see today.

MK: The Kuleana farm consists of a crushing facility and sectioned plots, each growing a different variety of sugarcane. Steve explains that the array of solar panels nearby generates energy to run the well pump that irrigates the field every day. The farm is located at the North tip of the island and the wind off the Pacific is intense, which explains why there is a wind farm next door. I ask Steve about the wind farm and use of renewable energy.

SJ: The energy just goes back in the grid. It is illegal to transport any energy across the property. Even though they are making all this

power, we can’t use any of it. The cool thing I thought about is that we are here taking care of these plants, mowing and weeding and whatever, and I realize it is the job of every plant to convert sunlight into sugar. Every plant on Earth does the same thing. They are all just making sugar. As my kids will attest to, every life form on the planet needs sugar to live. That’s our source of energy. So, these plants are just solar panels that are converting this radiation energy from the sun into sugar.

MK: So, you have a field of solar panels?

SJ: Exactly.

As you walk through the property, you see cane plants in all different stages of growth. We pass one section that was cut just days ago. Those stalks were crushed here at the farm, the juice was extracted and it is now fermenting at the distillery. Harvested plants will regrow new stalks and can be harvested several times. New plants are grown from cuttings, not from seed. Cane stalks are cut into four-to-six-inch sections, making sure that each cutting has several nodes on it. Then they are placed horizontally in the soil. Plantaiton cane growers would simply dig a ditch and bury whole cane stalks and new plants would grow.

MK: How long does it does it take to grow sugarcane?

SJ: Its roughly a year from when you cut them until they grow back. It’s about eighteen to twenty-four months when you plant them. Once the cane is ready, they are cut by hand or by mechanical harvester, depending on the size and accessibility of the plot. We cut the cane and bring it over and load it on the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt dumps it into the first box that shreds it and turns it into pieces without the leaves. Then that goes up to the second box and comes down into the three-mill crusher, where it squeezes all that juicy pulp and then the fresh juice comes out. The bagasse comes out at the bottom and we will often re-run it because it still has some juice in it.

Now the race is on. The goal is to take the 1000-liter tote of fresh sugarcane juice eighteen miles down the coast to the distillery in Waimea before the natural sugarcane yeasts and bacteria start fermenting the juice.

SJ: Fresh sugarcane juice is the undisputed, elixir of life. Because of this, wild yeast and all bacteria want to ferment this stuff. The

second it gets turned into juice, biological warfare between any number of microorganisms immediately begins. It’s really difficult to have your particular yeast be the winner. The secret to being an Agricole rum maker is being able to treat the sugarcane juice properly. Agricoles vary in quality because the handling of the juice is done differently depending on who is making it.

MK: How do you get your yeast to win?

SJ: We thought that was going to be a piece of cake. What we didn’t realize is that every other microbe on the planet also wants to eat it. One day it would look beautiful and then a couple of days later we would have fermenters blow up. The top blew off and we would come in the next morning and there would be this industrial grade lubricant on the floor. It was so slippery; we could have had an ice-skating rink. Bacteria got hold and bacteria propagates ten times faster than yeast and it totally crowded out the yeast into this wild-ass bacteria creation that made slime. We are like how are we going to do this? Every other distillery pasteurizes their wash to kill all the microbes before they pitch in their yeast. They get to start with this totally

sterile thing and then they add their yeast and it’s a piece of cake. That’s the difficulty of making rum Agricole. You are making it from fresh juice and it’s got to be flawless. That’s super tricky. So, we hired Giles from Martinique to come over.

That is when Steve brought in Giles Cognier, a former Master Distiller at Distillerie La Mauny and Trois Rivières. Giles had spent thirty years making world class, award winning Rhum Agricoles on Martinique before becoming an independent consultant. With his experience, he was able to work with the Kuleana staff to refine their techniques, resulting in reliable and quality fermentations.

