At Travel Bar, one of the best places to drink spirits in all of New York City, when owner Mike Vacheresse says there’s something new you should try, wise drinkers listen and abide.
On a recent visit, the spirit in question was an unusual Japanese rum he’d just fallen for. Vacheresse pulled a box from the shelf and removed an oddly shaped, 1.8-liter shochu bottle with two colorful blue jays on the label.
This was Rurikakesu Rum.
Raising a Glencairn to my face, I found it funky and aromatic on the nose, a bit earthy with some minerality, and quite fruity on the palate — viscous and oily, despite only being 40 percent ABV. Truly incredible stuff.
The best part? It was banned in America, Vacheresse told me, and he was lucky to have this rare bottle. Later, I learned that wasn’t actually the case, but the reason you’ll most likely never see this rum in America is even stranger.
Nutrient-Rich
Rum has been produced in Japan since the early 20th century in subtropical locations like Ryukyu and Ogasawara islands. In fact, Japan is fertile ground for sugar cane production, much of it in Okinawa, where the crop first arrived via China in the 17th century.
North of Okinawa — which itself lies some 400 miles from mainland Japan — on the small archipelago that comprises the Amami Islands, an unusual sugar known as kokuto was developed by slowly cooking the sugar cane that was growing organically.
“It grew to
