79: Copalli Rum's Fresh Take on the Spirit of Belize with Master Distiller Ed Tiedge

The Rumcast

In this episode, we sat down with Ed Tiedge, master distiller at Copal Tree Distillery (the makers of Copalli Rum) in Belize. Copalli is yet another example of a large, relatively new operation devoted entirely to making cane juice rum all the way from field to glass.

They have some interesting upcoming releases that caught our eye (we noticed them in the TTB label registry), so it was a good time to connect with Ed and get the scoop on everything they're up to. We discussed:

Ed's journey from owning a craft distillery in New York to moving to Belize to become a rum distiller nearly 8 years ago

How he applied his eau de vie background to making rum

Having their early rums evaluated by Richard Seale

How Copalli arrived at its initial lineup of releases (and how they landed on a 75% column / 25% pot blend for their unaged rum)

The different cane varietals they're cultivating (and how each expresses itself differently in the rum)

Experimenting with various cask types

Their upcoming single cane varietal 100% pot still release

How a self-avowed hater of flavored rums ended up making a cacao rum

And more!

You can learn more about Copalli on their website.

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