MK: The next stop on my tour is the distillery. We make the twenty five-minute drive down the coast to a small industrial park. In a former food warehouse, Kuleana has their office, bottling plant, aging facility and distillery. The food cooler from the previous tenant has been converted into their office/conference room.

SJ: Yea, we just took a bunch of Sawzalls and turned it into our office space. Cool, huh?

The building is divided in half, with the office, storage and shipping on one side and the distillery on the other. On our way to the stills in the back corner, we pass three 1,000-liter, temperature-controlled Letina fermenters. One is bubbling away with cane juice that was just squeezed three days ago. Once fermentation is finished and the wash has reached an ABV of 8 to 9%, it is moved to the still.

Up to this point, Kuleana has been distilling on a 600-liter copper Alembic still from Iberian Copper in Portugal. It looks very similar to the still I saw at Montanya Distillers in Crested Butte, Colorado several years ago. It might not have the brick base, but the shape definitely reminds me of a cognac still.

MK: What made you decide on this type of still?

SJ: Well, what I did was research distillation and realized this was the method we wanted to use. I had seen some stills that were similar and then I just started calling manufacturers. This one was hand built in Portugal for us. I was a little nervous. They tell you how much and I am like what if I give you half now and half when you ship it? And they are like ‘do whatever you want and when you give us all the money we will get started.’ So, we basically just wired them the money. This is when we were starting out and every dollar was so dear.

Next to the still is a table covered with collection jars that are used to make the cuts.

SJ: These are the last cuts here. We started at 73% ABV and ended at 46.7%. At some point we are going to save what we call good seconds. Here, the distiller is earmarking these as hearts. He does his thing and he says these are hearts, hearts, good hearts, good seconds, good seconds, good seconds. That is cognac vernacular. In the rest of the distilling world, these would all be hearts, but the cognac people have this concept of good seconds where it is still as tasty as hearts but it has more of those fatty acids, longer fatty acid chains that do marvelous things in barrels. They break apart, make more flavor, give it more mouth feel and stuff like that. When you mix it with the lighter rums, it’s crazy. It’s like adding butter. You get all this fatty delicious crazy flavors. You don’t need a ton of it. For our white rum, it is all the hearts plus a certain number of good seconds and we blend it every time and score it against our reference rum to make sure it’s as close to exact as possible. Then we take the rest and use them in our aging program.

Across from this still, Kuleana has installed a new 2,000-liter hybrid still from Revival Stillworks in British Columbia. Staff members from both Kuleana and Revival will be on hand this month for the initial startup. It is obvious that Steve is eager to fire it up.

SJ: Each one of their stills is completely custom made. We told them exactly what we wanted. I am sure there are things that are standard for Revival and that they do well, but this one was specifically designed for a bunch of stuff that we wanted. We have a beer pot four times as big, so it is more efficient. It’s a pot still, so we can do the cuts, which is important. We have one, two, three, four, five plates that we can use to make adjustments. The lentil on the other still is water cooled, which is really hard to adjust. We literally have to run over to the sink and adjust the faucet. ‘How’s that?’, adjust some more, ‘how’s that?’ Now we have five plates that we can open or close to control that. We have already set our distillation curve, it’s what ABV runs out and how long it runs at a certain ABV and when it drops off. We already know what our flavor curve looks like. What we will do is just run it and mess around with it to get that curve. If the ABV is really high, we just open it up. If the ABV is too low, we close it down.

The next partner to join the Kuleana team was David Perkins. Perkins started the High West Distillery in Park City, Utah in 2006. He won numerous awards for his whiskies which he created in Utah by blending sourced spirits from various large distilleries with whiskey that he made.

SJ: David Perkins heard what we were doing and he came over. We are like super embarrassed you know, like Frank Sinatra is listening to you sing in your shower. In our business plan, we said we were going to do with rum what High West did with whiskey. One of the early investors in High West saw this pitch and said ‘I am going to talk to the High West guy’ because he knows him. Then David flies over and scrutinizes us and then he joins us. ‘Yea, these guys are onto something good.’ So, David joins and he gets a bunch of High West investors to join. Now he helps with the blending program, which is his genius. His palette is shocking. You can put forty rums together, two years apart, and you put one stinker in there and he will identify it the same way he did two years ago. The exact same way, same remarks, same criticisms.

