{
  "api": "/posts/hogo-and-the-case-for-funk/index.json",
  "collection": "posts",
  "date": "2025-01-09T09:00:00-08:00",
  "description": "Esters, dunder, and why the most divisive rums on the shelf are the most useful ones behind the bar.",
  "draft": false,
  "fields": {
    "author": "Martin Cate",
    "date": "2025-01-09T09:00:00-08:00",
    "description": "Esters, dunder, and why the most divisive rums on the shelf are the most useful ones behind the bar.",
    "draft": false,
    "image": "",
    "lastmod": "2025-01-09T09:00:00-08:00",
    "publishdate": "2025-01-09T09:00:00-08:00",
    "tags": [
      "rum",
      "jamaica",
      "education"
    ],
    "title": "Hogo and the Case for Funk"
  },
  "html": "\u003cp\u003ePour a high-ester Jamaican rum for someone who\u0026rsquo;s only had column still rum and\nwatch their face. Overripe banana, glue, olive brine, something almost medicinal\nunderneath. The first reaction is rarely pleasure.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat quality has a name — \u003cem\u003ehogo\u003c/em\u003e, an English corruption of the French \u003cem\u003ehaut\ngoût\u003c/em\u003e, \u0026ldquo;high taste.\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s produced by long fermentation, pot distillation, and\nin some Jamaican distilleries the deliberate use of \u003cem\u003edunder\u003c/em\u003e: the acidic residue\nleft in the still from the previous run, added back to the next fermentation to\ndrive ester production.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt sounds like a description of a mistake. It\u0026rsquo;s a centuries-old technique\npracticed on purpose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"why-bother\"\u003eWhy bother\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause in a cocktail, funk is structure.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn exotic cocktail typically has a lot going on — two or three rums, citrus, one\nor two syrups, a spice element, bitters. A clean rum in that context gets buried.\nYou\u0026rsquo;ve added alcohol and taken away nothing else. A high-ester rum survives the\ncrowd. It gives the drink a spine and a finish, and it\u0026rsquo;s the reason a great\nJamaica-forward drink tastes like something rather than like sweet cold liquid.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe classic move is proportion. Half an ounce of an aggressive pot still rum\nalongside an ounce and a half of something rounder does more for a drink than\ntwo ounces of either alone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"learning-to-read-it\"\u003eLearning to read it\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStart by tasting the loud ones neat, in small amounts, next to something mild.\nYou\u0026rsquo;re not trying to enjoy them yet — you\u0026rsquo;re building a vocabulary. Once you can\nidentify the banana-and-varnish register, you start noticing trace amounts of it\nin blends, and you start understanding what a producer was reaching for.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"not-a-virtue-in-itself\"\u003eNot a virtue in itself\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFunk is a tool, not a scoreboard. There\u0026rsquo;s a strain of rum enthusiasm that treats\nmaximum ester count as maximum quality, which is how you end up with drinks that\nare unbalanced in an unusual direction rather than balanced.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe skill isn\u0026rsquo;t loving hogo. It\u0026rsquo;s knowing how much a given drink can carry.\u003c/p\u003e\n",
  "id": "posts/hogo-and-the-case-for-funk",
  "lastmod": "2025-01-09T09:00:00-08:00",
  "markdown": "\nPour a high-ester Jamaican rum for someone who's only had column still rum and\nwatch their face. Overripe banana, glue, olive brine, something almost medicinal\nunderneath. The first reaction is rarely pleasure.\n\nThat quality has a name — *hogo*, an English corruption of the French *haut\ngoût*, \"high taste.\" It's produced by long fermentation, pot distillation, and\nin some Jamaican distilleries the deliberate use of *dunder*: the acidic residue\nleft in the still from the previous run, added back to the next fermentation to\ndrive ester production.\n\nIt sounds like a description of a mistake. It's a centuries-old technique\npracticed on purpose.\n\n## Why bother\n\nBecause in a cocktail, funk is structure.\n\nAn exotic cocktail typically has a lot going on — two or three rums, citrus, one\nor two syrups, a spice element, bitters. A clean rum in that context gets buried.\nYou've added alcohol and taken away nothing else. A high-ester rum survives the\ncrowd. It gives the drink a spine and a finish, and it's the reason a great\nJamaica-forward drink tastes like something rather than like sweet cold liquid.\n\nThe classic move is proportion. Half an ounce of an aggressive pot still rum\nalongside an ounce and a half of something rounder does more for a drink than\ntwo ounces of either alone.\n\n## Learning to read it\n\nStart by tasting the loud ones neat, in small amounts, next to something mild.\nYou're not trying to enjoy them yet — you're building a vocabulary. Once you can\nidentify the banana-and-varnish register, you start noticing trace amounts of it\nin blends, and you start understanding what a producer was reaching for.\n\n## Not a virtue in itself\n\nFunk is a tool, not a scoreboard. There's a strain of rum enthusiasm that treats\nmaximum ester count as maximum quality, which is how you end up with drinks that\nare unbalanced in an unusual direction rather than balanced.\n\nThe skill isn't loving hogo. It's knowing how much a given drink can carry.\n",
  "readingTime": 2,
  "slug": "hogo-and-the-case-for-funk",
  "summary": "Pour a high-ester Jamaican rum for someone who’s only had column still rum and watch their face. Overripe banana, glue, olive brine, something almost medicinal underneath. The first reaction is rarely pleasure.\nThat quality has a name — hogo, an English corruption of the French haut goût, “high taste.” It’s produced by long fermentation, pot distillation, and in some Jamaican distilleries the deliberate use of dunder: the acidic residue left in the still from the previous run, added back to the next fermentation to drive ester production.",
  "title": "Hogo and the Case for Funk",
  "url": "/posts/hogo-and-the-case-for-funk/",
  "weight": 0,
  "wordCount": 330
}