Soltera Oro Barrel-Aged Cane Spirit (Batch 2)

Nose: Mild grassy and estery notes, white sugar, oak cask, very dilute golden syrup. Faint sunflower oil and a fleeting floral quality. Over time in the glass some honey, brown sugar and a hint of citrus comes forward. Palate: Soft and grassy with a little wood tannin and vanilla in the arrival, and some sharp, hot tannic notes almost like fresh ginger appear as it develops. The texture is supple and pleasant but like the first batch of this rum there is a slightly bitter note towards the finish, however it is less apparent here. Finish: Medium/short. Mildly oaky, grassy and with a faint tannic, almost coppery, tinge in the aftertaste. This is the second bottle of Soltera Oro I have had, this time from the Batch 2 release. I’ve made a new entry here because there are distinct differences between Batch 1 and 2, and once again this is technically cane spirit rather than rum by the definition of Australian law (even though in many countries it could be sold as “rum”). My bottle has “Batch 2, bottle 246” hand written on the label. Cabarita Spirits is located at Cabarita Beach on the north NSW coast. The owner and distiller, Keri Algar, handles all of the production process from fermentation through to bottling and marketing – the only thing she does not do is grow and crush the cane. I reached out to Keri and she said that Oro Batch 2 was matured in the same cask as Batch 1 (so therefore a refill-cask) and this definitely tallies with what I tasted in each case. The cask was originally a 200 litre ex-bourbon barrique but it was re-coopered to 115 litre capacity and re-charred with a medium burn. Batch 2 was actually in the cask for longer than Batch 1, but clearly quite a bit of the cask character had already been extracted by the Batch 1 distillate. The greater cask influence in Batch 1 made it more assertive so it was my preference for neat drinking or use in a rum n’ Coke or heavier cocktails. This Batch 2 is more subtle and better suited to gentle summery cocktails where it can be in balance with the other ingredients. For me it seems to be half way between Soltera Batch 1 Oro and Soltera Blanco in profile. I’ve substituted it successfully for moderate ester white rum and agricole blanc in cocktails that call for those spirits. Aussies who have only ever tasted Bundaberg and Beenleigh rum may find the light high-ester character of Soltera Spirits cane-spirit products a little unusual at first. However you only need a short while with Blanco or Oro to appreciate just how good they are, and I'd certainly recommend trying both. Cabarita Spirits' first "proper" aged rum is coming out maybe later this year or in early 2024, and I can't wait to taste it! After a lot of experimentation Mrs Cascode and I decided that a Painkiller is the perfect vehicle for this rum: 45 ml Soltera Oro 120 ml pineapple juice 30 ml fresh orange juice 30 ml coconut milk (or cream) Combine in a shaker and shake dry, pour over lots of ice and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)