South African Cane Spirits

[Cane/Able]

I have a question concerning what was called "cane" in South Africa, namely-- what is it? There were two brand names that I remember--Clipper and Mainstay. There might have been more, but those two were the ones that fit into a Peace Corps budget. Clipper was a bit harsh on one's innards, but Mainstay mixed fine with cold drink.

Is cane a low-end cacaзha? It did not taste like a rum and South Africa does have a large sugar cane industry to supply the fresh cane.

Enlighten me, professors.

[Edward Hamilton]

Welcome to the forums. I've personally only had Mainstay which was a molasses distillate. In South Africa most of the sugar cane goes into sugar production and is too valuable not to take the money from the sugar and then distill the molasses.

Most of the South Africans I met in the Caribbean raved about their cane rums, but after a few months they were more interested in the Caribbean rums and seemed to forget what they left behind.