Eastside Distilling has expanded its range of spirits with the release of a coffee-infused rum, which will go on sale in the US.
Called Hue-Hue Coffee Rum, the spirit incorporates Arabica coffee beans which are cold-brewed in small batches by Eastside and blended with silver rum and a trace of demerara sugar.
The Hue-Hue name is derived from the Guatemalan city of Huehuetenango, which is where the company sources its coffee beans.
The 750ml bottles are designed to resemble Guatemalan burlap coffee sacks to convey the origin of the spirit’s ingredients.
Eastside claims that the 35% ABV rum has the flavour of cold brew coffee but without the sweetness of coffee liqueurs.
While the drink will only be available in Oregon initially, the brand claims it will seek to expand distribution to other US states later in 2018.
Mel Heim, master distiller at 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.
“We were very proud of cold brew coffee rum and we knew we had a hit, but the old ‘Below Deck’ bottle it was packed in was keeping its great DNA a secret.
“The new Sandstrom Hue-Hue bottle fixes that and then some because it explains what our cold brew coffee rum is in a way that is worthy of its premium ingredients and it also tells the fascinating backstory of its Guatemalan and Portland roots.
“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.”
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