Rum

For other uses, see Rum (disambiguation).

Rum grog

Caribbean rum, circa 1941

Rum is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other barrels. The majority of the world's rum production occurs in and around the Caribbean and in several South American countries, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Guyana and Brazil. There are also rum producers in places such as Australia, Fiji, India, Reunion Island, Mauritius, and elsewhere around the world.

Rum is produced in a variety of styles. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails. In addition to cocktails, golden and dark rums are appropriate for drinking straight, or as a brandy for cooking. Premium rums are also available that are made to be consumed straight or with ice.

Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies, and has famous associations with the Royal Navy (See: Grog) and piracy (See: Bumbo). Rum has also served as a popular medium of exchange that helped to promote slavery along with providing economic instigation for Australia's Rum Rebellion and the American Revolution.

Etymology

The origin of the word rum is generally unclear. Rum is a blunt, Anglo-Saxonlike name. In an 1824 essay about the word's origin, Samuel Morewood, a British etymologist, suggested that it might be from the British slang term for "the best," as in "having a rum time." He wrote that

"As spirits, extracted from molasses, could not well be ranked under the name whiskey, brandy, or arack, it would be called rum, to denote its excellence or superior quality." -Samuel Morewood"

Given the harsh taste of early rum, this is unlikely. Morewood later suggested another possibility: that it was taken from the last syllable of the Latin word for sugar, saccharum, an explanation that is commonly heard today.

Other etymologists have mentioned the gypsy word rum, meaning "strong" or "potent." However, these words have been linked to the ramboozle and rumfustian, both popular British drinks in the mid-seventeehth century. However, neither was made with rum, but rather eggs, ale, wine, sugar, and various spices. The most probable origin is as a truncated version of rumbullion or rumbustion." Both words surfaced in British English about the same time as rum did, and were slang terms for "tumult" or "uproar." This is a far more convincing explanation, and brings the image of fractios men fighting in entanglements at island tippling houses, which are early versions of the bar.

Another claim is that the name is from the large drinking glasses used by Dutch seamen known as rummers, from the Dutch word roemer, a drinking glass. Other options include contractions of the words saccharum, Latin for sugar, or arôme, French for aroma. Regardless of the original source, the name was already in common use by May 1657 when the General Court of Massachusetts made illegal the sale of strong liquor "whether knowne by the name of rumme, strong water, wine, brandy, etc."

In current usage, the name used for a rum is often based on the rum's place of origin. For rums from Spanish-speaking locales the word ron is used. A ron añejo indicates a rum that has been significantly aged and is often used for premium products. Rhum is the term used for rums from French-speaking locales, while rhum vieux is an aged French rum that meets several other requirements.

Some of the many other names for rum are Nelson's Blood, Kill-Devil, Demon Water, Pirate's Drink, Navy Neaters, and Barbados water. A version of rum from Newfoundland is referred to by the name Screech, while some low-grade West Indies rums are called tafia.

History

Origins

The 14th century traveller Marco Polo recorded an account of a "very good wine of sugar" that was offered to him in what is modern-day Iran, an early precursor of rum.

The precursors to rum date back to antiquity. Development of fermented drinks produced from sugarcane juice is believed to have first occurred either in ancient India or China, and spread from there. An example of such an early drink is brum. Produced by the Malay people, brum dates back thousands of years. Marco Polo also recorded a 14th-century account of a "very good wine of sugar" that was offered to him in what is modern-day Iran.

The exact origin of the modern version of rum is unclear. What is today known as rum was most likely first brewed from sugarcane on the British island colony of Barbados. However, it may have had its origins in the Spanish colony of Hispaniola (modern day Cuba), where it is called aguadiente or "burning water," or possibly by the French in one of their Carribean island colonies, where poorer grades of rum are called tafia. Beverage expert Edward Hamilton has argued that rum was first brewed commercially in the Portuguese colonies, and has been looking for commercial records to prove it (however, it is unlikely they exist, as rum exports from Spanish and Portuguese colonial settlements were prohibited and were mostly smuggled, for which no or little records exist). Even more theoretically, it may have first been concocted among the tinkering of Middle Ages alchemists seeking the exiler of life; to these early chemists, alclohol was a devine substance, neither liquid nor solid, as it evaperated quickly on contact with air, and was thus often central to many of their experiments. It may even have first been distilled even earlier in history, in a sugarcane field of India. Compared to the overflowing record regarding sugar, from whose by-products rum is retrieved, the early history of rum is extremely sketchy.

