THE CELLAR · RUM
Issan Sugarcane Spirit
฿300
This is a sugarcane spirit from northeast Thailand, the region the Thais call Isan — a broad, dry plateau of rice fields and sugar cane where distillation has long been a household craft rather than a factory process. Nothing is added to it beyond what the cane gives.
Sugarcane, fermented and distilled.
Isan, northeast Thailand.
Clear and unaged, so the cane stays in front.
How it is made
Cane is pressed for its juice, which ferments quickly in the heat, then goes through a still. In Thailand that has traditionally meant small, locally built stills run by farming families, with the spirit drawn off straight after distillation rather than laid down in wood. The result is a clear spirit where the raw material is not hidden behind barrel character.
How it tastes
Fresh and grassy, with the green, slightly vegetal sweetness of crushed cane and a clean, warm finish. Lighter and more direct than a molasses-based rum, which comes from the same plant but from the by-product rather than the juice.
Good to know
Isan is Thailand's largest and poorest region, and its cane spirits — often sold under the name lao khao when made from rice and cane together — have stayed local, drunk near where they are made. Cane juice spirits exist in a handful of places worldwide, and nearly all of them are small-scale.
Contains alcohol (inferred).
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