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Soltera Oro Barrel-Aged Cane Spirit (Batch 1)
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Reviewed March 26, 2023 (edited March 27, 2023)Nose: Light, breezy toasted oak aromas over a base of crisp distillate. Fresh-cut grass, roasted nuts, brown sugar and subtle tropical fruit. Let this sit in a nosing glass for a while and you will start to get notes of honey and mint as it opens, and after a while maple syrup and toffee are apparent. Palate: The arrival, like the nose, starts with flavours contributed by the cask rather than the distillate (soft tannins and vanilla), but this gives way to subtle fruity and caramel notes. The texture is soft and pleasant, but a hard and slightly bitter note intrudes towards the finish. Finish: Medium/short. Oaky, grassy, fruity and trailing into a bright and slightly acidic aftertaste. This is the second product I have tasted from Cabarita Spirits. Like the Soltera Blanco I reviewed previously, this is technically cane spirit rather than rum under the definition of Australian law (even though in many countries it could be sold as “rum”). The estery, grassy agricole quality of the Cabarita Spirits distillate is still present, but here it has been modulated by several months of maturation in an oak barrel. This gives it a profile that is more like a cross between a young but funky Jamaican rum and an aged rhum agricole. My bottle has “Batch 1, bottle 10” hand written on the label. The entire batch was from a single ex-bourbon barrel that was re-coopered to 155 litre capacity, so we are talking about maturation in a comparatively small cask in a hot and humid coastal climate. Cabarita Spirits is a one-woman micro distillery located at Cabarita Beach on the far north NSW coast. The owner and distiller, Keri Algar, founded the distillery in 2020 and this product was the second she brought to market. Keri handles every part of the production process from fermentation through to bottling and marketing – the only thing she does not do is grow and crush the cane. This is an easy to drink and versatile rum (let’s call it that) which works well in cocktails, and although it can be enjoyed neat that is not where I think it shines. Personally I prefer a sipping rum to have real authority and an intense or even quirky profile, and this spirit has neither that sort of robust distillate character nor enough time in the cask. However that's certainly not meant as a criticism and I’m very much enjoying this bottle. In fact I've nearly finished it and I just ordered a bottle of Keri’s 2nd batch of Oro. It has been similarly casked but she filled the cask at lower proof and she says this has produced a product that is creamier and more honied. My favourite use for this is in a long drink that is my variation on the classic rum n' Coke, with a bit of influence from the "dark n' stormy": 45ml Soltera Oro 1 heaped barspoon of freshly grated root ginger 1 slice of lemon A handful of ice cubes Cola soft drink Muddle the ginger and Soltera Oro well in a large glass. Add the lemon and ice and stir a few times. Top up the glass with cola soft drink. Delicious. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)85.0 USD per Bottle
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