The first definite distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 17th century. Plantation slaves first discovered that molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, can be fermented into alcohol. Later, distillation of these alcoholic by-products concentrated the alcohol and removed impurities, producing the first true rums. Tradition strongly suggests that rum first originated on the island of Barbados. The first record of rum comes from the diary of sea captain John Josselyn, who wrote of as dinner party held on a ship off the coast of Maine (then part of Rum Rebellion) in September of 1639, during which another captain toasted him "a pint of rum." Both the word rum and kill-devil (the slang term for the harsh rum of that day) originated from the Barbodas.

Laws attempting to control the sale of rum popped up soon after in several different colonies- in Bermuda in 1653, in Connecticut in 1654, and in Massachusetts in 1657. These laws were systematically ignored; the later forceful attempts to make the colonies obey them would contribute to rebellions like the Rum Rebellion and the American Revolution. The earliest source in which rum played a prominent role was in the midst of a extravagandous party thrown by the prominent Barbodas planter James Drax, sometime before 1640. During the 1650s, the drink would expand greatly in popularity. The first official record using the word "rum" comes from a 1658 deed for the sale of Three Houses Plantation, which aludes to "four large mastrick cisterns for liquors of rum" (laws governing liquor had previously been passed that refered to "this country's spirits")

Early history

Regardless of its initial source, early Caribbean rums, collectively refered to as kill-devil, were not known for high quality. A 1651 document from Barbados stated, "The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor". The island of Barbados was at the time the biggest sugar producer in the world. The arival of new beverages to England, including coffee (in 1650), chocolate (1657), and tea (1660) greatly spiced the demand for sugar. Barbodas colonists initially tried to grow cotton, indigo, fustic wood, and a type of mulberry that produces a yellow dye. Taking a cue from the Virginian colonies, the islanders then tried to grow tobbaco, which turned out "earthy and worthless," as one visitor called it. Then Barbados tried out sugar, and landed in the moddle of the greatest sugar boom in history. Between 1660 to 1700, the per capita consumption of sugar for British citzens more then quadrupled. Soon, the whole island was colonized extensivelly- the population of the island swelled from just 80 in 1627 (the time of the first colonization) to more then 75,000 by 1650.

Molasses, the sticky substrate from which rum is made.

The by-product of the sugar curing process was molasses, a sticky, black, carmalized tar of no great economic value that resisted crystalization or further refining. The amount of "waste" proudced was considerable; wheras the amount varied, the typical figure was one pound of molasses for every two pounds of sugar. With heavy refining, the ratio might become as high as three pounds of molasses for every four of sugar.

In the mid-seventeenth century, molasses was a nuisance; too bulky to ship economically, and there was little or no demand for it anyway. Some would be mixed with grain and fodder to be fed to the cows, and some would be fed to the slaves to supplement their meager diet. Molasses could be mixed with lime, water, and horsehair to make a crude mortar, and blended with various nostrums as a cure for syphilis. But the majority of the compound was simply disposed of in a manner similar to that of industrial waste. One traveller noted that it was "never esteemed for more then dung; for they used to throw it all away." At some point it was realized that there was enough sugar in the compound to attract the attention of yeast, which seperates sugar into (partially) alcohol. By distilling the molasses, farmers realized that they could produce an alcoholic drink-rum.

