An estimated 95% of the world’s rum is distilled from molasses, a fabric that originated as an industrial byproduct of sugar manufacturing. Against this, solely about 2-4% of world rum output is produced from fermented recent cane juice. This smaller custom is intently tied to French colonial historical past and is usually referred to as rhum agricole.
In 1996, “Rhum Agricole” grew to become a protected geographical indication via the creation of AOC Martinique. Martinique remained a French colony till March 19, 1946, and the designation firmly tied the time period to the island. Whereas “Rhum Agricole” itself is geographically protected, agricole-style rum is produced nicely past Martinique, together with in Louisiana, one other former French colony that modified arms in December 1803.
Sugar has been a part of the Stewart household’s Louisiana historical past since 1859. At this time, Olivia Stewart serves as president of the household’s property distillery, Oxbow Rum Distillery. The operation was rebranded in 2022, having beforehand been referred to as Three Roll Property. The identify Oxbow highlights the distillery’s relationship to the oxbow geography fashioned by sharp bends within the Mississippi River.
With Cole Brannum as distiller, Oxbow produces each conventional molasses-based rum and an agricole-style rhum produced from recent cane juice grown on the property in Pointe Coupee Parish. Slightly than utilizing the protected terminology, Oxbow identifies this expression as “Rhum Louisiane” with the phrase “agricole” positioned a lot decrease on the label, by no means pairing the phrases “rhum” and “agricole” side-by-side.
The distillery depends on the estate-grown HoCP 96-540 sugarcane selection, a contemporary cultivar developed on the USDA Sugarcane Analysis Station in Houma, Louisiana. Broadly considered the spine of the Louisiana sugar trade, HoCP 96-540 helped bridge older agricultural practices with trendy, high-yield manufacturing. Launched in 2003, it’s a cross between two influential native varieties, LCP 86-454 and LCP 85-384.
HoCP 96-540 was engineered to outlive Louisiana’s demanding harvest season, a roughly 100-day stretch working from late September via January. It’s particularly valued for its bodily toughness and for leaf sheaths that shed simply from the stalk throughout harvest. This pure shedding leads to cleaner cane coming into the mill, with much less discipline trash resembling lifeless leaves and natural particles. For agricole-style rhum, which ferments uncooked cane juice, decreased chlorophyll-heavy materials within the crush permits for a clearer expression of cane sugar and terroir.
The range can also be prized for its dense stalks, which yield juice wealthy in non-sugar solids. These compounds contribute to the grassy aromas and funky esters related to agricole-style rhum. At Oxbow, the cane is crushed as soon as on the household property utilizing a three-roll sugarcane mill, producing juice with a mean Brix of 16 to twenty.
Fermentation takes place in closed-top vessels over a 36-hour interval, leading to a wash between 10-12% ABV. Distillation follows on a Vendome pot and column hybrid nonetheless, producing spirit within the vary of 170-180 proof. Throughout the portfolio, Oxbow steadily reduces pure proof to bottling power over 60 days in chrome steel tanks.
Oxbow offered Drinkhacker with samples of two cane juice expressions for overview, Oxbow Property Rhum Louisiane Cane Juice Agricole and Oxbow Property Rhum Louisiane Single Barrel. With that basis in place, it’s time to see what this former French colony in the US brings to the glass.
Oxbow Property Rhum Louisiane Cane Juice Agricole Evaluate
Bottled at 90 proof and launched with out time in barrel, this rhum locations its uncooked cane origin squarely in view. With out wooden affect, agricole-style spirits are inclined to lean closely into vegetal territory in comparison with molasses-based rum, and that character is on full show right here.
The nostril begins with a transparent hit of watermelon rind and kiwi. After a couple of minutes within the glass, basil joins in, adopted by the tart snap of Granny Smith apple. For anybody encountering an agricole-style rhum for the primary time, this fragrant profile shortly alerts that the spirit was not distilled from molasses.
The palate opens on uncooked sugar beets and chalk mud. Halfway via, ripe cantaloupe and lime sherbet come ahead, carried by a medium-bodied mouthfeel. The closing moments flip barely sweeter and fewer aggressive, exhibiting Lemonhead sweet, seaweed nori, and a light-weight contact of peach ring sweet.
Sipped neat, that is an pleasurable detour from unaged molasses-based rum and a stable introduction to recent cane distillation. It performs even higher in cocktails, notably a Ti’ Punch. Made with agricole-style rhum, cane syrup, and a lime coin, the drink permits the rum’s inexperienced, fruity parts to shine, with the lime enhancing moderately than masking what’s already there.
At $50, this can be a distinctive and entertaining American rhum that rewards curiosity, particularly for drinkers taken with exploring the broader world of cane juice spirits. 90 proof. B / $50
Oxbow Property Rhum Louisiane Single Barrel Aged Agricole Evaluate
Whereas particular barrel particulars for this single barrel launch weren’t disclosed, the rum spent a minimal of two years and as many as 4 or extra years resting in new 53-gallon barrels from Unbiased Stave Co., with both a #3 or #4 char. Time in new oak brings a transparent shift from the unaged model, reshaping the spirit in significant methods.
The nostril begins on damp tree bark and crushed fern, studying earthy earlier than pivoting towards peppermint with a faint streak of rubber cement funk. The oak presence is plain whereas nonetheless permitting the cane juice-driven character to talk.
On the palate, crisp char-grilled corn on the cob leads, brushed with butter and a contact of chalky minerality. Lime zest and underripe banana seem midstream, including brightness alongside a medium-bodied mouthfeel. The closing notes flip towards pecan brittle, recent peppermint, and starfruit, tying collectively sweetness, herbaceous tones, and delicate oak affect.
This single barrel expression stands other than every other American cane spirit I’ve encountered, and it delivers a genuinely rewarding expertise. Whereas molasses-based rum stays my private desire, this agricole-style launch is an appreciated diversion. 99 proof. B+ / $61
Oxbow Rhum Louisiane Single Barrel Agricole
USD61
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