Brix Distillers premieres first Sydney-made rum

Brix Distillers has launched its first rum distilled and aged from start to finish in Sydney, the Select Cask Series Stout Barrel Release.

The debut offering was created using Bundaberg single origin refinery grade molasses and Caribbean rum yeast, before maturation in ex-bourbon American oak that most recently held Stockade Brew Co Imperial Stout.

“They were still wet the day we got them,” Brix co-founder James Christopher says of the 200 litre barrels. “And there were still a couple of pints in there!”

Christopher previously discussed the rum pipeline for the Surry Hills distillery in June 2019 on the Drinks Adventures podcast.

Since launching in 2018, the company has been selling a locally made white cane spirit and an aged rum imported from Barbados.

“We wanted to have something in our range, and we didn’t want to make gin,” Christopher says.

This patience has finally paid off with the Stout Barrel Release, the first of many limited editions based on a “library” of barrels sourced exclusively from Australian producers.

The first of the Select Cask Series was aged in Surry Hills directly next to the still that produced it, but future releases are resting in Brix’s new Western Sydney warehouse.

Christopher is tight lipped about what’s next, but he’s confident it’ll be ready in September.

He anticipates the company will have enough inventory by March 2023 to stop importing rum and release a Sydney-made core range.

Just 585 uniquely numbered bottles are available of Brix Distillers Select Cask Series Stout Barrel Release, which is 45.2% ABV and priced at $149.

Buy it direct from Brix online or in-person from its Surry Hills distillery door.