Alambique Serrano Altos Esteres

Alambique Serrano Altos Esteres is an unaged, cask-strength rum made from high-altitude Java sugarcane grown on the steep slopes of Santa Maria Tlalixtac in Oaxaca. This second-edition release fermented for twenty-five days in pine tanks before distillation on copper pot stills, and it was bottled without added water—the proof exactly as it left the still. The technique and terroir place it closer to the agricole tradition than industrial rum, and Lincoln Park drinkers hunting savory, grassy cane spirits now have an Oaxacan answer. Alambique Serrano cultivates its own Java cane on mountain plots where elevation and volcanic soil push the plant to concentrate flavor rather than pure sugar. The extended fermentation in pine tanks—uncommon in rum production outside of Japan and parts of Oaxaca—introduces resinous, vegetal notes that copper pot distillation preserves. The distillery sits in Santa Maria Tlalixtac, a village better known for mezcal, and Alambique Serrano applies that same estate-driven mentality to cane: single-origin, single-distillation, no blending. The result is a rum that tastes like a place, not a category. The nose opens with pickled capers, green olives, and tomatillo—savory, almost salsa verde in character—before herbal notes and grilled pineapple round out the top. On the palate, expect grassy cane juice, black pepper, and a piney undertone from the fermentation vessel. The cask-strength bottling carries heat, but it's clean heat—no rough edges, just intensity. This is a rum for the mezcal drinker, the agricole fan, or anyone who wants their cane spirit to taste like it grew somewhere specific. Sip it neat, or use it in a ti' punch where the funk can shine against lime and cane syrup. It also works in a highball with tonic and a wedge of grapefruit. Alambique Serrano Altos Esteres is available for pickup at our Lincoln Park bottle shop at 1128 W Armitage Ave, for local Chicago delivery, or we can ship it anywhere in the U.S. that accepts spirits.