Rum Stroh breaks all the usual stereotypes. As a rule, European rums are produced either in one of the countries of the Caribbean or in Asia, and bottled in Europe. But Stroh is an exclusively Austrian product. Moreover, the creator at one time successfully proved that good rum can be made without cane raw materials, whether it be juice or molasses.
Historical reference. In the first half of the XNUMXth century, rum was in fashion in Europe. English, French and Spanish officers who had been in the colonies acquired the habit of spending their afternoons with a glass and a cigar. Even confectioners appreciated how much tastier pastries soaked in overseas liquor become.
But Austria did not have colonies, rum had to be imported, so the drink was quite expensive. In 1832, a young merchant, Sebastian Stroh, founded his own rum company. The plant was located in the south of Austria, in Carinthia, in the city of St. Paul im Lavanttal.
No one knows how long Herr Stroh had to experiment with fragrant mountain herbs before the drink, which did not contain a hint of molasses distillate, acquired a noble aroma of molasses, vanilla, tropical spices and everything that an expensive aged rum is supposed to smell like. The taste of the drink turned out to be so pleasant that there were daredevils who risked drinking undiluted Stroh with a strength of 60%.
In those days, no one thought about standardization, and buyers who received a great product were only happy. To distinguish Austrian rum from Caribbean rum, the inventor called his product Inländer-Rum, that is, “native rum”.
In 1864, another no less popular drink was produced at the same plant – Stroh Jagertee, or “Hunter’s Tea”. This variation on the Stroh theme was to be diluted with boiling water and drunk to keep warm. The tool turned out to be effective: over the 150 years of its existence, Jagertee has saved more than one person from a cold.
Stroh was so good that in 1900 at an exhibition in Paris he was awarded a gold medal. Problems with “native rum” arose at the end of the XNUMXth century, when the states of Western Europe began to unite. It turned out that Stroh violates all standards, and therefore cannot be called rum.
Slowly but persistently, the Austrians proved that Stroh is their national treasure. Only in 2009 did the European legalists give in and give Inländer-Rum the status of Denomination of Protected Origin (DOP), that is, a product that can be produced exclusively in Austria.
The Stroh rum recipe is a closely guarded secret. It is believed that in our time it is still produced from cane molasses, but there is no reliable data on this. “Indigenous rum” is aged in oak barrels for three years, then bottled. Today Stroh is the most popular of the Austrian spirits, it is exported to 40 countries.
Types of rum Stroh
Stroh Austria Gesellschaft mbH produces the following types of Stroh rum and drinks based on it:
- Stroh 40 – amber-colored rum, 40% abv. Spicy caramel taste is balanced by oak bitterness;
- Stroh 60 is a 60% ABV rum. It is recommended to use in cocktails;
- Stroh 80 – 80% ABV rum. Usually used as a flavoring for baking, less often for cocktails;
- Stroh Jagertee 40 is a concentrated spirit drink with a strength of 40%. Before use, dilute with hot water;
- Straw Jagertee 60;
- Stroh Cream is a rum-based liqueur, 15% ABV. It is recommended to add the drink to coffee.
