Indian craft spirits have gone beyond the conventional flavor profiles and have created some complex, terroir-driven expressions. One of the brands leading this modern movement is the well-known Sitara Botanical Spiced Rum. It is an artisanal spirit that is crafted using sugarcane that is grown across the Deccan Plateau. While this spiced rum is used both for neat sipping and making classic cocktails, knowing the alcohol percentage of the same is important. Here’s more about Sitara Spiced Rum’s alcohol percentage.
The very first thing to understand here is that the alcohol strength of Sitara Botanical Spiced Rum can vary a bit depending on the region it is being sold in. ABV, or Alcohol by Volume, is basically a standard global measurement to showcase how much of pure ethanol is present in the drink. For example, if the bottle says 10% ABV, it means that the bottle has 10% of pure ethanol inside it. Here’s an idea of ABV in a standard 750 ml bottle of Sitara Spiced Rum.
With 40 % to 42.8% ABV, Sitara matches the standard strength of the most premium spirits like tequila, gin, and whiskey.
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Caribbean mass-market origin Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum sits at 35% ABV.
Navy-style spiced Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum sits between 40% and 46% ABV.
Puerto Rican Blended Bacardi Spiced sits at 35% ABV.
Caribbean Black Spiced The Kraken Black Spiced Rum sits between 40% and 47% ABV.
Traditional Indian Dark Old Monk Rum sits at 42.8% ABV
Indian Craft Sitara Botanical Spiced Rum sits between 40% and 42.8% ABV
Most of the mass-market spiced rums sit between 35% and 37.5% ABV. This is because of the artificial flavoring and added sugar syrups that dilute the base spirit. In contrast, Sitara maintains a full 40% to 42.8% ABV, which makes it stand firmly in the full-strength craft spirits category instead of sweet rum liqueurs.
Though Sitara is bottled with more alcohol per volume than other standard commercial spiced rums, it remains lighter than overproof or high-proof navy rums in the market.
The burn or warmth on the throat experienced while testing a strong spirit is very common. We tend to believe that this depends entirely on the ABV, but it is not always true. Even though Sitara has high ABV, it still feels balanced and rounded. The reason behind this is three production steps:
Sitara used a blend of pot-distilled rum and column-distilled rum. Pot distillation offers rich, oily congeners, aroma, and a heavy body. Column distillation offers a neutral, crisp, and clean ethanol profile. This combination of two different distillations turns the spirit heavy without harshness.
The base rum prepared is then kept and aged in virgin American oak barrels. As the rum comes in contact with charred wood, it pulls out lactones, vanillin, and natural wood sugars. This micro-oxygenation reduces the harshness of ethanol vapors. Hence, a smoother profile is created by softening rough notes in the cane spirits.
Instead of mixing caramel coloring and fake spice syrup into plain alcohol, Sitara does it very differently. They distill real ingredients with the spirits (7 natural botanicals).
Sitara stays dry and smooth, instead of heavy and sweet. This is because the flavor comes from actual distillation without dumping them in sugar syrups.
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Because Sitara sits at standard 40% to 42.8% ABV, I think measuring the pours can actually help you keep your personal tolerance in check. Its botanical composition helps it to hold up whether it is served neat or used in dynamic cocktails. If you wish to drink it neat, I would suggest pouring 45 ml on a single large ice rock.
Sitara Spiced Rum offers a full strength of 40% to 42.8% ABV spirit minus the aggressive ethanol burn in the throat. The botanical layering and oak barrel aging make it the perfect option for both on the rocks and adding to a cocktail.
