Devils Thumb Distillery, Media Release, 2 December 2022

A spirited collaboration between Devils Thumb Distillery and Far Northern Milling has culminated in Best Cane Spirit (sugarcane juice) at the inaugural 2022 Australian Rum Awards held in Brisbane this month.

Already known for its internationally prized gin, Devils Thumb Distillery’s simultaneous focus on quality rum production founded the partnership with Far Northern Milling (Mossman Mill) and winning cane spirit.

Dependent on proximity to the raw ingredient of sugar cane juice gives Australian Cane Spirit a distinctive quality and means Far North Queensland’s Devils Thumb is uniquely placed to produce cane spirit which in other countries is known as Agricole (Martinique) or Cachaça (South America).

Devils Thumb co-founder and head distiller, Mark Norman said cane spirit is made by fermenting and distilling sugar cane juice which is then bottled and sold as unaged spirit or put into barrels for further ageing.

According to Mr Norman, Peter Dibella from Far Northern Milling has been instrumental in providing access to all the raw ingredients comprising Devils Thumb’s cane spirit.

“Far Northern Milling has been an iconic business in the Mossman region since 1894 however Devils Thumbs Distillery is the first distillery to produce rum from cane juice in the history of the mill,” Mr Norman said.

Commenting on news of the award, Mr Dibella said, “Congratulation to Mark and his team for achieving this fantastic result for Best Cane Spirit at the 2022 Australian Rum Awards. Far Northern Milling (Mossman Mill) is proud to be associated with Devils Thumbs Distillery and to support them in any way we can.

“Seeing the natural, first expressed sugar cane juice converted to a high value product in our local region is something we can all be proud of. We look forward to a long-term relationship with Devils Thumb Distillery and look forward to seeing them develop and market more high value products,” Mr Dibella said.

According to Mr Norman, the best way to drink cane spirit is to pour 30mls of Devils Thumb Distillery cane spirit on ice, top with ginger beer with a final twist of squeezed lime.

“Cane spirit is so special and in a class all its own. I love that there will be slight differences in each batch depending on seasonal conditions, the region in which the cane is grown, and the type of cane variety.

“I initially made this product for my own consumption then quickly worked out there was a niche market for it and being able to source the ingredients so close to the distillery from a mill that has such long and rich history within the region makes it a really exceptional product to make,” he said.

From the outset, the driving and defining force of Devils Thumb Distillery and its growing range of gin, cane spirit and aged rum products lies in its inherently native Australian quality, ingredients and distinctive, Far North Queensland, sense of place.

Click here for more about the inaugural 2022 Australian Rum Awards.