Rum Across the Sunshine State

A Thanksgiving trip to the Tampa area and the return home allowed me to visit six distilleries which focus on rum and sourcing local molasses, crystals, or cane juice. 

Nestled in the heart of Dunedin’s vibrant "beer-muda triangle", Cotherman Distilling Co. has carved out a niche by producing hand-crafted spirits with a focus on quality and local ingredients. Their signature offerings include the 727 Vodka, a unique single-malt vodka distilled from 100% malted barley, and the Half-Mine Gin. They also produce a range of unique whiskies using different beer and rye mashes. But rum was our focus and their One Eyed Jack is supreme. This superior rum is aged in a chardonnay barrel that were used by neighboring Cueni Brewing Co. to rest a Belgium Tripel. Cotherman then obtained this barrel and aged their Dark Rum in the barrel for five years. Excellent. They also offer several other rums aged in various second use or different barrel sizes. For value, go for the Crockett's Reserve. 

Located in historic Ybor City, Gasparilla Distillery & Cocktail Bar is celebrated as Tampa’s first rum distillery, blending local heritage with a playful nod to the legendary pirate José Gaspar. Since opening in 2018, the distillery has produced a wide range of small-batch spirits, including Gasparilla Silver Rum, Spiced Rum, Coconut Rum, and seasonal flavors like Pumpkin or Apple Spiced Rum -- and the eye-opening Banana Bread Rum. This as well as their Key Lime Pie Rum were our favorites.  Not as sippers, but as ingredients to cocktails in which the creative bartenders described in detail during our visit. The rums are created by fermenting top-grade molasses from Okeelanta Sugar Mills in South Florida over seven days. The juice is then distilled using a 1,000 gallon copper pot still with rectifying columns. 

Founded by Drum Circle Distilling, Siesta Key Rum also sources the finest Florida molasses and only real ingredients like ground spices, honey, coffee, and coconut to produce their lineup of usually eight rums. This portfolio includes Toasted Coconut Rum, Coffee Rum, Spiced Rum, various aged rums, as well as beer barrel series -- all distilled using copper pot stills. Tastings are free with cocktails available at the tropical-inspired “Infinity Room” tiki bar.  The aged rums are worth exploring. The Siesta Key Distiller's Reserve Aged Spiced Rum is crafted using a solara system and is fantastic. Their Siesta Key Maple Syrup Barrel Aged Spiced Rum was aged in barrels that started as bourbon barrels, then were used to age maple syrup. After that, the maple soaked barrels make their way to the distillery and filled with the Siesta Key Spiced Rum. The batches are blends of barrels that have aged up to 7 years. 

Opened in 2019, Loaded Cannon Distillery is Bradenton’s first and only liquor distillery, proudly producing spirits “grain and cane to glass”.  The corn, molasses, rye, sugar, rice, and lemons are sourced directly in the Sunshine state. Their lineup includes bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, and specialty flavored spirits such as the popular Jalapeño Vodka, Limoncello, and the Pyracy Rum, crafted with dark sugar and molasses. We loved the Port Barrel Finished Rum and Maple Pecan Rum, but were more attracted to other offerings. Starting with the four grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey -- complex and easy sipping. Grab a Neat glass for this one. Their fabulous Limoncello is made with the lemons hanging in little cheesecloth hammocks, suspended above the high proof spirit, rather than peeling the lemons and immersing said peels in the spirit. This old Sicilian technique provides more zesty flavors. And we now know why the Jalapeño Vodka is very popular. Bloody Mary material. 

Driving through tall green sugar cane stalks swaying in a gentle breeze, you find a hidden distillery, a one of kind operation.  Sugar Sand Distillery is the country's only estate-grown sugar cane farm distillery where the sugar cane is grown, processed, distilled, and sold at the same location. In this case, Lake Placid in south central Florida.  Founder Don Davies grows four acres of cane on a former 10 acre citrus grove. The cane stalks are fed by a hydroponic system that delivers water and nutrients directly to the base of each plant; a by-product of Don’s decades of experience in the fertilizer industry.  The distillery opened in April 2018 and offers numerous spirits based on proprietary cane juice and corn mash recipes. These include small-batch rum, whiskey, vodka, limoncello and moonshine.  See A Visit to Sugar Sand Distillery - America's Only Estate-grown Sugar Cane Farm Distillery for a fuller picture of their operation and spirits. 

St. Augustine Distillery is located in the America's first city and in the historic FP&L Ice Plant (the first commercial enterprise to produce block ice in Florida over 100 years ago). The distillery is a business collaborative of 28 local entrepreneurs who utilize local sugar cane, wheat, corn, and citrus to produce whiskey, rum, vodka, and gin. They provide one of the most insightful free walking tours of a distillery. Each station includes a free cocktail sample and the museum provides a history of block ice production as well as a legality neutral history of distilling in The Sunshine State.  Their Pot Distilled Rum is produced from Grade A US Fancy sugarcane syrup and molasses and aged in used St. Augustine bourbon barrels. One of very few rums that are aged in barrels that previously held bourbon from the same distillery. The spirit is straw-colored with a surprising coconut and very light baking spices profile. 

A Visit to Sugar Sand Distillery - America's Only Estate-grown Sugar Cane Farm Distillery

Driving through tall green sugar cane stalks swaying in a gentle breeze, you find a hidden distillery, a one of kind operation.  Sugar Sand Distillery is the country's only estate-grown sugar cane farm distillery where the sugar cane is grown, processed, distilled, and sold at the same location. In this case, Lake Placid in south central Florida.  Founder Don Davies grows four acres of cane on a former 10 acre citrus grove. The cane stalks are fed by a hydroponic system that delivers water and nutrients directly to the base of each plant; a by-product of Don’s decades of experience in the fertilizer industry.  The distillery opened in April 2018 and offers numerous spirits based on proprietary cane juice and corn mash recipes. These include small-batch rum, whiskey, vodka, limoncello and moonshine.  

