The 2020 Husk Australian Rum Harvest Report

2019 has been our biggest harvest to date. After a year of cyclical dryness and harsh hot winds, our plot of cane made it through the year to a record yield. The harvest this year started in August and we cut our last row on Sunday, November 24. As producers of agricole rum, we are farmers before we’re distillers - the majority of our work is done well before the still is fired up.

The 2019 harvest in numbers

368 tonnes of sugar cane crushed, predominantly Q240, plus smaller parcels of Q234, A244 and SRA1.

200,810 litres of juice recovered and fermented.

18,756 LAL (litres of pure alcohol) of rum produced.

43 hogs heads and 15 ex-bourbon barrels filled at ~65% ABV (alchohol by volume).

9,330 LAL of juice rum in storage, reserved for Pure Cane and other unaged products to be developed in 2020.

An additional 0.7 Ha of Q208 crop planted.

5 rows of black Badilla cane planted after 3 years of propagation at Husk. Badilla is a “noble” cane derived from the original varieties from PNG grown commercially in the Tweed Valley in the early 20th century. We hope to process one batch of “Badilla” the Noble Cane each year for one small batch of reserve quality rum with the first batch to enter our finest barrels next year.

Our sugar cane trash (the dry, leafy matter that we don’t need for making rum) was baled up into 30 bales and donated as livestock feed for drought-stricken farmers out west.

We also collaborated with Stone & Wood to distil 19,290 litres of malt beer wash, producing 1,186 LAL of whisky now resting in 7 x 200 litre and 2 x 300 litre freshly dumped ex-Husk Rum barrels. This very special release will be some time around 2027.

Phew! It’s been a big one, and we couldn’t be happier with how this year has progressed. With moving into our new distillery, the opening of our cellar door, and taking on over 40 new members of the Husk team, our 7th year of operation has far surpassed our expectations.

As the end of the year looms, cellar door tours and tables are filling up fast, so book your spot soon to avoid missing out.