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What? You're making rum in Colorado?
Many people associate rum with the Caribbean, but that's only a
little bit of rum's story. People have been making
exceptional rum
in the mountains for hundreds of years.
There are some compelling reasons why making rum in the mountains of
Colorado just makes plain good sense.
Here are just a few:
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The main ingredient in rum,
comprising 85% of the fermented wash and 60% of the final
bottled product, is
water. Rum comes out of the still at about 140
proof and is blended with water to be bottled at 80 proof.
Now, I am not sure if you have ever been to the Caribbean, but
water there is not only scarce but it is not of the highest
quality. Here in Silverton, our water is crisp, clean snowmelt
straight out of Silverton's own pristine Boulder Creek.
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The finest rums in
the world are aged at altitude. It's true - we didn't make
this up for our marketing campaign.
In Guatemala at the Ron Zacapa distillery, barrels are carried up into the mountains
to age because the temperature fluctuations from day to night force more rum
into and out of the barrel's oak pores. The crazy
magic of the oak makes the rum more smooth
and delicious. It is true that Guatemala has some nice
mountains. But the San Juan mountains of Southwestern
Colorado are pretty hard to beat.
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Rum is traditionally aged in
American Oak casks. Caribbean and Central American rum
producers import their barrels from whiskey makers
in the US. We are actually closer to the source! Our
barrels reach us fresh from the Whiskey distillery. A
fresher barrel ages tastier rum.
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Rum fermentation
attracts fruit flies (and yes, even bats) en masse to the
tank, and the good news
is...Silverton just doesn't have any of those because of our
cool temperatures and high elevation. We don't think they added any good flavors anyway.
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Making rum produces
a lot of heat. Ever seen photos of Caribbean distillers
working over a hot still in a full sweat? They actually
have to cool their wash during fermentation to keep the yeast
from dying. In our distillery, the temperature on a summer
day is ideal for fermentation. On a chilly winter day, the
heat from our still keeps the building in the high 60s, a fine temperature for
fermentation and comfortable visitors. What better
idea for a business in a chilly climate than one that produces
heat as its main by-product?
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Silverton's miners
have been drinking rum for 120 years, and we think they should
have a source closer to home!
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Rum's connection to
slavery is one aspect of its history that we are thankful to
distance ourselves from (as far as possible!) Island
nations became the first big rum producers because rum was a
stable currency in the slave trade. Back then, rum
production was carried out on the backs of slaves because
harvesting sugar cane was terribly labor intensive.
We are proud that our pure sugar cane, with its high molasses
content, is American-grown and harvested by members of the Sugar
Worker's Union.
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We do however, support the idea of rum as
local currency. We hope our bookkeeping will continue to be in order,
even if we pay for services with a bottle now and then... :)
Learn more about our
products
Read
press articles about Montanya
List
of Retailers!
Exciting Recipes Using
Montanya Rums
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