July: Husk Rum Harvest Update

Australian Agricultural Rum Harvest: July Update  

At the start of July we kicked off the 2020 agricultural rum harvest, cutting & crushing 35 tonnes of cane from our paddocks over 3 days.

The Husk cane crusher in action.

Our analysis of the juice showed the sugar content (brix) was way down. Alcohol is created through the fermentation process as yeast turn sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The less sugar in the brew, the less alcohol can be made. This means more cane is needed to produce rum - more work, less reward!

This low sugar content is due to a number of seasonal factors including high rainfall and low sunshine. It’s all part of the fun of making Australian Virgin Cane Rum.

We made the call to defer cutting until mid-August. We also had a truckload of rain a couple of weeks ago (180ml!) so we need to wait for the paddocks to be dry. Gotta love paddock to bottle spirits!

“Too much rain… not enough rain… too much rain… not enough rain…” - All Farmers, constantly.

While we wait for the paddocks to be ready, we’ve started making cane honey rum, using evaporated cane juice from the valley.

We’ve been making this style of rum in the agricultural off-season for about a year now, and the rum that’s coming off the still is tasting magic. It’ll be used in our bar series product range down the track as a 2 year old Australian rum.

That’s all for now!

— Team Husk