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You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

If you keep up with rum releases it's been pretty hard to ignore the arrival of Alambique Serrano's Vida Nativa series — 5 limited release bottles from the Oaxacan cane juice rum producer that feature a wide range of interesting cask types, different stills, and distinct flavor profiles (watermelon cucumber water?).

In this episode, we tasted through 4 out of the 5 bottles, plus the new 3-year blend that's designed to be their first always available release. Along the way we debated our favorites, discussed a possible early favorite rum of the year, revealed John's secret connection to a beloved pop music icon, and much more.

We cover the specs of each release during the show, but if you'd like to follow along, the Alambique Serrano website has all the details here.

Have a listen and let us know what you think of these rums if you've been able to taste them!

Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

In this episode, we invited Grander founder Dan DeHart on the show to break down the making of an atypical new unaged rum called Cane Harvest. Unlike the vast majority of rums that come out of Panama, this rum is made of 100% heavy column rum that typically only serves as a blending component with lighter-bodied rums. It's a fascinating glimpse at a type of rum we don't often get to experience on its own.

You can watch the video version of this episode here.

We talked to Dan about:

How an idea to recreate the defunct Caña Brava rum led to this much different rum

The source of the rum (hint: it's not from Las Cabras, the distillery where Grander has sourced all of its other rums to date)

What makes this heavy style of column still rum different

Whether we'll see an aged version of this rum

How Grander has evolved over the last 5 years

Most successful and most unsuccessful secondary maturations

And much more!

Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

In this episode, after a quick discussion of potential bottles for our Rumcast Single Cask Project, we dive into all things charanda with Miriam Pacheco, the general manager of Uruapan Charanda.

If you're familiar with the aguardientes de caña from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, think of charanda like their cousin from the state of Michoacán — a similar Mexican cane spirit that is often made from fresh sugarcane juice, but can also be made from molasses or piloncillo. Once among the hundreds of charanda producers in the state, Uruapan is now one of only two or three remaining. Miriam talked us through the distillery's 100+ year history, including:

What separates charanda from other Mexican cane spirits

Why they put "rum" in quotation marks on their label

Why the number of charanda producers has dwindled over the years

The range of distillates they produce from their collection of pot and column stills

Their newer line of single cane varietal rums

What you might find aging in their warehouse of 400+ casks

And much more!

As we've said before, there's no shortage of interesting cane spirits coming out of Mexico these days. Uruapan is definitely one of them.

Check out these links to learn more:

Uruapan Charanda website

Imbibe article on charanda

The Rumcast Guide to Mexican Rum