By Andy Young, editor TheShout

Archie Rose Distilling Co is releasing its first limited edition, a Virgin Cane Spirit that is the brain-child of Archie Rose Production Manager, Dave Withers, and has been inspired by the French Colonial Agricole Rhums of old.

Withers wanted to create a spirit which reflected his love of rum and which was also a reflection of early, unprocessed, unrefined rhum.

Archie Rose Founder, Will Edwards, said that the new spirit may surprise some people.

“For those more familiar with common rum and less accustomed with Agricole, this spirit will come as something of a surprise,” Edwards said. “But we’re very proud to bring back a spirit reflecting the land and its raw, unprocessed produce.”

The spirit is made with sugarcane that is grown in Condong, NSW, which is cut and pressed into fresh juice within 12 hours. Yeast strains, selected by Archie Rose, are added immediately to start fermentation, before the juice even arrives at the distillery.

The fermented wash is then triple distilled in copper pot stills, which helps to create a “characterful and rich spirit”.

“To properly showcase the sugarcane, the cane we use is not burnt as is a common practice in many regions of Australia for the production of sugar and molasses,” Withers said. “Burning the cane can negatively impact the flavour and condition of the juice and since our product will have minimal processing we wanted to retain as much of the quality of the fresh cane as possible.”

He added: “Some spirits made with sugar cane juice can be quite challenging. I wanted to create a spirit with character which could be accessible to consumers and be used in a range of cocktails.”

While the team at the Archie Rose bar said their immediate inclination was to use the Virgin Cane Spirit in a Daiquiri, they wanted to focus on emphasising the savoury aspects of the spirit, and suggested that using it in a Bloody Mary may surprise some people.

The Archie Rose Virgin Cane Spirit will be available from Friday 18 November, with a $99 RRP.

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