Earlier in the week, The Rum Cartel, 88 Bamboo, and I had the pleasure of being joined by Callum Upfold, Head Distiller of both Cairns Rum and Line 44 Distillery, for an evening of rums and an impromptu “distillery tour” of Cairns Rum Company. This distillery, one of the most recent to feature in the far north of the Sunshine State, is quite the beacon of experimentation.

Callum explained that the distillery sources its fresh canes from a nearby sugar mill, leveraging on the abundance of fresh cane cultivation in northern Queensland. These canes are crushed and boiled down to a syrup prior to the fermentation process, which employs S. Pombe yeasts extensively. This practice, though uncommon among rum distilleries due to its propensity to produce rums with flavourful yet somewhat pungent profiles, is perfectly aligned with Cairns Rum Company’s ambition to craft rums of the High Ester or Grand Aroma category — renowned for their intense, complex, and tropical flavours.

In keeping with the High Ester style, Callum has ingeniously devised his own muck pit, a sophisticated process that results in a form of refermentation of spent yeasts, thereby developing additional aromas that can significantly enhance the rum’s flavours beyond the mere use of dunder. Yet what spoke to me most was Callum’s philosophy of creating distillation marks that were entirely distinct from one another, rather than reducing it to a mere numerical exercise in ester levels.

The outcome was a selection of truly delightful rums, which, despite their youthful age, exhibited complexity, balance, and mellowness rarely found in such young rums. One particular rum captured my attention; aged merely a year and eight months, it boasted a delicious note reminiscent of freshly-baked banana bread, generously adorned with butter. While it may be a few more months before their rums become commercially available, I hold high hopes for the team at Cairns Rum Company.

Your occasional rum addict!

@weixiang_liu