1808 Barely Legal

An unaged brown sugar cane spirit from Illegal Tender — smooth and solvent-noted neat, but great in cocktails.

Quick facts
Distillery Illegal Tender Rum Co
Region Dongara
State Western Australia
Style Unaged cane spirit
Base ingredient Brown Sugar
Age Unaged
ABV 40%
Bottle size 700 mL
Still type Hybrid Pot/Column
Cask Type None
Storage climate —
Sugar added No
Colour added No
Approximate price $80 AUD
YouTube Review

Overview

1808 Barely legal is the base cane spirit produced at Illegal Tender. It is sold as a cane spirit as in Australis to be labelled a rum it must have been matured by storage in wood for at least 2 years.

Review Bottle Source

I bought this bottle with my own cash money from Illegal Tender's web store.

Production

Australian brown sugar, rain water and yeast are fermented for around 2 weeks to create the wash.
The wash is double distilled through a hybrid pot column still.
The first stripping run is executed in pot mode.
The second run has rainwater, feints and lees added back into the mix and the four plate column still is engaged to lock down the flavour profile.

Review

Glass & Aroma

In the glass it is crystal clear, legs are thin and fast.
The aroma I get two notes, a hint of brown sugar and something like a solvent except it does not give me an instant headache.
The overall smell is pleasant but not inviting.

Taste

Warm and smooth, it is not harsh at all.
I no longer get any of the hints of brown sugar as a flavour, it is solely the solvent note here.

Finish

Very smooth, more warming than burning and continues the one single solvent plastic style note.
It was basically te same flavour start to end and did not change or evolve for me.
The flavour lingers for while.

Uses

Drinking the 1808 Barely Legal straight was no that exciting.
I used it in many cocktails that asked for a white rum and it worked great. The rum was there and had something to say but it did not drown out the other flavours.

Verdict

Works well in cocktails, but a bit boring neat.