Eastside Distilling debuts coffee-flavoured rum

Portland-based spirits producer Eastside Distilling has launched a coffee-flavoured rum, called Hue-Hue.

Hue-Hue takes its name from Huehuetenango, a city in western Guatemala

Hue-Hue is made from Arabica coffee beans grown at the Finca El Paternal Estate in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, where the expression takes its name from.

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 flavour 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 features the coffee’s origin as well as Portland’s 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.