Paranubes Ron

This remarkable, artisanal cane spirit is handmade in the distillery, or trapiche, of José Luis Carrera, located in the lush and cool tropical environment of northern Oaxaca Mexico. Jose Luis’ family has been making aguardiente for at least three generations, with his father and grandfather teaching him the trade at a very young age. For the past 35 years, he has been producing an incredible, rich and fragrant spirit as one of many means to provide for his family.

Carrera grows four different types of sugar cane on his 14 hectares: Caña Dulce, Caña Morada/Negra, Caña Dura, and Caña Amarilla/Criolla. His aguardiente batches are made from predominantly Caña Criolla, but inevitably have a blend of all four cane types. This is truly an artisanal operation; the cane is cut by hand and transported by donkey to the distillery, where the freshly pressed cane juice is fermented naturally in 1,100-litre pine vats, or tinas. A boiled ‘mother’ made from bark of the native Mesquite tree is used to kick-start fermentation—literally the only additive that touches the entire process.

One of the things that really sets Carrera’s aguardiente de caña apart from his neighbours and other white cane spirit styles such as Rhum Agricole and Cachaça, is the use of rolling fermentation, which adds layers of funk and complexity. Jose Luis maintains a continuous fermentation, distilling only half of a single fermentation vat every morning and refilling it in the afternoon—the remaining active tepache inoculates the new liquid and the fermentation in the tina never stops!

Our buyers were blown away by Jose Luis Carrera’s stunning, farm-to-bottle ‘Mexican Agricole’. This is right up there with the finest spirits we’ve tried from Mexico and as far as white cane spirits go, from anywhere! On merit alone, it deserves a place in every quality bar. It’s a silky, round and wonderfully complex aguardiente de caña, combining the funk and flavour of a top Rhum Agricole with an earthy, bucolic sense of place. In spite of its flavour punch, it’s a brilliant mixing Ron and one thing is for sure—our daiquiris at Bibendum Bar will never be the same again...

*Australian legislation stipulates that if a product is to be labelled as “rum” it must be aged in wood for two years. This means, in Australia, we have to use the word Ron.