Agua Libre Rum
Made from 100% California sugarcane, Agua Libre California Agricole Rum is a pure, primal, unapologetic expression of fresh California cane.
Intensely grassy, sultry, and robust, this rum is not for the faint of heart—but for those who love it there is no substitute. Format: 750ml ABV: 43%
Intensely grassy, sultry, and robust, this rum is not for the faint of heart—but for those who love it there is no substitute. Format: 750ml ABV: 43%
We make our rum from fresh sugarcane—not molasses—in the style of a rhum agricole or cachaça. The cane is grown outside of Brawley in the Imperial Valley of Southern California. Immediately after harvest, stalks of sugarcane are shipped here to the distillery, where we extract fresh cane juice by running the stalks by hand through a sugarcane mill.
The freshly pressed, uncooked cane juice is then fermented and distilled in small batches in our 500-liter copper pot still.
The freshly pressed, uncooked cane juice is then fermented and distilled in small batches in our 500-liter copper pot still.
Agua Libre reads like a sugarcane eau de vie—and never lets you forget that sugarcane is a grass.
The choice of small-diameter California cane lends vivid, earthy, even vegetal aromatics that evoke wet grass, truffles, and black olives. When you open a bottle, the aroma is primal and brazen. On the palate, fresh cane juice all the way. In cocktails, it's unmissable—adding funk and sultriness to anything it touches. Try it in a Hemingway Daiquiri, a Mai Tai, a Ti Punch, a Mojito, or even a Cuba Libre, and experience these classic rum drinks in a whole new light.
The choice of small-diameter California cane lends vivid, earthy, even vegetal aromatics that evoke wet grass, truffles, and black olives. When you open a bottle, the aroma is primal and brazen. On the palate, fresh cane juice all the way. In cocktails, it's unmissable—adding funk and sultriness to anything it touches. Try it in a Hemingway Daiquiri, a Mai Tai, a Ti Punch, a Mojito, or even a Cuba Libre, and experience these classic rum drinks in a whole new light.
Gold Medal. — Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition
Winner. — 2013 Good Food Awards
Made in the style of Martinique rhum agricole, but with a touch of West Coast swagger. A pungent, even primal version of silver rum, reminiscent of a mezcal without the smoke. — Wine Enthusiast
Dramatically big with a grassy freshness. — San Francisco Weekly
Winner. — 2013 Good Food Awards
Made in the style of Martinique rhum agricole, but with a touch of West Coast swagger. A pungent, even primal version of silver rum, reminiscent of a mezcal without the smoke. — Wine Enthusiast
Dramatically big with a grassy freshness. — San Francisco Weekly
What were we thinking? Why couldn't we have just made a "normal" rum?
We could have. But we didn't want to.
It all goes back to eau de vie, our flagship spirit. As eau de vie makers, our goal is to capture the authentic flavors and aromas of whatever source material we're working with—be it pears, cherries, or in the case of our rum, fresh sugarcane.
Staying true to this philosophy resulted in a colossal, grassy rum that is a clear expression of California sugarcane—but it's a strikingly different flavor profile from most rums out there, many of which are made from molasses (a byproduct of sugar manufacturing) rather than fresh cane. And even among agricole-style rums (rums that originate from cane, not molasses), we know that ours stands out for its allegiance to the ripe, vegetal properties of just-harvested cane.
We're proud of that, and we love how this rum smells and tastes. We know not everyone's going to feel the same way, though, and we're cool with that. For those of you out there who try our rum and can't fathom why anyone would want to drink it, we'd be happy to point you in the direction of some "normal" rums.
We could have. But we didn't want to.
It all goes back to eau de vie, our flagship spirit. As eau de vie makers, our goal is to capture the authentic flavors and aromas of whatever source material we're working with—be it pears, cherries, or in the case of our rum, fresh sugarcane.
Staying true to this philosophy resulted in a colossal, grassy rum that is a clear expression of California sugarcane—but it's a strikingly different flavor profile from most rums out there, many of which are made from molasses (a byproduct of sugar manufacturing) rather than fresh cane. And even among agricole-style rums (rums that originate from cane, not molasses), we know that ours stands out for its allegiance to the ripe, vegetal properties of just-harvested cane.
We're proud of that, and we love how this rum smells and tastes. We know not everyone's going to feel the same way, though, and we're cool with that. For those of you out there who try our rum and can't fathom why anyone would want to drink it, we'd be happy to point you in the direction of some "normal" rums.