Jimmy Hagood, the Charleston-based advocate of local culinary traditions and purveyor of specialty foods, has been organizing a Lowcountry sugarcane harvest and boil each fall for the last twenty years. Once the machetes, cane press, cast-iron kettle, and open fire have done their long, good work, the mildly sweet, amber sugarcane syrup is available for purchase via mail order from localpalatemarketplace.com. “In bygone years, every little farm had a syrup pot,” Hagood says. “Before you could buy refined sugar in the store, that’s how you sweetened things.”

Hagood reserves a big jarful or two for himself, and over the years he has deployed the syrup for cornbread, salad dressing, grilled duck breast, and pecan pie. His favorite application, however, might be as a substitute for simple syrup in an old-fashioned cocktail. “The enhanced flavor of the sugarcane adds a depth of flavor that’s unique,” he says. “I prefer it because it’s a little less sweet. Like, on a scale of one to ten and Waffle House sweet tea is ten, this is a six or seven.”
To put his discovery to a true test, he once showed up with some sugarcane syrup to a meeting with Julian Van Winkle III, of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon fame, at the bar of a Charleston restaurant. “Julian can make a pretty good old-fashioned, especially given that his main ingredient is Pappy,” Hagood says. “I’m sitting there with a classic bourbon maker, and we were amazed by the taste with the sugarcane.”
So much so that when Hagood was invited to prepare a deluxe Lowcountry dinner at the James Beard House in New York City in 2015, he recruited Van Winkle to come along and present the cocktail to the crowd. “That was the world premiere of the Raisin’ Cane,” Hagood says. “Julian was mixing them up, and everybody loved it.”
Since then, Hagood has added another twist, usually marrying the sugarcane syrup with rye. “I think the cane syrup helps round out that little bite and spice of rye whiskey nicely,” he says. “If you like a traditional old-fashioned, you’re going to love a Raisin’ Cane.”