Deep in the rainforest of Mindanao, where the air hangs thick with cane and wet earth, a distillery most people have never heard of has just bottled its very first release. Rainforest 2024 is that first attempt, aged where it grew.
Expert's description
Rainforest 2024 Philippines Pure Single Rum is a Philippines Pure Single Rum matured in ex-Chardonnay casks and bottled at 58%.
The rum comes from Rainforest Distillers, founded in 2015 by master distiller Marc Schulze in Bukidnon on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. Schulze is also behind Kasa Kaña Rum Agrikultura, and Rainforest 2024 marks the distillery's first bottling in the Habitation Velier range – a genuine world première for a country that barely registers on the rum map yet.
The rum is distilled from the local heirloom cane variety Manpu and fermented for 9 to 11 days with dunder and muck that has itself rested in the tropical Bukidnon biome. After pot still distillation – which earns the rum its Pure Single Rum status under the Gargano Classification – it spent 20 months in ex-Chardonnay casks maturing inside the rainforest itself. The tropical heat and humidity push the Angels' share above 10% a year. No sugar is added, and the rum is bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes
Nose
Fresh cane juice meets pineapple, lime and coconut milk, with vanilla and a whisper of camphor emerging as it opens, alongside something close to freshly cut sugarcane.
Palate
Clean and lively, with a medicinal edge, liquorice and a faintly oily texture that carries the cane character all the way through.
Finish
Long, dry and citrus-fresh, with traces of pear and pineapple, dressed in floral and herbal notes reminiscent of a lime and basil tart.
Specifications
Name: Rainforest 2024 Philippines Pure Single Rum
Distillery: Rainforest Distillers
Bottler: Habitation Velier
Region/Country: Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines
Type: Philippines Pure Single Rum
Age: 20 months
ABV: 58%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-Chardonnay casks
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Pot Still
Distilled: 2024
Bottled: 2026
Edition: World Première – Habitation Velier's first Philippines rum
EAN no.: 3700597368725
Flavour Profile
Fresh Cane · Tropical · Spiced · Mineral · Unfiltered
Investment Potential
Medium. Rainforest 2024 is the very first bottling from a brand-new distillery within the Habitation Velier range, and past "world première" releases in the series have historically drawn strong collector interest and traded well above release price once sold out.
Did You Know?
Because the casks mature inside the rainforest itself rather than a conventional warehouse, more than 10% of the rum evaporates into the jungle air every single year – over five times what a typical Scotch warehouse loses annually.
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