MK: Years ago, at a rum seminar, I heard a speaker sum up the art of blending with the old

adage “the whole should be greater than the sum of the parts.” I mention this to Steve.

SJ: Yes, exactly. That’s exactly what our HuiHui means. HuiHui is our light cocktail rum blend. Hui in Hawaiian means a group of things. HuiHui means a group of things that is better because they are together and not by themselves. You are exactly right. HuiHui is one of the highest rated rums in the world, by BTI, Beverage Tasting Institute. We start with a 94% ABV rum that we get from Papua New Guinea. We are the only ones who get rum from there. At first, they didn’t even know how to ship it to us. They are like, ‘what?’ But we tried it and it was amazing. It’s a really clean, delicious light rum and Papua New Guinea is where sugarcane started on Earth, so it is a great story. We get rum from them and add our Hawaiian Agricole to give it flavor. Then we get a little Rhum Agricole from Martinique because Martinique has this great Agricole. It’s a little bit more peppery; it has this spiciness. Our Agricole is more juicy, fruity and they have this peppery stuff and it just makes this beautiful cocktail rum.

For our Hawaiian Rum Agricole, we wanted an exceptionally flavorful rum, perfect for sipping neat or in world-class cocktails. We make it from the fresh juice of the estate-grown Hawaiian heirloom sugarcane that you saw on our farm. The sugarcane juice is fermented using a special yeast and distilled in that handmade copper pot still to 60-74% ABV. This slow, careful process makes delicious and flavorful rum that showcases the magnificence of the kō (sugarcane).

Wine Enthusiast called Kuleana’s Agricole a “Top 100 Spirit”. Beverage Tasting Institute described it as “a fresh and fruity Fresh Cane Juice Rum with great balance and length.”

SJ: Nanea means ‘of absorbing interest, fascinating, enjoyable.’ It especially means ‘to have a good time.’ We wanted a beautiful aged cocktail rum, a rum that shows people what an aged rum is supposed to taste like, a rum without artificial colors, flavors or sugars. We wanted a rum that you can make Old Fashions with or whatever cocktail or sip it, because it is so delicious. We chose for its base a beautiful molasses-based rum from Guatemala,

distilled to 90-94% ABV and aged in Bourbon barrels for two years. To build its depth and flavor, we blended in our own super-flavorful, aged Hawaiian Rum Agricole, made from fresh sugarcane juice. We also add a rich, molassesbased rum from Venezuela distilled to 85% ABV and aged 2 to 8 years in ex-Bourbon barrels. To increase Nanea’s dynamic range and make it sing, we then add two molasses-based rums, a 3-year-old from Trinidad and a 5-year-old from El Salvador.

Hōkūlei is the name of a constellation of stars forming a lei, which marks the middle of the night sky. We wanted to come up with a spirit that shows people that rum can be as good or better than any spirit they have ever had. So that’s huge. Let’s go straight for the top. You are thinking of Pappy or Stag or Extra Añejo Tequilas, these great big sipping monsters. We created a base with four molasses rums from Panama, Nicaragua, Barbados, and Venezuela. Each was distilled to 85%-94% ABV and aged 2-3 years, 3-8 years, 5-8 years, and 8 years, respectively. Then we added layers of depth and flavor by blending in our very own aged Hawaiian Rum Agricole and a 15-year aged rum made from molasses in Barbados, distilled to 90%-94% ABV. To put Hōkūlei in the upper echelon of spirits, we then add complexity and intrigue with a molasses-based rum from Trinidad, distilled to 90%-94% ABV and aged 18 years.

