Recently I had a chance to taste a great rum from the Old Sugar Distillery in Madison, WI. Great stuff and I enjoyed the heck out it. Took the time to interview the owner/distiller, and once I stopped crying about my lost youth when I realized this rum making genius was only 30 years old, I had this to learn about him.
1) How long have you been in the distillation business?
We’ve been a licensed distillery since August, 2009. We sold our first bottle on February 11th, 2010.
2) What first got you started?
After college, I worked at a local homebrew store, and made countless batches of beer, wine, and began
experimenting with spirits. I thought seriously about opening a brewery or brewpub, but felt like there
was little that I could offer that would really be new and exciting. I had always wanted to start a
distillery, but thought I would do it after starting the brewery. At some point, I had a revelation, and
decided to forego the intermediary step, and skip right to starting the distillery. It’s one of the best
decisions I ever made.
3) How do you decide what spirits to produce?
I wanted to produce very oaky unsweetened rum from the very beginning. It is impossible to find
anything quite like Cane and Abe anywhere else. I decided I would make rum drinkers out of everyone
since most people don’t know how great it can be. The honey liqueur and other products were offshoots
of that, utilizing as many local ingredients as possible.
4) So it was always “rum first” in your mind?
Yes.
5) Where do you source your raw materials from?
The rum is made from Hawaiian dark brown cane sugar. The Honey Liqueur and Ouzo are made from Midwestern dark brown beet sugar, and Wisconsin honey in the honey liqueur. Our whiskey is made from sorghum from Elkhart Lake, WI.
6) What kind of response have you been getting about the rum?
Everyone loves it. Some people think it tastes like whiskey because it’s so oaky.
7) Do you find specific challenges marketing a “tropical” spirit like rum that is produced in the Midwest?
Rum was the great American spirit before whiskey really took off. It has a big (and somewhat dark) past in the US, beyond being a tropical spirit. We don’t market it has a tropical drink, but more like whiskey-steeped in tradition and history, and hand crafted.
8) In what markets can the rum (and your other spirits) be purchased?
We are distributed in Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Florida, California, and Washington, D.C. Washington State will have it soon as well.
9) Where do you see your company going?
We sold about 10,000 bottles in 2011, and we’ll sell about 16,000 this year. The five year goal is to sell 30,000 bottles per year. I don’t know that I will want to expand much beyond that. I’d like to keep it a fairly small operation.
10)What’s your favorite rum cocktail?
We call it “The Standard.” It’s Cane and Abe, on the rocks, with a wedge of lime. Personally, I leave the lime on the rim, but my feeling aren’t hurt if you put it in the glass.
I haven’t tried “The Standard” but I have tried the rum and it is phenomenal! If you’re fortunate enough to have it available where you are, be sure to pick up a bottle.
PopcornJackTerry 