Early brewers generally followed a methodology. They would pour, into a large cistern, a messy black fluid composed of molasses, the dregs remaining from the previous batch, and water (used to clean the pots between batches). This mixture, called wash, was left to stand in the tropical heat. Because the molasses is contaminated with yeast, it begins to ferment, and the yeast splits the sugar in the molasses into carbon dioxide and alcohol. The temperature of the mixture was closely monitered; windows in the still room would be opened and closed to regulate the temperature. If the temperature rose to a near-blood hot level (near 37° celsius), pails of cold water were added to cool it down; if it grew to cold, hot sea sand was added to heat the mixture up. In addition the brewers controlled the acidity; if it was not acidic enough, they would add lemons, tartar, or tamarinds. If it was too acidic, live coals or wood ash helped. Sometimes animal carcasses or dung was added, to kickstart a batch that resisted fermentation. Other substrates could be added to the batch, but for other reasons. An early traveller to Jamacia, noted:

"Perhaps the overseer will empty his chamberpot into it... to keep the Negroes from Drincking it." -John Taylor

Once the temperature of the wash fell and bubbling stopped after a few days, the mildly alcloholic brew was ready for distillation. The wash was conveyed, via small taps at the bottom of the cistern (taps were perfered as they filthered out any sediment), to a pot still. A low, even fire was applied to the main vat of the still, and the steam generated would rise and progress through a bit of copper tubing called a worm. The worm had to be constantly protected from overheating; the best way to do this was to divert cold water into the vat. However, in water-scarse areas like the Barbados, the cooling was done with water cooled in a nearby yard by slaves with pails, and later by wind-powered pumps.

The spirit produced, kill-devil, could be drunk at first distillation or run through the still a second or even third time. Barbadians preffered spirits of a single extraction, and usually had theirs casked after a single pass, resulting in what one traveller called "a cooler spirit, more palatable and wholesome." Other islands, like Jamacia (which would overtake Barbados in rum production in the mid-nineteenth century) preferred a strong, double-distilled rum. Samual Martin noted that the Jamacian approach:

"...seems more profitable for the London-market, because buyers there approve of a fiery spirit which will bear most adulteration." -Samual Martin

However, for a time the popularity of rum remained mostly limited to the island colonies. By 1655, an estimated 900,000 gallons of kill-devil per year was being produced on Barbados, yet virtually no export market existed. Small amount have been recorded to as early as 1638, but as late as 1698, a mere 207 gallons of rum were officially exported to England from Barbados (this figure is likely low due to smuggling). Almost all of the spirits produced were consumed right on the island, by the local residents; in Barbados, the per capita consumption rate was on the order of 10 gallons a day [a year?].

Early rum makers found a market in the many poor among the islands. On Barbados, for example, 94% of those setting of from England for the island in 1635 were men, young and poor. While gentry lived fabulously, most of the islanders lived rough lives. In 1631, Henry Whistler described Barbados as

"...the dunghill whereon England doth cast forth its rubish. Rouges and whores and such like people are those which are generally brought here. A rouge in England would hardly make a cheater here." -Henry Whistler

Disapointment was common among the new arrivals. Wheras they had heard of fabulous land from which to grow great riches in England, in reality most of the land had already been snapped up by larger landowners. Indentured servents likewise found the promise of "upward mobility" uttered in London to be overblown at best. Jobs were scarce; landowners found it easier to ship slaves onto the island, who could perform the same tasks more economically then their white counterparts, as well as being more resistant to tropical disease.

Rum proved to be a cheap and economical outlet for the chronically disapointed settlers. Tippling houses, as the drinking taverns were often called, where as widespead as they were economical; at the time Bridgetown had one tippling house for every twenty residents). Rum emerged as a social and economic issue when many of the islands tried to liscense them. It was not uncommon for men used to driking two to three drams daily to start drowning thirty to sixty once on the islands. The residents of the colonies were generally and universially described as "great drunkards." One traveller described how they "buy their drink although they goe naked." Rum later became an important part of triangle trade, with livestock and proudce sailing south to the islands (where every acre of land was devoted to sugar or other cash crops), and rum in turn sailing to the north.

Colonial America

The Pirates carrying rum on shore to purchase slaves as depicted in The Pirates Own Book by Charles Ellms

After rum's development in the Caribbean, the drink's popularity spread to Colonial America once the island production outsourced the local demand. To support the demand for the drink, the first rum distillery in the colonies was set up in 1664 on present-day Staten Island. Boston, Massachusetts had a distillery three years later. Soon, British North America became what some historians call "the Nation of Rum."