In addition to the four core products above, Kuleana does Special Releases and Barrel Finished Releases. While sourcing rums for their blends, Kuleana will occasionally come across very special rums that are only available in volumes that are too small to be used in a blend. Recently they happened upon a weathered and dusty barrel of Jamaican rum that had been sitting for more than 11 years. The liquid inside was stunningly beautiful, a Jamaican funky hogo transformed over a decade into a super-sipper. They bought the barrel, filled 188 bottles and Jamaica 11 became their first Special Release. Their Barrel Finished Releases have included a Cognac barrel-aged Nanea and upcoming barrel-aged versions of their Hawaiian Rum Agricole.

The night before my tour of the distillery, my wife, daughter and I had a great sushi dinner at Sansei in the Queens’ Marketplace in Waikoloa. Coincidently (or not) the restaurant was next door to the Kuleana Rum Shack, a 3,000 square foot restaurant, bar and rum tasting center. I convinced the family that we should have some drinks and Malasadas for dessert. The Malasadas (Hawaiian donuts)

came with three dipping sauces: lilikoi curd, haupia coconut cream and bananas foster, each made with a different Kuleana rum. To go with the sweets, we had Rum Old Fashions and the obligatory Mai Tais. The place was fun, the food was good, the drinks were great and the service was amazing. Our waiter, Cameron was attentive and knowledgeable. He was enthusiastic, but not over the top.

MK: We had a great time last night at the Rum Shack. If we have brewpubs, I see no reason we can’t have rumpubs. What were your goals is creating the Rum Shack?

SJ: Our intentions for the Rum Shack are three-fold. One, we definitely wanted to cast a really wide fishing net for people that have no idea that they are coming into a rum place to learn about a rum distillery. They just heard that the food is great, even better that the cocktails are good, and they decide to come in and enjoy themselves. That’s number one, great marketing. If we can break even with that, great, we are winning. Two, we wanted to show how dynamic and comprehensive rum can be. We make Rum Old Fashions. We make all kinds of stuff with rum that people would normally use another spirit. We expect people to poopoo it and they try it and wow, that’s really good. Then you tell them that not only was that Old Fashion made with rum, but with one third white rum and two thirds aged rum. We use a split base, one third HuiHui and two thirds Nanea. It tastes great. People are like what? We want that moment. We just want people to love cocktails, because if they like cocktails, they will realize how great rum is. Three, we wanted it to be a test bed for all the other cocktail programs on the island, to show that you can do that with rum and maybe even like it more. If you want your Negroni to be more interesting, put in rum. Put in a split base of rum. We do a martini with not only rum, but rum Agricole, which is arguably the most favorable spirit on the market. We have the Agricole martinis and it’s like, I didn’t know you could do that. We want to build ambassadors, that go home and tell their friends. That is better than trying to buy a billboard in New Jersey to get a bartender or store to carry our rum. We want to get people to say ‘I went to Hawaii and tried this amazing stuff and did you know that you can make an Old Fashion with rum?’ At the end of the day, we are developing content to make all the other cocktail programs, whether they are on Hawaii or anywhere else, better. We want to give them something so that their program is better than it was before. If we do that, we have succeeded. My goal is to turn people into ambassadors. I want people to go

and say did you know you could do this?

Steve and company are in the process of designing a new distillery-visitor center at the cane farm. This will allow Kuleana to truly go from dirt to glass on the same property. They are currently working with celebrated architect Greg Warner, whose previous projects include the Quintessa Winery in Napa Valley. In addition to being a modern Agricole distillery, the new facility will offer visitors a premium rum tasting experience and a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and the island of Maui.

Steve is third generation, but still not considered a native. But there is a word, kamaʻāina, which means of the land, which means you were born there. Native or not, Steve is passionate about Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian values and incorporating those in his business.

