Read any bar menu and you’re likely to find at least one cocktail containing 10 Cane Rum. Why’s it so popular? Let’s explore.

For starters, unlike most rums, which are made of molasses, the 80-proof 10 Cane is made from pure, pressed sugar juice. Though it’s technically a white rum, it’s also aged in oak barrels for a spell, which makes more of a golden yellow instead of clear.

Taste 10 Cane and you’ll immediately see a difference vs. other white rums: It’s oily and a bit smoky, and the oak is palpable; it’s much more similar to a cachaca (which is also cane sugar-based) than to Bacardi. This isn’t really a rum for drinking straight: It’s less sweet and less spicy than the best white rums, but really no white rum is designed for drinking solo. In Coke it gets a little lost, but in cocktails it really does work out pretty well. I tried it in a Between the Sheets (1 oz. each rum, brandy, and Cointreau, plus a splash of lemon juice), and the spirit shined. Maybe 10 Cane is so popular with bartenders because it’s both versatile and because that smoky-oaky character adds something a little different to your average rum cocktail. I’d buy that argument… wouldn’t you?

Try it if you’re a cachaca fan and see if you don’t agree with me.

B+ / $30 / 10cane.com