Release Radar: Vagrant Distiller
We're only 10 days into 2020 and, believe it or not, there are already plenty of interesting American rum releases and oddities to check out, including:
The first release from a new rum brand unlike any I've seen before
A head-scratching label approval from the TTB
The latest limited release from Koloa Rum Company
Let's dive in!
#1: Vagrant Distiller — Batch 1 (Gonzalez, LA)
Quick Stats:
Base Ingredient: Louisiana blackstrap molasses
Distillation: Pot still double distillation
Aging: None
Proof: 110
Other: No additives, 20-day fermentation with Lallemand yeast
Why It's Interesting:
When veteran distiller Jonny VerPlanck first told me about his concept for Vagrant Distiller, I loved it instantly.
Instead of opening his own distillery again, he planned to travel to distilleries all over the world, source nearby ingredients, and produce his own small batch using their equipment, which he would then bottle and sell under his own brand.
The only constant between batches? Other than Jonny himself, a commitment to total transparency on the production process and no additives (as you can see on the above label for Batch 1).
"I'm going to show people that you can make really good booze on all different setups, and I'm just going to use what's local and already there," he said.
Batch 1 took Jonny down to Gonzalez, Louisiana, where he settled in at the recently-opened Sugarfield Spirits distillery.
The original plan was to hand-crush a variety of heirloom purple sugarcane that's grown in southwest Louisiana since it was brought from Cuba over a century ago, then ferment and distill a batch of fresh cane juice rum. Due to a poor harvest this year, that plan went out the window. Fortunately, a familiar backup was readily available nearby: Louisiana blackstrap molasses.
After an extended 20-day fermentation, the wash went through two distillations in Sugarfield Spirits' pot still. The result?
"You're gonna be so taken aback," he said, in a tone that clearly meant the good kind of "taken aback."
"It's got a little bit of gunpowder with a bunch of butter to it. It almost tastes like an aged, blended rum, but it's not...it's super thick."
To Jonny, it's a return to a style of rum he had strayed away from in recent years.
"I used to do a lot of really long ferments, but I went back on the heavy, heavy rums and long ferments because so many people are putting out stuff where they're like, 'Oh, it's heavy ester,' and it's just bad moonshine. I didn't want to be included in that group...But now I just want to go back to doing stuff the way I used to do it and not worry about everybody else anymore."
The idea of a single distiller "guest distilling" at different distilleries and bottling the batches under their own label was so foreign to the TTB, they didn't even know what to do when Jonny submitted a label that featured the phrase, "Fermented, Distilled, and Bottled by JVP at Sugarfield Spirits." So, naturally, the bureau told him the "by JVP" part would have to go.
TTB gonna TTB, am I right?
Batch 1 yielded around 125 bottles that will be available soon. Follow Jonny on Instagram to find out exactly when, or just stop by his booth at Miami Rum Congress if you're planning to attend. He promised to have not only Batch 1 in tow, but also Batch 2—which will feature a fresh cane juice rum.
In fact, Jonny already cut, crushed, and fermented the juice that'll make up the batch. If all goes according to plan, he'll distill it the day this article publishes.
The cane pictured above grew at the site of Batch #2: Sugar Sand Distillery in Lake Placid, FL, which is basically a distillery in the middle of a cane field. The juice fermented for eight days and Jonny plans to run it through a single pot distillation. Of course, that's somewhat dependent on how the equipment responds once he gets his hands on it for the first time, which is all part of the challenge.
"I'll drive any car," he said. "It's easy to push some automated buttons and have a machine do cuts for you... It's a whole other level to get on something you've never even been on before and run it. It's do or die."
Batch 2 should also yield around 125 bottles. If you're at Miami Rum Congress, try to snag one for me. ;)
In all seriousness, it's great to see Jonny already back in action after he suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm in St. Kitts back in September (which you may remember me emailing about). The American rum scene is lucky to have him, and inventive ideas like Vagrant Distiller are just a small part of the reason why.
#2: Red Keg Distillery - Rum (Midland, MI)
Why It's Interesting:
I'm highlighting this "rum" for no other reason than to point out the TTB's absurdity.
Why did I put "rum" in quotation marks? Look at the label closer and see if anything stands out.
Distilled from grain?
What the hell??
It's wild that something like this can slip through the system, yet Vagrant Distiller gets dinged for having "distilled by JVP at [Distillery]" on its label.
C'mon, y'all.
#3: Koloa Rum Company - 12 Barrel Select Kaua'i Reserve (Kalaheo, HI)
Quick Stats:
Base Ingredients: Crystalized Hawaiian cane sugar
Distillation: Double pot distilled
Aging: 4 years in charred American white oak barrels
Proof: 92
Why It's Interesting:
This is the second year Koloa has done a limited release of a 3,500-bottle batch aged in 12 select barrels. The difference, of course, is that this year's release aged four years, while the 2019 release aged for three.
This is the only rum from Koloa that's released with a distinctly different bottle, and it's clearly designed to be the distillery's most premium offering. It's nice to see they were able to release a 4-year bottling at the same scale as the 3-year, which I found to be quite light on the palate. I'm curious to see how it develops with more age.
That's all for this week.
Also, in case you missed it last week, I published a look back at 2019's six most important American rum stories (and what they mean for 2020). Check it out and let me know what you think!