Does Anyone Know Anything About this Cane Alcohol?

[Susie Q]

When cleaning out my Dad's house I found this bottle of Mexican "Alcohol Puro de Caña" in the back of the linen closet. I remember this always being there since  I was a young kid in the 70s. 

 

He said this was a gift, he didn't say when, someone gave it to him but he wasn't a drinker of alcohol and in the closet it went.  

 

It has never been opened and the level it's at is due to the angels I suspect. The lid was and remains tight. The alcohol is crystal clear with no sediment.

 

I don't have the heart to open it. I like keeping it as is but....

 

Does anyone have any information on it?

 

Edited to add: I'm so sorry! I didn't see that I put this in the wine forum. If someone can move it to the spirits forum I sure would appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Mexican cane alcohol is cheap and harsh, made from sugar cane and often used to dilute tequila. It had been used in major brands of tequila in order to avoid using the more acceptable (and expensive) blue agave, though I suspect that now that's no longer the case.. It's the drink of choice for getting drunk as fast and as cheaply as possible and I'm sure the hangover is brutal. I wouldn't drink it. Label looks old as if had some aspirations to quality but I wouldn't trust it. It was made in Torreón, in the middle of the country. Keep it as a curiosity for the label. Any idea why someone would have given it to your dad?

[johnnyd]

With a bottle this old, it's curious that the contents hasn't seemed to age, like turn a gold color.

[Duvel]

58 minutes ago, johnnyd said:

With a bottle this old, it's curious that the contents hasn't seemed to age, like turn a gold color.

Because the gold color comes from the (toasted) wooden cask the alcohol is stored in. Ethanol and its watery dilutions do not „age“ in inert material, e.g. glass, stainless steel etc. in terms of color, which is nostly an extraction process.

 

They do undergo reactions, e.g. acidic compounds present in the distillate form esters with the ethanol, so there is a bit of chemistry going on over the years. However, this is in sub-o/oo concentrations. It does not affect the color much ...

Edited April 28, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[heidih]

So the unaged, never seen a wooden barrel precursor to rum?

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

O

On 4/28/2021 at 1:10 PM, heidih said:

So the unaged, never seen a wooden barrel precursor to rum?

Possibly, but this is mezcal/tequila country, not rum (unless it's in rompope). Granted, they're both made from sugar cane, so I suppose they are roughly equivalent in the outcome of consumption. Mainly a roaring hangover and a brutal headache. Not my cuppa.