From the Editor
“Blending In” With the Heat
In case you haven’t been reading the news, most of the world is experiencing record high temperatures. Even the iconic Saguaro cacti in Arizona have been collapsing from the extreme heat (technically, the night temperature is so high that it does not allow them to “breathe”).
Luis Ayala
As you can imagine, elevated nighttime temperatures mean that the average morning temperatures are also higher, a condition that only worsens as soon as the sun emerges. Imagine now that you are a worker whose job is to hand cut sugarcane, machete in hand, wearing protective clothing, gloves and hat, to avoid having your skin lacerated by the razor-sharp edges of the sugarcane foliage.
Hand cutting of sugarcane has historically been carried out in the early, cooler hours of the day, always ending by mid-morning, before the intense heat starts. But the elevated overnight temperatures mean that even the early mornings are not so cool anymore, making an already back-breaking task even more daunting!
But this alarming and dangerous heat also has a positive effect on barrel-aged spirits: acting as a catalyst that allows for more intense interaction between the wooden casks and their contents. By the same token, the evaporation losses (the famous “Angel’s Share”) increase alongside the temperatures.
For most rum producers, one of the keys to maintaining the quality and consistency of their aged rums is to control as many of the variables as possible, including the temperature of the aging cellars. When the temperature varies considerably from the norm, the answer is to modify the blending practices and/or cellar management processes. All of these adjustments, of course, while maintaining truthful age statements and while guarding their products’ chemical and organoleptic profiles.
Cheers!
Luis Ayala,
Editor and Publisher
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rumconsultant