Portland-based spirits producer Eastside
Distilling has launched a coffee-flavored rum, called Hue-Hue,made from
Arabica coffee beans grown at the Finca El Paternal Estate in Huehuetenango,
Guatemala, where the expression takes its name.
The coffee is then roasted by Portland Roasting Company, and cold-brewed
by Eastside. It is then hand-blended with silver rum and a trace amount of raw
Demerara sugar.
Bottled at 70 proof (35% abv), Hue-Hue is
described as having the “full flavor and richness” of cold-brew coffee, without
the “syrupy sweetness“ of coffee liqueurs.
The bottle design is inspired by Guatemala’s burlap coffee sacks and represents
the coffee’s entire roasting history.
Mel Heim, master distiller for Eastside,
said: “Our contemporary imagining of coffee rum as a hip incarnation of Pacific
Northwest ‘cold brew’ is a premium spirit that quickly rose to be the number
one seller by volume in our tasting rooms.”
“I think that people will see Hue-Hue on the shelf and be attracted to
its uniqueness. When they experience it, I think they will convert to Hue-Hue
as their coffee spirit, the same way they’ve converted to cold brew as their
coffee of choice.”
Hue-Hue is available in Oregon, with plans
for distribution outside of Oregon later in 2018.
