Virgin Cane Rum

[Scottes]

I read a blog entry over at BostonCocktails.com, talking about Beija Cachaca. (Link here.) Apparently Beija is the world's first Virgin Cane Rum. Well this phrase got me to googling and found a link on Wikipedia. (Link here.)

Reprint of that Wikipedia article:

Virgin Cane Rum is a sub-section of the broader rum category. The category, approved in Summer 2007 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, currently has only one Spirit associated with it, Beija Cachaça. Virgin Cane Rums range in alcohol content from 76-96 proof. The requirements for Virgin Cane Rum production are as follows:

1. Sugarcane must be hand harvested
2. The Sugarcane is pressed only once, within hours of being cut, to reveal virgin cane juice
3. The virgin juice must enter distillation within the same day that the sugarcane is harvested
4. It is single distilled

The concept, very similar to virgin olive oil, is to start with better ingredients and production technique and finish with a better, purer end product.

So how many other cachacas and agricoles would fall under this category?

I have to think that Beija is the only one simply because nobody else has applied....


Also, note that a search of www.ttb.gov finds no occurrences of "virgin cane rum" so your mileage may vary....

[Edward Hamilton]

Many agricole rums from the French islands would qualify. Others wouldn't due to the hand harvested requirement.

Sugar cane isn't like olives where there are several pressings. On the other hand if you take the above literally, none of the rums I know would qualify since all of the cane is pressed more than once in the cane mill. Every commercial cane mill has three rollers that crush the cane at least twice as the cane passes between the rollers. Most mills have more than two sets of rollers, the most common is three in the rum industry though sugar mills press the cane as many as five times while water is sprayed on the cane to enhance sugar extraction.

The wikipedia definition looks to be written by the company that applied for the designation from the TTB. At first glance, this looks to confuse the issue more than clarify it.

[Solomon Grundy]

"The virgin juice must enter distillation within the same day that the sugarcane is harvested" ??????????

A little fermentation before you start distilling might be a good idea. Distilling cane juice, before fermentation, would just produce water, leaving behind a sugar solution in the pot. Fermentation should take a few days.

[RumBarPhilly]

I think fermentation was an implied step in that. What it was trying to convey was that the virgin juice had to be processed within 24 hours as bacteria and other bad things will affect the juice if any more time was wasted.

[Jack Black]

There was an article in the Boston Globe titled "Rum Raisin'," obviously fed to the writer (Meredith Goldstein) by the young entrepreneurs, touting their claim that their new rum (Beija) was "...unlike anything (he) had tried in the U.S." (and implying strongly that there was nothing else like it available in the U.S.; it was an obvious puff piece).

I was curious as to how accurate these claims were and began googling, which is what led me to this site.

The article went on to state: "Unlike most molasses-based blends,...cachaca came straight from cane sugar." Also, they apparently signed a deal with a company in Sao Paulo who could make their "unique cachaca liquor."

So I would like to know how much of this is the product of hyperbole, and just how good Beija is (the article states that Beija is available in several liquor stores around Boston for $29).

(An obvious tyro, I am new to this site)

Thanks

Jack

[Edward Hamilton]

Virgin Cane Rum appears to be made according to the rules concerning Cachaca - 38%( 76 proof) to 48%(96 proof) distillation purity. Unlike grapes or olives, sugar cane is only pressed one time. I look forward to learning how this Virgin Cane Rum is different from Cachaca.

[Tiare]

Originally Posted by Edward Hamilton

I look forward to learning how this Virgin Cane Rum is different from Cachaca.

Good question..

Besides..that logo of Beija reminds me very much of the logo of the Tahitian beer Hinano.

[Rum Runner]

If it looks like a Duck...and sounds like a Duck...And then is marketed like a Swan...It must be a...(your term for this goes here).

[KINGSTON]

10 Cane I believe advertises using "Virgin Cane Rum".

[RumBarPhilly]

Originally Posted by KINGSTON

10 Cane I believe advertises using "Virgin Cane Rum".

You're absolutely right... from 10 Cane's website, "10 Cane is a luxury rum created from the first pressing of virgin Trinidadian sugar cane, not molasses."

I guess Beija isnt the first. Or should I say, they're not the first to CLAIM using virgin cane.