Low-yield copper alembic distillation and spontaneous pine-vat fermentation define the ester profile of this unaged white rum. It is produced in Santa Maria Tlalixtac in Oaxaca's mountainous Canada region by third-generation distillers Los Hermanos Krassel, who hand-harvest organic Java varietal sugarcane from steep hillside plots reaching up to 1,200 meters. The fresh-pressed juice ferments with ambient yeasts in wooden pine vats, then undergoes slow double distillation in small 250-liter copper pot alembics that yield about five liters per hour. The spirit is additive-free and unfiltered to preserve every congener.
Tasting Notes: Dense, viscous and oily. Sharp brine, sour green olives, fermented plantains and a lactic tang open it, followed by crushed lemongrass, green papaya, lime zest and cracked peppercorn, finishing with chalky minerality, pine sap and savory vegetative funk. A little water or air time changes it dramatically.
How to Use: A rustic, high-ester Ti' Punch: 2 oz rum, 1 barspoon raw cane syrup such as piloncillo, and a disc of lime peel, gently swizzled with a single ice cube.
ABV: 68.5%
