'Cartler 30' Rum, Aguardiente de Oaxaca 4 Edition (138 proof)

Cartier 30 is an unaged aguardiente de caña produced at 4,000 feet above sea level in Santa Maria Tlalixtac, Oaxaca, by the Krassel family from 100% organic java sugarcane grown on the steep slopes surrounding the distillery. The name refers to the Cartier scale, a measurement of alcohol strength that predated the ABV standard — 30 on the Cartier scale translates to roughly 70% alcohol by volume, the preferred drinking strength for many villagers who would traditionally cut this rum with fresh cane juice and shoot it. Bottled at 138 proof with no sugar or water added, this is one of the highest-proof unaged rums available in Chicago and among the few still-drinking aguardientes produced in the Mexican highlands. The Krassel family has been distilling in Oaxaca since the 1930s, when Max Krassel immigrated from Germany and designed the custom still that the family uses today. The still operates on a unique principle — it produces no heads or tails, and the final distillation proof is controlled entirely by adjusting the temperature of the cooling chambers and the flow rate of fresh cane juice into the boiling chamber. The rum is distilled from fresh-pressed cane juice rather than molasses, fermented naturally with wild yeasts, and the java varietal of sugarcane contributes a grassy, vegetal backbone that sets this aguardiente apart from Caribbean-style rums. Every step, from planting to harvest to distillation, takes place on the Krassel property in the mountains above Oaxaca. The palate is funky, grassy, briny, and punchy — this is not a sipping rum in the traditional sense. Expect aggressive vegetal notes, a saline minerality from the high-altitude terroir, and a cane-forward sweetness that cuts through the heat. In the village, the traditional serve is a shot of Cartier 30 lengthened with a splash of fresh cane juice, which tames the proof and brings the grassiness forward. It also works in highballs with tonic or ginger beer, where the funk reads as complexity rather than aggression, or as a rinse in stirred cocktails that need a cane-forward backbone without the color of an aged rum. For fans of clairin, unaged rhum agricole, or other wild-fermented cane spirits, this bottle offers a parallel tradition rooted in the Mexican highlands rather than the Caribbean. Available for pickup at Off Premise in Lincoln Park, local Chicago delivery, or nationwide shipping from 1128 W Armitage Ave.