CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 16 Made in America: Part I | Page 57

Agricole is about as connected as you can get to the sugarcane and the soil.”
With access to 2,800 acres of Alma-owned sugarcane fields, Cane Land
is poised to be the most widely available American agricole in history.
High Wire Distilling in Charleston, South Carolina, founded by Ann
Marshall and Scott Blackwell, was making traditional rum with mo-
lasses when a few local farmers reached out to tell them about “blue
ribbon,” the South Carolinian varietal of sugarcane they were growing.
Inspired to create a more terroir-driven spirit with the rhum agricole
style, Marshall and Blackwell identified which farm had enough cane
and a big enough cane press. In 2013, the pieces came together for their
first batch of Lowcountry Agricole, fittingly named after their geo-
graphic region.
Like many other examples, their project is very hands on. They drive
to the farm to fill 270-gallon totes with cane juice, fresh off the press,
and race back to the distillery to get fermentation started as soon as
possible. After a four-day fermentation, they distill the spirit and age
it in new American oak barrels for 10-11 months. They describe their
finished, barrel-aged agricole as having “notes of vanilla, butterscotch,
grass, hay, and tropical fruit.”
High Wire’s Lowcountry Agricole has developed a cult following who
pretty quickly scoop up the annual release of just over 200 (750 ml)
bottles. Having just completed the 2017 season, their sixth batch is
scheduled to release in December of 2018. Lowcountry Agricole is avail-
able at the distillery, at a few retailers online, and with very limited
availability in markets across the Southeastern U.S.
Kelly Railean, founder, owner and master distiller of Railean Distillery
makes seven different rums at her distillery in San Leon, Texas. In
2016, when she was able to get some fresh juice delivered to her dis-
tillery, she jumped at the chance to make a rum inspired by the agricole
tradition, creating Railean Grand Cuvee Rum. Railean considers it a hy-
brid agricole, as she’s not growing, pressing, or connected to the farm-
ing of the cane. A Master Sommelier, Railean drew from her wine back-
ground and used the term Cuvee to infer a crushed and pressed spirit.
She appreciates the bright, acidic and herbaceous flavor profile and the
layers it contributes to savory cocktails, recommending it to those who
appreciate Sauvignon Blanc. Railean isn’t able to get cane juice regular-
ly, but she grows a little cane at the distillery, which they ceremonially
press with their one hundred-year-old Chattanooga cane press at their
annual cane-crushing event. Railean has made two batches into rough-
ly 1,400 (750 ml) bottles of Grand Cuvee, which is only available at the
distillery.
I visited Puerto Rico in early 2016 and met Pepe Alvarez, while he was in
the process of building San Juan Artisan Distillers, just outside of Do-
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