Lafayette’s Rank Wildcat rum coming to B.R. this month

Fans of Louisiana rum in Baton Rouge will have something to shout about in July. Rank Wildcat’s Sweet Crude rum will make its Baton Rouge debut by the end of the month, according to co-owner David Meaux.

The micro-distillery is based out of Lafayette and started operating last August. As opposed to traditional molasses rums, Sweet Crude is white rum with a natural flavor made from Louisiana sugar cane.

Being small and new to the local liquor scene, Meaux says his company has been able to put all the necessary attention to details. The product took a lot of research and went through many dead ends before the team found its flavor in fresh sugar cane juice. Unlike other rums, there are no spices or additives in Sweet Crude.

“We don’t add anything to the rum after it’s distilled,” Meaux says. “All those flavors come from the local sugar cane.”

In its first year, Rank Wildcat has made a splash, landing a distribution deal to be featured in all the states’ Rouses grocery stores. Meaux says the deal happened this Monday. The rum also earned acclaim at a display during this year’s Garden Fest.

“People responded to the product well in Baton Rouge,” he says. “They were expressing angst that it wasn’t available.”

Meaux had secured distribution in New Orleans and on the Northshore. Though Baton Rouge was always on the list for Sweet Crude stops, it wasn’t until Wednesday that Meaux received a letter from Mockler saying Rank Wildcat Sweet Crude would be in the Red Stick in July.

As far as where customers can find the Rank Wildcat rum, Meaux says he’ll try to tap into Baton Rouge’s grocery and specialty markets such as Calandro’s, Calvin’s Bocage Market and others.

“[Those local specialty markets are] where we’re going to want to target,” he says. “We want people to start asking for it. The best tool we have is an interested consumer. That’s the biggest hammer we can use.” —Matthew Sigur