The manufacture of rum became early Colonial New England's largest and most prosperous industry. Early strong spirits had been recorded as far back as 1630; a crude whiskey was first produced by an enterprising Dutchman near Manhattan in 1640. Starting in the early 1700s, the colonial taste for home-brewed beer and cider started to dry up, to be replaced by a love for rum. This was spurred partially by the cheapness of it, as well as the abundance-the cost of a fifth of a gallon of rum dropped by a third between 1673 and 1687 before leveling off at four dollars, about half the price of a bottle of cheap rum today. One resident marvelled how it cost "but a penny or two" to get drunk on imported rum.

Rum soon found its way into many aspects of colonial life; it was common to down a dram at first light, during dinner, at midday, and in the evening. However, it wasn't just a pastime, as it also served as a vital supplement to their diet, as it has about as many calories per ounce as butter and ten times that of milk. In addition rum was used as a cure-all, with a dram often being the first thing for a sign of sickness. Leaves of the tansy plant dipped in rum were a popular cure-all of the time. There were even first-aid implementations in place that called for the splashing of hot rum on a collapsed man's chest while smoking tabacco in the hopes of reviving him.

New England became a distilling center (due to the superior technical, metalworking and cooperage skills and abundant lumber); the rum produced there was lighter, more like whiskey, and was superior to the character and aroma of the West Indies product. Anyone who could afford it much preferred it to the Caribbean product . Rhode Island rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in Europe for a period of time. Estimates of rum consumption in the American colonies before the American Revolutionary War had every man, woman, or child drinking an average of 3 Imperial gallons (13.5 liters) of rum each year. The rums went by many names, but among the most popular was a varient called flip, a mixture of beer, molasses, and Jamacian rum.

To support this demand for the molasses to produce rum, along with the increasing demand for sugar in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, a labor source to work the sugar plantations in the Caribbean was needed. A triangular trade was established between Africa, the Caribbean, and the colonies to help support this need. The exchange of slaves, molasses, and rum was quite profitable, and the disruption to the trade caused by the Sugar Act in 1764 may have even helped cause the American Revolution.

The popularity of rum continued after the American Revolution with George Washington insisting on a barrel of Barbados rum at his 1789 inauguration.

Rum soon started to become an important aspect in the political system. The outcome of the election usually depended on the candidate’s generosity with rum. The people would vote for incompetent candidates only because they provided more rum. They would attend the election to see which candidate appeared less stingy with their rum. The candidate was expected to drink with the people to show that he was independent and truly a republican. In a Mississippi election, one candidate poured his drinks and socialized with the people. He was more personal and it appeared as if he was going to win. The other candidate announced that he would not be pouring their drinks and they could have as much as they wanted; because he appeared more generous, he won. This shows that colonial voters weren’t concerned with what the candidate represented or stood for; they were merely looking for who would provide the most rum.

Eventually the restrictions on rum from the British islands of the Caribbean combined with the development of American whiskey led to a decline in the drink's popularity. Rum's association with piracy comes from the fact that it was a locally available drink during the peak years for Piracy in the Caribbean. Further embellishment to this association was made with literary works such as the poem "Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest'" by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book Treasure Island.

Naval Rum

WRNS serving rum to a sailor from a tub inscribed 'THE KING / GOD BLESS HIM'

Rum's association with piracy began with English privateers trading on the valuable commodity. As some of the privateers became pirates and buccaneers, their fondness for rum remained, the association between the two only being strengthened by literary works such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

The association of rum with the Royal Navy began in 1655 when the British fleet captured the island of Jamaica. With the availability of domestically produced rum, the British changed the daily ration of liquor given to seamen from French brandy to rum. While the ration was originally given neat, or mixed with lime juice, the practice of watering down the rum began around 1740. To help minimize the effect of the alcohol on his sailors, Admiral Edward Vernon directed that the rum ration be watered down before being issued, a mixture which became known as grog. While it is widely believed that the term grog was coined at this time in honor of the grogram cloak Admiral Vernon wore in rough weather, the term has been demonstrated to predate his famous orders, with probable origins in the West Indies, perhaps of African etymology (see Grog). The Royal Navy continued to give its sailors a daily rum ration, known as a "tot," until the practice was abolished after July 31, 1970.

