Alambique Serrano Altos Esteres

Alambique Serrano Altos Esteres is a pot-distilled, cask-strength rum from the Cañada region of Oaxaca, made by the Krassel Peralta family using a twenty-five-day fermentation in pine vats. This is the second-edition release from a producer that applies mezcal-making principles to Java sugarcane grown at elevations between 2,300 and 3,900 feet in Santa María Tlalixtac, where volcanic soil and altitude stress the cane into concentrating flavor over raw sweetness. The pine-vat fermentation and copper pot distillation preserve high-ester funk and grassy cane character without dilution or filtration, putting this rum closer to Martinique agricole or Haitian clairin than column-still Caribbean styles. The Krassel Peralta family has been distilling in Oaxaca since 1917, and Alambique Serrano operates as a sister project to 5 Sentidos. Estate-grown Java sugarcane is pressed and fermented in pine tanks with ambient yeast for nearly a month, a technique borrowed from Japanese sake brewing and traditional Oaxacan spirits. The resinous pine contact contributes savory, herbal notes that layer over the grassy backbone of fresh cane juice. Copper pot distillation captures those funky esters and delivers the spirit at proof, bottled exactly as it leaves the alembic without water or adjustment. On the nose, expect briny olive tapenade, fresh tomatillo, capers, and charred pineapple, with herbal undertones and that piney signature from fermentation. The palate delivers grassy cane juice, black pepper, and clean heat carried by unapologetic proof. This is rum with terroir and edge, built for drinkers who've exhausted the agricole shelf and want something with funk and specificity. Sip it neat if you're comfortable with cask strength, build a ti' punch with lime and cane syrup to frame the savory profile, or make a highball with tonic and grapefruit where the botanicals amplify the herbal complexity. In stock at Off Premise in Lincoln Park.