Rum Enthusiasts Have a New Obsession: Fresh-Cut Sugar Cane (New York Times)

“Rum Enthusiasts Have a New Obsession: Fresh-Cut Sugar Cane,” by Jason Wilson

“Among aficionados of craft spirits, the obsessive quest for the “authentic,” “pure” and “rustic” intensifies with each passing year. Not too long ago, rhum agricole from Martinique or Guadeloupe — a rum distilled from the juice of fresh-cut sugar cane, following strict rules enforced by an “appellation d’origine contrôlée” in France — might have satisfied those nebulous ideals. […] But over the past several months, an unaged rum from Haiti called clairin, also made from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, began popping up on cocktail menus…”