Stubbling

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Stubbling

In the world of sugarcane cultivation, “stubbling” is the term employed to describe the ability of a particular cane variety to regrow new stalks after the existing ones have been harvested.

There are varieties that produce a high concentration of sugar by weight of stalk, but this fact alone is not enough to select those varieties, if their stubbling ability is poor or fair. This ability to overcome mutilating adversity, is one of the reasons sugarcane can be so inspirational.

Life, it seems to me, can present us with challenges that are very similar to a sugarcane harvest, removing much of what we take for granted, leaving behind only roots and stubs. Overcoming adversity for humans, just like for sugarcane, comes down to matching our own stubbling ability against our environmental conditions, in a battle of wits, determination and patience.

In 2015 we witnessed small craft distilleries struggling to survive, sometimes due to workplace accidents, others due to cash flow problems, others due to lack of focus on brand identification and differentiation.

Neophyte distillers sometimes see these misfortunes as career-ending and, sometimes they are right. But if the drive to start a distillery is engrained in their DNA, then the “stubbling effect” emerges and they return to face their old enemies, but this time they are wiser and better prepared.

There are definitely some people in the craft industry who do not have a passion for what they do, people who only got in the business because it seemed like an easy and fun way to make a profit.

There are others who will never quit the craft, even if their legs are chopped down from underneath them, they will simply figure out a way to persevere. It is to this last group that I raise my glass and toast, for they represent the true spirit of craft distillation.

Cheers!

Luis Ayala, Editor and Publisher