While the Tweed Valley lights up at night with crackling and alluring cane burns, those of us at Husk - Australia’s only single estate rum distillery - count down the days until we fire up our trusty cane harvester.

July is an extremely busy time of year here at the distillery as we prepare to head into rum harvest season.

This is our favourite time of year, as we see our hard work pay off after a year of waiting for the cane to grow and sweeten.

This year is even more exciting than previous years as our newly commissioned sugar mill 3.0 is close to completion. It will operate for the first time ever in the coming weeks. We are waiting with bated breath and fingers crossed she runs smoothly! No pressure.

Over the next 4 months, our cane harvester will crush over 500 tonnes of cane grown right here on our Husk Farm, and extract more than a 230,000 litres of fresh virgin cane juice.

The scale of what we’re doing here on Husk Farm is massive for us, and a first for Australia. Our 10 year journey and passion for pioneering the New Taste of Australian Rum has led us to this point.

Husk Founder Paul Messenger says that the harvest is physically demanding with long and labor intensive day, but the end rum results are worth it.

Once the last stick of cane is cut for 2022, we will have filled up to 100 barrels of Australian Cultivated Rum.

“Turning the produce of our land into fine quality spirits for people to enjoy with family and friends, knowing who made it and where it came from, makes me proud. Being an agricultural product, our rum reflects our provenance, or as the French say, our terroir - it’s the spirit of the Tweed.” — Paul Messenger.

Cane harvesting in the Tweed Valley late 1800’s.

We continue the practice of not only growing cane on this fertile land, but maintain and implement sustainable farming methods too. Sprawled over Husk Farm’s 60 hectares is lush sub-tropical rainforest, rich fertile sugar cane fields, Australia’s biggest privately owned sugar mill, Husk Distillery and our cellar door.

Our unique paddock to bottle method is something we are extremely passionate about, and we want to share what we do for all to see. Our distillery and cellar door are open to the public, so if you’d like to visit us click here.

Preparing for the 2022 Rum Harvest