A story involving naval rum is that following his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, Horatio Nelson's body was preserved in a cask of rum to allow transport back to England. Upon arrival, however, the cask was opened and found to be empty of rum. The pickled body was removed and, upon inspection, it was discovered that the sailors had drilled a hole in the bottom of the cask and drunk all the rum, in the process drinking Nelson's blood. Thus, this tale serves as a basis for the term Nelson's Blood being used to describe rum. It also serves as the basis for the term "Tapping the Admiral" being used to describe drinking the daily rum ration. The details of the story are disputed, as many historians claim the cask contained French Brandy whilst others claim instead the term originated from a toast to Admiral Nelson. It should be noted that variations of the story, involving different notable corpses, have been in circulation for many years.

Colonial Australia

Beenleigh Rum Distillery, on the banks of the Albert River near Brisbane, Australia, circa 1912

See Also: Rum Rebellion

Rum became an important trade good in the early period of the colony of New South Wales. The value of rum was based upon the lack of coinage among the population of the colony, and due to the drink's ability to allow its consumer to temporarily forget about the lack of creature comforts available in the new colony. The value of rum was such that convict settlers could be induced to work the lands owned by officers of the New South Wales Corps. Due to rum's popularity among the settlers, the colony gained a reputation for drunkenness even though their alcohol consumption was less than levels commonly consumed in England at the time.

When William Bligh became governor of the colony in 1806, he attempted to remedy the perceived problem with drunkenness by outlawing the use of rum as a medium of exchange. In response to this action, and several others, the New South Wales Corps marched, with fixed bayonets, to Government House and placed Bligh under arrest. The mutineers continued to control the colony until the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810.

Categorization

Dividing rum into meaningful groupings is complicated by the fact that there is no single standard for what constitutes rum. Instead rum is defined by the varying rules and laws of the nations that produce the spirit. The differences in definitions include issues such as spirit proof, minimum aging, and even naming standards.

Examples of the differences in proof is Colombia, requiring their rum possess a minimum alcohol content of 50 ABV, while Chile and Venezuela require only a minimum of 40 ABV. Mexico requires rum be aged a minimum of 8 months; the Dominican Republic, Panama and Venezuela require two years. Naming standards also vary. Argentina defines rums as white, gold, light, and extra light. Barbados uses the terms white, overproof, and matured, while the United States defines rum, rum liqueur, and flavored rum. In Australia Rum is divided into Dark Rum (Under Proof known as UP, Over Proof known as OP, and triple distilled) and White Rum.

Despite these differences in standards and nomenclature, the following divisions are provided to help show the wide variety of rums that are produced.

Regional Variations

The Bacardi building in Havana, Cuba

Within the Caribbean, each island or production area has a unique style. For the most part, these styles can be grouped by the language that is traditionally spoken. Due to the overwhelming influence of Puerto Rican rum, most rum consumed in the United States is produced in the Spanish-speaking style.

• Spanish-speaking islands and countries traditionally produce light rums with a fairly clean taste. Rums from Guatemala, Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Venezuela are typical of this style.

• English-speaking islands and countries are known for darker rums with a fuller taste that retains a greater amount of the underlying molasses flavor. Rums from Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Saint Kitts, the Demerara region of Guyana, and Jamaica are typical of this style.

• French-speaking islands are best known for their agricultural rums (rhum agricole). These rums, being produced exclusively from sugar cane juice, retain a greater amount of the original flavor of the sugar cane and are generally more expensive than molasses-based rums. Rums from Haïti, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante and Martinique are typical of this style.

Cachaça is a spirit similar to rum that is produced in Brazil. Seco, from Panama, is also a spirit similar to rum, but also similar to vodka, since it is triple distilled. The Indonesian spirit Batavia Arrack, or Arrak, is a spirit similar to rum that includes rice in its production. Mexico produces a number of brands of light and dark rum, as well as other less expensive flavored and unflavored sugar cane based liquors, such as aguardiente de caña and charanda. In some cases cane liquor is flavored with mezcal to produce a pseudo-tequila-like drink.

