How Husk Distillers is changing the way Australia makes rum

Sep 19, 2022

The Rum-aissance is here.

When Paul Messenger sipped rum while holidaying in the Caribbean, he had an epiphany. It was nothing like the drink he was used to.

Turns out, it was an Agricole rum, made from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses, which is a byproduct of the sugar industry. It results in a smooth drink made for sipping rather than being drowned out by cola.

Australia produces a lot of sugarcane, so Messenger decided to make an Australian sipping rum. The founder and CEO of Husk Distillers is clearly doing something right, as the distillery recently won the In the Bottle (Alcoholic) award at the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards.

Husk Distillers external. Source: Husk Distillers

“What we do with our rums is very different to what everyone else in this country does,” he says.

The sugarcane is grown in a paddock and the mill is just 300m away, to ensure the wild, Indigenous yeast found in the paddock and the cultured yeast work together to create a unique, flavoursome product. It also means rum can only be made during the sugarcane harvest, from late June-December.

Husk Distillers rum. Source: Husk Distillers

In Australia, dark rum has to be aged for two years in wood, and white rum is called a cane spirit. While we’re traditionally a dark-rum-drinking nation, Messenger encourages drinkers to try white rum.

“Most Caribbean rum is unaged, it’s a white spirit,” he says.

“It’s a little earthier, herbaceous but very vibrant. You can smell the sugar cane and taste it, but without the sweetness.

“The way the French would drink it is in a tea punch; muddle a half teaspoon of raw sugar and a cheek of fresh lime, then add 50ml of the spirit. They drink it the way we would drink a gin and tonic.”

Husk Distillers Paul and Quentin. Source: Husk Distillers

Most of Husk Distillers’ dark rums have been single releases, which have sold out in a few days.

“They’re a lot drier than you’d imagine a rum to be. If someone is sipping malt whisky and you throw one of these dry Agricole rums into the mix, they wouldn’t know it was a rum,” he says.

“One of the first we did, 1866, has characteristics of currant, like a Christmas pudding. There’s a little sweetness coming through, notes of dry fruit, bit of oak character and bit of chocolate coming in there.

“We have our first core range coming out next year. It’s been a long time coming, 12 years, but it will stand next to any of the finest single malts on the market.”