By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer

Since the port city’s founding in 1670, Charleston has often been one of the first ports of call for foreign imports. Following that tradition, Charleston was chosen as the second import site, after New York, to launch Cabana Cachaça, a premium rum hailing from the sugarcane fields of Brazil.

Destined for the American luxury spirits market, Cabana Cachaça is fermented and distilled directly from freshly pressed sugarcane. Most rum is distilled from molasses, a byproduct of the industrial sugar-making process.

“The quality of production is very high, and it’s a cleaner spirit than most rums,” said Matti Anttila, president of ABB Partners LLC, who came up with the concept after sampling cachaça (pronounced kah-SHAH-sah) during his travels in Brazil.

Launched in June in New York, the product has already generated 140 accounts, with more than 400 cases sold. And all this, Anttila said, without hardcore advertising.

“So far, we’re targeting A-list accounts like bars, clubs, restaurants,” he said.

Anttila said after the New York launch, the company wanted to roll out in a couple of small territories using the same grass-roots strategy.

“We’re also going to Nashville, Washington, Connecticut,” he said. “But Charleston was our choice right after New York.”

Anttila had both personal and professional reasons for selecting Charleston, he said.

“I have friends who live in Charleston, one who went to the College of Charleston, and I’ve heard really impressive things about the city,” he said.

From a business perspective, Anttila said Charleston is a perfect demographic.

“With a place like Charleston, there is this desire to have things that are more premium, especially when it comes to a consumable good,” he said. “It’s that demographic that wants a premium spirit. They’re more willing to take a step up to something because it’s better quality. I think the people of Charleston would appreciate the advances in production rather than sticking with lower quality just because of a price point.”

Anttila’s experience could bear out his instincts. Before starting his company, he worked as an investment banking analyst with J.P. Morgan in its natural resources sector. In 2003, he was named chief financial officer for Flatley Homes in California and helped raise more than $20 million in equity and debt financing for projects valued at approximately $100 million.

Taking Cabana Cachaça from idea to market took just over a year and about $250,000 of the $2 million he raised from investors.

“We have a very entrepreneurial mindset about this,” he said. “We want to do it right and not waste money. That’s why we’re very selective about our events, being on premises to educate the industry about the brand."

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