SJ: The word Kuleana, that’s our name. If you look in the dictionary, it means responsibility. But it doesn’t just mean responsibility, that’s just a Western translation. We only have thirteen letters in the Hawaiian alphabet, five

of them are vowels and eight are consonants. The bottom line is that many Hawaiian words are values, they are concepts, not just words. Kuleana is the rights and the privileges you get if you are willing to be responsible. Everything in the Hawaiian culture has an associated Kuleana that comes with it. Everything that has value to society has Kuleana. My thoughts were, let’s build a company that can compete against any other company in the world as far as value, capital in vs profit out and have a product that people already know and want. A) Let’s do it better than anyone else. Let’s make this world class rum that’s just unbelievably delicious. That’s the big thing. When people try our rum, they are like what? We don’t put flavors, colors or sugar in anything we do. They are like I didn’t know rum could be as good as Scotch, or as good Gran Anejo Tequila. B) Let’s make it from an Agricole program that is totally done in house. We go all the way from dirt to Mai Tais. We control every single part of that process. We do absolutely everything you can do. Then we have this blending program to create these businesses so scalable that we can compete against any other entity and we can do it using Hawaiian values and Hawaiian

ways of doing things You saw the farm, that’s a nice place to be. There is nothing nasty happening there, it’s beautiful. We are taking Hawaiian land and growing Hawaiian crops that Hawaiians invented and we are growing them on that land so that people can enjoy them and learn how the canoes showed up a thousand years ago, using celestial navigation. The Europeans were in the Dark ages, clubbing each other in the head and dying of Cholera and these Hawaiians were setting up these amazing civilizations. We can share all that and allow it continue and make room for it so that it can actually thrive now. Fifty years ago, people didn’t want sugarcane to thrive; it was kind of a bummer, it was a necessary evil. Now it’s yea, what do we need to do to grow more of this? Because of the high value added, people can actually make a lot of money. We are working with other farmers now. They can get ten to fifteen thousand dollars an acre by growing their crops on their land, with their people and their way and then sell it to us. They are making money. You have ten acres; you can make a hundred and fifty grand a year. That’s a nice job. If we can do that, and let Hawaii be more Hawaii, and let the visitors come here and see more Hawaii than they ever did before and get a product that is Hawaii in a bottle, that’s just good for everybody.

At this point, I reluctantly say goodbye to Steve and drive twenty minutes South to the Queens’ Marketplace where I am scheduled to attend a rum tasting and Mai Tai Class with Chelsea Yagong, the Manager of Hospitality at the Kuleana Rum Shack. Two of the walls of the Rum Shack are lined with large garage doors that roll up and give the restaurant a tropical, open-air atmosphere. The Rum Shack is not open yet, but people are bustling about getting the restaurant ready for that evening. There are eight of us at the table, Chelsea, myself, three employees and a couple and their adult son, who are on vacation and heard about the class. On the table in front of us are a significant collection of glasses, cocktail shakers, jiggers, Mai Tai ingredients and, of course, Kuleana rums. Chelsea starts the class with a history of sugarcane on the island and what makes Agricole rum different. She moves on to the Kuleana story and their corporate philosophy. Her talk is fun and entertaining, filled with funny stories and engaging questions. Then she fills our glasses and the tasting begins. As she takes us through the four rums, she offers tips on how to seek out aromas and flavors. She doesn’t use pretentious tasting verbiage, but rather reaches back into her family history, recalling spices in her grandmother’s kitchen, smells from her childhood home. I see the

heads of the couple across from me nodding their agreement with her descriptions. As the warm finish of the Hokulei lingers in our mouth, we begin to make Mai Tais. We start with the rums, 1-1/2 ounces of the white HuiHui and 1 ounce of the aged Nanea. Then we add ¾ ounce fresh lime juice, ½ ounce Orgeat and ¼ ounce orange liqueur. A couple dashes of Bitters and it’s time to shake. The Mai Tai is pretty darn good, if I say so myself. At this point I realize that Chelsea has been entertaining and educating us for over an hour. Time has flown by. I remember Steve’s goals for the Rum Shack: we had good drinks, we had fun, we discovered new rums and we are probably going to go home and share our experiences. The night before, when we were having drinks at the Rum Shack, I remember seeing a lot of diners walking out with bottles of Kuleana rum in their hands. At the tasting, the couple across from me buys several bottles and I walk out with a bottle of Hokulei. Great marketing, indeed.