A spirit known as Aguardiente, distilled from molasses and often infused with anise, with additional sugarcane juice added after distillation, is produced in Central America and northern South America.

In West Africa, and particularly in Liberia, cane juice (also known as Liberian rum or simply CJ within Liberia itself, is a cheap, strong spirit distilled from sugar cane, which can be as strong as 86 proof.

Within Europe, a similar spirit made from sugar beet is known as tuzemák (from tuzemský rum, domestic rum) in the Czech Republic and Kobba Libre on the Åland Islands.

In Germany, a cheap substitute of genuine dark rum is called Rum-Verschnitt (literally: blended rum). This distilled beverage is made of genuine dark rum (often from Jamaica), rectified spirit, and water. Very often, caramel coloring is used, too. The relative amount of genuine rum it contains can be quite low since the legal minimum is at only 5 percent, but the taste of Rum-Verschnitt is still very similar to genuine dark rum. In Austria, a similar rum called Inländerrum or domestic rum is available. However, Austrian Inländerrum is always a spiced rum, (brand example: Stroh) German Rum-Verschnitt, in contrast, is never spiced or flavored.

Grades

File:Three rums jvp.jpg

Example of dark, spiced, and light rums.

The grades and variations used to describe rum depend on the location that a rum was produced. Despite these variations the following terms are frequently used to describe various types of rum:

• Light Rums, also referred to as light, silver, and white rums. In general, light rum has very little flavor aside from a general sweetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails. Light rums are sometimes filtered after aging to remove any color. The Brazilian Cachaça is generally this type, but some varieties are more akin to "gold rums". The majority of Light Rum comes out of Puerto Rico.

• Gold Rums, also called amber rums, are medium-bodied rums which are generally aged. These gain their dark color from aging in wooden barrels (usually the charred white oak barrels that are the byproduct of Bourbon Whiskey).

• Spiced Rum: These rums obtain their flavor through addition of spices and, sometimes, caramel. Most are darker in color, and based on gold rums. Some are significantly darker, while many cheaper brands are made from inexpensive white rums and darkened with artificial caramel color.

• Dark Rum, also known as black rum, classes as a grade darker than gold rum. It is generally aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum, and hints of spices can be detected, along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. It is used to provide substance in rum drinks, as well as color. In addition to uses in mixed drinks, dark rum is the type of rum most commonly used in cooking. Most Dark Rum comes from areas such as Jamaica, Haiti, and Martinique.

• Flavored Rum: Some manufacturers have begun to sell rums which they have infused with flavors of fruits such as mango, orange, citrus, coconut or lime. These serve to flavor similarly themed tropical drinks which generally comprise less than 40% alcohol, and are also often drunk neat or on the rocks.

• Overproof Rum is rum which is much higher than the standard 40% alcohol. Most of these rums bear greater than 75%, in fact, and preparations of 151 to 160 proof occur commonly.

• Premium Rum: As with other sipping spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, a market exists for premium and super-premium rums. These are generally boutique brands which sell very aged and carefully produced rums. They have more character and flavor than their "mixing" counterparts, and are generally consumed without the addition of other ingredients.

Production methodology

Unlike some other spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, rum has no defined production methods. Instead, rum production is based on traditional styles that vary between locations and distillers.

Fermentation

Sugarcane is harvested to make sugarcane juice and molasses.

Most rum produced is made from molasses. Within the Caribbean, much of this molasses is from Brazil. A notable exception is the French-speaking islands where sugarcane juice is the preferred base ingredient.

Yeast and water are added to the base ingredient to start the fermentation process. While some rum producers allow wild yeast to perform the fermentation, most use specific strains of yeast to help provide a consistent taste and predictable fermentation time. Dunder, the yeast-rich foam from previous fermentations, is the traditional yeast source in Jamaica. "The yeast employed will determine the final taste and aroma profile," says Jamaican master blender Joy Spence. Distillers that make lighter rums, such as Bacardi, prefer to use faster-working yeasts. Use of slower-working yeasts causes more esters to accumulate during fermentation, allowing for a fuller-tasting rum.