Their rum is extremely rare for a U.S. made rum as it is made from sugar cane juice in the French Rhum Agricole method - and not molasses, cane syrup, or sugar crystals.  And if you are interested in regenerative farming you have to respect a micro distillery that grows and processes its produce onsite. 

The Rhum Agricole process begins with harvesting the sugarcane and crushing it quickly to prevent oxidation and spoilage. Traditionally the cane is crushed using a roller mill but Sugar Sand uses a special device that peels the cane before crushing that leads to a cleaner juice. This juice or "vesou," is filtered and quickly prepared for fermentation.  A common anecdote explains that sugar cane and its juice has a "shelf life of soft serve ice cream". At Sugar Sand, this fermentation takes place in open, stainless steel tanks and typically lasts 24 to 72 hours.  The fermented juice, or "vin," is then distilled using a wood-encased copper pot still.

During my visit I sampled a healthy range of their offerings. These are available to purchase at their tasting room or at The 301 brewstillery and eatery located in nearby Sebring. 

Lake Placid Rum (White Rum): Taste the true spirit of rum. Expect sweet grassy and herbaceous aromas with textured core and a slightly smoky finish.  

Lake Placid Rum (Aged Rum): This is the White Rum aged four to five years in new American oak barrels freshly sourced from Kentucky. This oak treatment mellows the and rounds out the spirit providing a little more smoke and some caramel. But no baking spices - still spirit driven and not oak driven,  

Lake Placid Spiced Rum: This spirit is made starting with their White Rum augmented with spices and caramel colorings. It's slightly sweeter than the White Rum with a kaleidoscope of spices.

12 Hour Shine (White Shine): This is a combination corn and cane moonshine that is slightly sweeter than the White Rum. Unbelievably easy to drink with a sweet texture and easy finish.  

12 Hour Shine (Aged, Midnight Shine): Like the Aged Rum, this spirit takes the White Shine and is aged in new American oak barrels. Here you will get slight baking spices, more body and a rounded finish. Excellent. 

Crane Vodka (Lemon): This is a limoncello-like vodka with distinct lemon flavors and an oily texture. will love our lemon-flavored Crane Vodka.  Made from infusing the skins of locally grown lemons.

Hammock Gin: This is a juniper thin gin using six botanicals and sipping rather easily. 

Thirsty for Small-Batch & Local Spirits with the Kozuba & Sons Distillery Quince Cordial

Throughout the American experience, there have been hundreds - perhaps thousands - of individuals immigrating to this country who then opened a brewery, distillery, or planted vines corresponding to the practices in their home countries. But how many have literally migrated the complete operation from their home country to the United States? That's what occurred with Florida's Kozuba & Sons Distillery where Zbigniew Kozuba and his sons Matthias and Jacob moved their Polish distillery from Jablonka to St. Petersburg. 

During the latter part of the 2000s, the Kozuba family opened the distillery in order to fulfill escalating requests for cordials that Zbigniew had starting infusing in retirement from a biochemist career. Soon they augmented their portfolio with vodka distilled from a  hybrid copper still and became the " first family-owned and operated micro-distillery in post-war Poland".   In 2012 they started distilling the first Polish single malt whiskey along with other experimental whiskeys but eventually discovered that "Poland’s highly monopolized industry did not have room for a small, family-operated craft operation". 

They then decided to move to a country "thirsty for small-batch, local spirits" and the most logical choice was the United States and St. Petersburg’s Grand Central District. In 2014, they migrated their operation to the Sunshine State including two hybrid copper stills, both hand-made by Arnold Holstein in Germany. One still is dedicated to vodka production, and the other to whiskey production. 

During our recent trip to the area for a brewery - baseball tour, I quickly ran into the distillery in order to purchase and bring home their Quince Cordial ($20, 32.5%  abv,  375ml). I have been a consumer of Serbian Quince brandies for a number of years and have noticed generally tropical aromas and pear flavors. Quince is a pome fruit, related to apples and pears, that when ripe is bright yellow and looks like a fuzzy, short-necked pear. As a raw fruit, it is too sour and astringent to eat so is most often used in jams, cakes, and rakija. The Kozuba & Sons Quince Cordial is made macerating whole quince fruits and then aging for several years.  No preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors are used in the production process. 

Drinking neat, the Quince Cordial shows excellent dense fruit, both quince and fig;  but the syrupy texture begs for a cocktail. I found The Quinclet online and it packs a wallop but my favorite use was a recommendation by Keli Rivers when discussing her book, Negroni: More than 30 Classic and Modern Recipes for Italy's Iconic Cocktail. She likes to order a cider, take a large swig and then top off with Campari. I replicated with the cordial and it works by augmenting the refreshing apple flavors with denser pomme fruit. Na Zdrowie!

The Quinclet

The quince gives the finished article a more rounded flavor than a straight gimlet, however, the lime juice and bitters lend a pleasing bite to the finish.

Ingredients & Equipment:

40ml Dry Gin
20ml Quince Cordial
20ml Lime juice
Liberal dash, Angostura Bitters
Lime zest, to garnish
Cocktail shaker
Ice
Martini glass, chilled

Procedure:
Pour a couple of drops of bitters into the martini glass.
Give the gin, cordial, and lemon juice a jolt in a shaker with a couple of ice cubes.
Strain into the martini glass and garnish with a strip of lime zest.
Sit down before drinking!