Alambique Serrano Blend #10 "El Estado Dorado"

56.7% ABV

Cane juice rum from the cloud forest of Oaxaca. The Krassel brothers are 3rd generation rum distillers who are descended from a German immigrant who fled to Mexico prior to World War 1. He eventually landed in the village of Santa Maria Tlalixtac in Oaxaca where he built the custom "Krassel" column still that the family still uses today. "Los Hermanos Krassel" harvest organically grown cane from hills surrounding their distillery which they press at the source and pump the liquid back to their facility using hoses as long as 2 kilometers. In addition to their column still, they also have a small copper pot still that is the style used by Mezcal distillers throughout Oaxaca. They never add any sugar or coloring to their spirits and all but 1 of their releases under the Alambique Serrano label have been bottled at cask or still strength with no added water.

This is a 4 barrel blend that was selected by Maxwell Reis, bar director of Los Angeles area restaurants Mirate and Daisy, and Jason Cox who is one of the owners of the brand. It is a California-only release, hence the "Estado Dorado" or Golden State moniker. All of the rum was made from fresh pressed Java varietal cane juice that was fermented in stainless steel and pine tanks with ambient yeasts. The blend contains the following:

• 29% Krassel Still rum aged 28 months in new French Oak and finished 10 months in Ex-red Wine Cask.
• 28% Krassel Still rum aged 23 months in new French Oak and finished 10 months in Ex-red Wine Cask.

• 27% Krassel Still rum aged 38 months in an ex-Bourbon Cask.

• 16% Pot Still rum aged 22 months in new French Oak (Night on Earth cask)

One thing that we find intriguing about Alambique Serrano is the wide range of flavor profiles that they are able to achieve from release to release. While we struggle to find a "house style" from the brand, we have loved everything we've tried from them nonetheless. This is easily the sweetest, easiest drinking expression we've seen so far. Richly spiced from the French oak casks, it doesn't read as a nearly 57% ABV rum.