Distillation

As with all other aspects of rum production, there is no standard method used for distillation. While some producers work in batches using pot stills, most rum production is done using column still distillation. Pot still output contains more congeners than the output from column stills and thus produces a fuller-tasting rum.

Aging and blending

Many countries require that rum be aged for at least one year. This aging is commonly performed in used bourbon casks, but may also be performed in stainless steel tanks or other types of wooden casks. The aging process determines the coloring of the Rum. Rum that is aged in oak casks becomes dark, whereas Rum that is aged in stainless steel tanks remains virtually colorless. Due to the tropical climate common to most rum-producing areas, rum matures at a much faster rate than is typical for Scotch or Cognac. An indication of this faster rate is the angel's share, or amount of product lost to evaporation. While products aged in France or Scotland see about 2% loss each year, rum producers may see as much as 10%. After aging, rum is normally blended to ensure a consistent flavor. Blending is the final step in the Rum making process. As part of this blending process, light rums may be filtered to remove any color gained during aging. For darker rums, caramel may be added to the rum to adjust the color of the final product.

In cuisine

Besides rum punch, cocktails such as the Cuba Libre and Daiquiri have well-known stories of their invention in the Caribbean. Tiki culture in the US helped expand rum's horizons with inventions such as the Mai Tai and Zombie. Other well-known cocktails containing rum include the Piña Colada, a drink made popular by Rupert Holmes' song "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)", and the Mojito. Cold-weather drinks made with rum include the Rum toddy and Hot Buttered Rum. In addition to these well-known cocktails, a number of local specialties utilize rum. Examples of these local drinks include Bermuda's Dark and Stormy (Gosling's Black Seal rum with ginger beer), and the Painkiller from the British Virgin Islands.

Rum may also be used as a base in the manufacture of liqueurs. Spiced Rum is made by infusing rum with a combination of spices. Another combination is jagertee, a mixture of rum and black tea.

Rum may also be used in a number of cooked dishes. It may be used as a flavoring agent in items such as rum balls or rum cakes. Rum is commonly used to macerate fruit used in fruitcakes and is also used in marinades for some Caribbean dishes. Rum is also used in the preparation of Bananas Foster and some hard sauces. Rum is sometimes mixed in with ice cream often together with raisins.

Ti Punch is short for "petit punch", little punch. This is a very traditional drink in the French-speaking region of the Caribbean.

See also

• Cachaça
• List of Puerto Rican rums
• List of rum producers
• Rum cocktails
• Rum row
• Rum-running

References

• Curtis, Wayne (2006). And a bottle of rum - a history of the New World in ten cocktails. Crown Publishers. p. 285. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/1-400-5167-3|[[Special:BookSources/1-4000-5167-3|1-400-5167-3]]]]. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Blue, Anthony Dias (2004). The Complete Book of Spirits : A Guide to Their History, Production, and Enjoyment. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-054218-7.
• Clarke, Frank G. (2002). The History of Australia. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31498-5.
• Cooper, Rosalind (1982). Spirits & Liqueurs. HPBooks. ISBN 0-89586-194-1.
• Foley, Ray (2006). Bartending for Dummies: A reference for the Rest of Us. Wiley Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-470-05056-X.
• Pack, James (1982). Nelson's Blood: The Story of Naval Rum. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-944-8.
• Tannahill, Reay (1973). Food in History. Stein and Day. ISBN 0-8128-1437-1.
• Rorabaugh, W.J. The Alcoholic Republic. Oxford University Press.

Further reading

• Williams, Ian (2005). Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776. Nation Books. (extract)
• Broom, Dave (2003). Rum. Abbeville Press.
• Arkell, Julie (1999). Classic Rum. Prion Books.
• Coulombe, Charles A (2004). Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink that Changed Conquered the World. Citadel Press.
• Smith, Frederick (2005). Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History. University Press of Florida. (Introduction)

External links

• Rum History
• Ministry of Rum
• Manufacturing Rum
• Rum Basics - What Is Rum?
• Rum in the Caribbean