A rum and coke is the milk and honey of North Queensland and one regional town seems to be the perfect brewing ground to serve up the spirit.
Mackay is Australia's biggest cane-growing region and has already claimed the prize for the best water, which, combined with local sugar and a passionate distiller, is resulting in a unique-tasting rum that is being recognised all over Australia.
Sarina Sugar Shed is a tourism destination owned by Mackay Regional Council and it has outclassed private rum businesses around the country, winning a silver award at the first-ever Australian Rum Awards.
The state's most recognised rum from Bundaberg tied with the sugar capital's entry.
Sarina Sugar Shed distiller Sarah Parrott says that the secret is in the ingredients.
A region made to make rum
The Sarina Sugar Shed is a miniature replica sugar mill that gives visitors a taste of sugar production and includes its own distillery that produces cane-derived rum and liqueurs.
Ms Parrott said the distillery's unique process of fermenting sugar syrup straight after extraction from the cane was key to its success.
"Most other distilleries use either a sugar wash, which is made of sugar or molasses, which is the by-product of making sugar," Ms Parrott said.
"Our syrup's still got all the nice caramels and toffees and the sweetness all through it so that's what makes our rum unique."
The region is also home to the country's best-tasting water, another vital component in rum.
Rum is 60 per cent water and Australian Rum Awards founder Vish Uttam agrees that good water is needed to make a tasty rum.
"The quality of water is pivotal in making sure that the flavour comes through naturally," Mr Uttam said.
A passionate maker
An experienced distiller, Ms Parrott discovered her love for rum-making when she started working at the Sugar Shed.
She spent time travelling and learning from the best in Australia before she became head distiller in 2020.
"It's been a real passion that I've grown over the last 10 years," Ms Parrott said.
"It's really quite a good industry to be in too because they're quite sharing.
"So you can gather other information and they can give you hints."
Mr Uttam said Ms Parrott was one of only a few female rum distillers in Australia and that the industry has been growing rapidly.
"It's probably only about five or 10 distilleries making rum five years ago and now it's gone to 50," Mr Uttam said.
A slow process
The shed is still small and only distils during the cane-crushing off-season, but Ms Parrott says this means they can focus on quality over quantity.
"I'd rather put out a really high-quality product than produce a product that we can bottle every day but is not as high quality," she said.
Sugar, yeast and water are the only ingredients needed to make rum.
"The yeast eats the sugar and as he's eating the sugar he's actually turning that into alcohol," Ms Parrot said.
After the mix is run through stills and fermented, a process that takes about 12 weeks to fill a barrel, it then sits for at least two years before it can be rum.
Sarina is proud of its unique attraction and the tourism industry agrees, honouring the Sugar Shed with numerous awards over the years.
