65.9% ABV
This rum was made by Rommel, Axel, & William Krassel, 3rd generation distillers in Santa Maria Tlalixtac in the mountainous Cañada region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Their grandfather Max emigrated from Germany in 1930 and landed in Oaxaca where he learned about the distillation of Aguardiente (rum). He eventually designed his own custom continuous still that they use to this day. They produce an unaged column distilled rum called Cañada as well as their aged rums under the Alambique Serrano label. This bottle, named "El Boxeador" is a blend of 2 Oaxacan rums that we selected with Jason Cox, the mind behind 5 Sentidos Mezcal who also runs the brands for Alambique Serrano and Cañada.
The family harvests organic sugarcane from the high elevation hillsides above the distillery. The cane is immediately transported to their trapiche for milling the same day. The fresh pressed juice is gravity fed to their distillery via a series of hoses that stretch up to 2 km to reach their facility. The fresh cane juice is filtered and spontaneously fermented with native, ambient yeasts for 6-10 days in stainless steel and pine tanks.
This is a 50/50 blend of distillate from their custom Krassel still and a copper pot that is much like a mezcal still. Their Krassel still is a continuous/column still with 8 plates that allows for incredible control over the distillation. Both spirits were distilled to proof with no water added. The column spirit was aged for 27 months in a first-fill Ex-Bourbon cask. The pot still rum was aged for 19 months in a new French oak cask.
We loved both of these spirits on their own. The funky richness of the column distillate and the toasty bass notes of the pot still stuff were each good enough to love. But we wondered how it would taste to merge the 2 disparate parts. Turns out, it was even better! The liquid is a deep amber color despite its relatively short time in barrels. On the nose you immediately get toasty oak and vanilla, tropical fruit, a whisper of cane juice funk and some earthy tobacco notes. On the palate it is oily and rich with a bit of an alcoholic bite! With a touch of water added it blooms with baking spices, more toasty oak, banana and almond. This one is delightful over a giant ice cube or as a substitute for overproof rum in your classic Tiki cocktails.
