While rhum agricole—i.e. rum produced from fresh-pressed sugar cane rather than its byproduct, molasses—remains an under-appreciated category in the U.S., South Carolina’s High Wire Distilling Co. has officially become the second American spirits producer to produce a rhum agricole from sugarcane grown on American soil. (Alameda California’s St. George Spirits producers the other, sourced from 100% California sugarcane.)
While sugarcane has been a consistent crop in South Carolina since the early 1800s, according to Hannah Raskin, writing for the Charleston Post and Courier, “Sugar cane never became a significant crop by economic measures…” Tobacco was the state’s bread-and-butter crop, but today many farmers in the state still maintain small plots that are generally cultivated for the production of cane syrup. High Wire’s first harvest came from just one acre of sugarcane on St. George farm outside of Charleston and is currently being aged in High Wire’s Charleston facilities. [Charleston Post and Courier]