My family’s time on the Big Island has come to a close and now we head to Oahu, where coincidently (or not) there is another rum distillery to visit.

I would like to offer my thanks to Chelsea Yagong for an enjoyable class, to Jeanne Lewis for her help with photographs and a special thanks to Steve Jefferson for spending so much time with me and answering all my nerdy rum questions.

Mike Kunetka

C ig AR & R u M PA i R ing

by Philip i li Barake

two Veterans

As i was thinking about this month’s pairing, i explored the old bottles in my collection. o ftentimes the most expensive ones are not the answer, but rather the ones that naturally offer the best range of aromas.

m

y name is Philip i li Barake, s ommelier by trade. As a result of working with selected restaurants and wine producers in Chile, i started developing a passion for distilled spirits and cigars. As part of my most recent job, i had the opportunity to visit many Central American countries, as well as, rum distilleries and tobacco growers.

But my passion for spirits and cigars did not end there; in 2010 i had the honor of representing Chile at the i nternational Cigar s ommelier Competition, where i won first place, becoming the first s outh American to ever achieve that feat.

n ow i face the challenge of impressing the readers of “ g ot r um?” with what is perhaps the toughest task for a s ommelier: discussing pairings while being well aware that there are as many individual preferences as there are rums and cigars in the world.

i believe a pairing is an experience that should not be limited to only two products;

it is something that can be incorporated into our lives. i hope to help our readers discover and appreciate the pleasure of trying new things (or experiencing known things in new ways).

Philip # gr CigarPairing

2023

w ith this in mind, i selected two rums that i have fond memories of. The first one is r on s antiago de Cuba 11 Year o ld, which was one of the first Cuban rums i fell in love with and one that i often drank while smoking during my numerous trips to the h abano Festivals in Cuba. The second one i had set aside because of how hard it is to find. i ’m sure there are collector’s websites with some bottles still for sale, but the price will be very inflated, i ’m talking about r on s electo e xtra Añejo from s anta Teresa, in its very peculiar bottle.

The first rum has a deeper, darker color and in the aroma it has a dominant caramel note that can produce a mild, cola-based cocktail, with light alcohol notes without much oxidation. The second rum has a lighter color and is also less fragrant than the first, but the dominant note is more leather-like than caramel, which makes it more enjoyable and less sweet on the palate. l et’s see how we do with this pairing.

The cigar for this month’s pairing is a g ran Toro de v egafina (52 x 6), made in the d ominican r epublic with all n icaraguan tobaccos from the Jalapa and e stelí valleys. i t is easy to predict that the intensity will be between medium and strong, as a result of these tobaccos. l et’s see how the rums do next.

d uring the first third of the cigar, both rums stand up on their own. The clean and caramel-laden notes of the Cuban rum mix well with the tobacco. The

g ot Rum? March 2023 - 62

Photo credit: @Cigarili

v enezuelan rum has a longer finish and it even enhances some common, oily notes. As we start to smoke the second third of the cigar, both rums continue to pair extremely well. o n the one hand, the soothing caramel notes and, on the other hand, a flavor complexity accentuated by the tobacco and leather notes.

There was no need to add ice to the rums, at the core of the pairing was the juxtaposition between the two young rums with a bold cigar in between. i t is obvious that different people will have different preferences, but personally i liked the subtlety and complexity i experienced with the s anta Teresa.

i know that it is hard to find these bottles in the market, but you can go through your personal rum collection and try to find bottles filled with somewhat young rums that can pleasantly surprise you in the same manner that these two rums did. i t is not necessary to open the most expensive bottle of rum to have a great cigar pairing, and this article is perfect proof of this.

Cheers!

Philip i li Barake # gr CigarPairing

Photo credit: @Cigarili