10 Cane

[jzy308]

I see 10 Cane is touted to be the best in the world. I have tried it and did not like it. Re its statement that it is distilled form "pure cane juice", the bottle does not state that is it rum agricole. Does anyone have any more info? I think any queries to the distiller/distributor will be unanswered.
carl

[lbascones]

Hi,

Just because it is made from sugar cane juice does not make it a Rhum Agricole. For a rum to be an agricole, it needs to hold the Appelation d'origine Contrфlйe (AOC), which guarantees that all processes have been followed according to guidelines. Mind you that there are good sugar cane juice rums without AOC. 10 Cane comes to mind. Is that the one you are asking about?

IMHO calling something "the best of the world" is just a marketing ploy, no matter how good the product is. Just like there is no best musician, painter, hamburger, or color, there can't be a best rum.

10 Cane is pretty good, if you like sugar cane juice rums. If you don't, then, well, no matter how good it is it will fall in the same category as great whiskys are to me (I don't care for whisky).

Hope this helps,

-LuisB

[bill poster]

prefer Orinoco to 10 cane..

[Rum Runner]

Hi. A.O.C. is a French government regulation, which is why rums produced to the standards in the French West Indies can legally adopt the title Rhum Agricole. Rum 10 (while owned by a French based company) is produced in Trinidad. Even if it is produced to A.O.C. standards it cannot be legitimized by the French Government.

[Hank Koestner]

When I taste rums, I don,t always compare them. I try not to see them as better or worse, just different. But, when it comes to fresh cane juice, it is hard not to compare.
I0 cane is a good rum, and has a unique flavor, but it does not compare to rhum agricole. I may be a little biased, as agricole is one of my favorites. 10 Cane makes a decent Ti Punch, and can be enjoyed on the rocks, possibly with some muddled lime. It does not seem to mix that well.
Look past the advertising, taste it , and if you like it, enjoy.
As Ed says, my favorite rum at the moment is the one in my glass!

[Scottes]

It does not seem to mix that well.
Funny that you say that. I've heard that 10 Cane was designed to be a cocktail rum.

Jean Baptiste Cordon, the managing director of 10 Cane, explains, “We really designed 10 Cane with bartenders in mind. They like to apply their creative skills to truly enhance a cocktail experience and that can be achieved much more vividly with 10 Cane.”
http://www.wineshopnyc.com/main.asp?request=ARTICLES&article=16&


Personally I like 10 Cane, but find it a bit contrived and slightly over-priced. It's not quite a sipping rum, and does seem like it would work well in a variety of cocktails. I'd have to find the right cocktail before I'd run out and purchase more, or recommend it.

[Edward Hamilton]

Hi. A.O.C. is a French government regulation, which is why rums produced to the standards in the French West Indies can legally adopt the title Rhum Agricole. 10 Cane (while owned by a French based company) is produced in Trinidad. Even if it is produced to A.O.C. standards it cannot be legitimized by the French Government.

10 Cane is a product of Moet Hennessy and doesn't claim to be rum, or rhum, agricole. It is produced in the style of a fine cognac with pot still distillation and careful attention to the details of the raw ingredients. The cane is grown with a lot of attention to the details. The type of sugar cane used has been developed to limit the amount of trash, leaves on the stalks, which has to be removed before the cane stalks are crushed. The yeast used for fermentation came from France and is cultivated for the long, five day fermentation, one of the longest in the sugar cane spirits industry.

One of the questions I wanted to answer was what does FIRST PRESS CANE really mean? At a new distillery in the south-central part of Trinidad, Moet Hennessy uses a cane mill with only two sets of rollers. But in the tradition of first press wine, the sugar cane is lightly pressed to release the fresh sweet juice and to limit the juice from the harder, outer layer of the sugar cane stalk. This process is also designed to limit the amount of the waxy material that protects the outside of the sugar cane stalk from insects and pests. The spent cane is so moist it sticks to your hands and wouldn’t burn even if you wanted to burn it. The steam for distillation is generated in a gas burning steam generator. I probably would have described this as lightly pressed cane but whatever you call it, it is unique among rum distillers and is the first step in making a good distilled product. You can’t make Cognac from raisins.

After being distilled twice to about 70% abv in a copper pot still, the distillate is aged about 6 months in French oak barrels before it is blended and bottled at the Angostura facility in Trinidad. After tasting 10 Cane when it first appeared in the US and having tasted the fresh distillate straight from the still, I am confident that Moet Hennessy is working hard to make 10 Cane a better product than it was when it was first introduced. Whether the market place is willing to retry a new product remains to be seen.

(I'll post some pictures of the 10 Cane facilities in a few days.)

[PirateNord]

I would be willing to retry it. I really did not care for it at all when it first came out in the U.S. I was given a bottle by a distributor friend and given the same line about "the best ever... best in the world... blah blah blah". I found it to be harsh and decidedly unpleasant when served straight. It was marginally better mixed in a cocktail.

But if they are reworking it, I am always game to try again.

[Chuck E. Mong]

I emailed 10 Cane from an address on their website and got a fast and courteous response. I haven't got the email on this computer but my main question had to do with some of the sugarcane industry in Trinidad being phased out and how that would affect 10 Cane. The woman responded that they wouldn't have any problem because they have their own sources of cane. I also wondered why people I knew in Trinidad had never heard of it. She said that they didn't sell it locally but would in the near future. I love it but find it overpriced at $34. or so and I stock up when it's $20 - 28.

[Edward Hamilton]

The government owned sugar industry was phased out a few years ago, but Moet Hennessy is working with a few farmers who are selling their cane exclusively to the 10 Cane distillery. On a trip there a few months ago I was able to see most of the operation and will post a link to some jpgs over the weekend.

[Edward Hamilton]

Here (http://ministryofrum.com/10%20cane/index.html) are pictures I took in March 2007 on a trip to Trinidad to learn for myself how 10 Cane rum is made. After visiting the 10 Cane (http://10cane.com) website I was looking for accordion players, record players or anyone making knock-knock jokes, Clyde and the visual test, the surf test, or the mood test but you can't see everything in a couple of days.

[Berbician]

Great pictures. I can almost smell the juice fermenting. :)

[The Sheriff]

I too tried it when it was first relaesed and was not impressed. But after Eds' comments it might be worth revisiting. I know it has been a slow mover in these parts so it may be a while before the new and improved 10 Cane makes its way onto store shelves. Meanwhile the old stuff is out there unimpressing others I'm sure!

[mac]

Ten Cane has a good story but a crummy tasting over hyped rum. I prefer La Favorite BLANC Make mine a tee punch

[bluewave6]

When I first tried 10 cane I was not that impressed I must have got one of the earliest batches. I was in my local haut a few weeks back and they had 10 cane for 24.99 a bottle so I figured I would give it another try. I prefer to drink 95% of all my rum neat or on the rocks. I had a glass of this last night neat and must say that it was not as bad as I remembered it. There were plenty of fresh/crisp flavors in there. I know it is "technically" not a rhum agricole but there were quite a few "agricole" type flavors going on. I would suggest giving it another try.

[Rumpelteazer]

Every time I look at my bottle of 10 Cane rum I think that, instead of calling it TEN-CANE it should be pronounced EYE-OH-CANE in honor of The Princess Bride.

Any other conspiracy theorists out there who think this graphic ambiguity mignt be intentional on the part of their marketing department?

[Edward Hamilton]

Every time I look at my bottle of 10 Cane rum I think that, instead of calling it TEN-CANE it should be pronounced EYE-OH-CANE in honor of The Princess Bride.

Any other conspiracy theorists out there who think this graphic ambiguity might be intentional on the part of their marketing department?

The name 10 Cane definitely wasn't given any hidden meaning by marketing, though you aren't the first to tell me that I was looking at a bottle of I O Cane. It's all how you look at it.

[scheer]

What I have heard is that the cane cutters used to tie up max. 10 stacks to be able to carry the load.

[KINGSTON]

I E-Mailed the Company a week or so ago. I told them I liked their Rum. They said thank you, and descibed their Rum as a Fine Golden Mixing Rum. I don't know if it was made to drink straight up. From their Response to my E-Mail, sounds like they want you to use it as a Mixer. I love 10 Cane- I will be using at my Holiday Party.

Kingston

[The Squire]

Now because we are an Island, everything happens a little slower than the rest of the world, but finally after good success on the trade side, 10 Cane jumped from behind the bar in Australia and is now available retail..



Rum or not rum, the real question is, what should be the first cocktail off the ranks?

tally ho.

[bunnyhugs]

So I click on this 'rumalliance.com' guy's website.

Then he tries to mug me for my e-mail before I can see anything?

What?

Sorry. Not impressed at all.

[forrest]

Then he tries to mug me for my e-mail before I can see anything?

Agreed.

i have made it onto your website, and find it absolutely marvelous.

[The Squire]

woo!! easy up! crikey!!! its all about the rum and a bit of fun! We got about 2 months to go before the site goes live i reckon...depending on how much time is allotted to drinking, tasting, mixing, and other more important development activities ;-) , having fun getting the cms set up at the moment

So have a cocktail, sit back, you ain't missing anything. When we get it sorted, I'll post here and let y'all know so if you're interested have a look then. Or if you want to be notified, chuck your email in, and we'll spit out a note when we get round to sorting it out.

[TheRumelier]

10 Cane is a great concept, but just like Porfidio before it,(another sugarcane rum) where they want complete control from cane to bottle, it will work out as an expensive bottle of rum. Not many people want to pay a geat deal of money for such a young rum. With the enormous popularity of Hennessy right now, I feel they should have included the name somewhere on the bottle. I think Hennessy Caribbean Rum would have worked better. Obviously this would have gone against their long traditons, but what is mainly a molasses rum drinking market is not ready to pay this much money for a 6 month old rum, no matter how nice the bottle is. I got a shock when I saw it being bottled at Angostura recently, along with Pusser's Rum.
PS Great photos Ed, sorry I didn't see the 10 Cane operation while I was in Trinidad.