Rum
Rum is a distilled spirit traditionally made from sugarcane juice or molasses and typically aged in oak barrels, although experimentation with other barrels also takes place. Rum is most widely associated with the islands of the Caribbean and Latin American countries, but it is made in many countries around the world, including Scotland, Sweden, and the U.S. In Spanish-speaking countries rum is called ron, though no one knows for sure where the word “rum” itself was born. White or silver rum is either unaged or is lightly aged, then filtered to strip out the color; it is generally intended for use in cocktails. Gold or amber rum is aged in oak barrels, though there are no agreed upon standards on how long this term, nor any real distinction between the terms. Dark rum is usually made from caramelized molasses, aged for a longer period of time, and usually in barrels that have been more deeply charred. Overproof rum can hit up to 160 proof and is intended for use in cocktails, including the Volcano, where the overproof rum is floated on top and ignited. Spiced and flavored rums are also quite popular.
Top Rum Posts:
Havana Club Tributo 2017
Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
Bacardi Anejo Cuatro 4 Years Old, Reserva Ocho 8 Years Old, and Gran Reserva Diez 10 Years Old Rum
Complicated and heavily spiced liqueurs are always a difficult bag. They tend to blend poorly with other spirits and on their own can be imbalanced. Put it this way: No matter how much you like spiced rum, when’s the last time you had it mixed with anything other than Coke? Mekhong is an unusual spirit…
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Tomorrow (August 16) is National Rum Day, so what better way to celebrate than to sip a little Mount Gay, the first commercially produced rum (per the company), continually produced since 1637 (though the bottles say 1703). They even say George Washington drank this stuff on a stopover in Barbados (my favorite island, by the…
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Leblon was the first cachaça I ever tried and it remains a perfectly acceptable introduction to the beauty of the spirit. The company was kind enough to send a fresh bottle, and it remains as charming a cachaça as ever. You won’t miss that gigantic green bottle on the shelf (it barely fits in my…
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When the Wall Street Journal’s Eric Felten named Tommy Bahama white rum his favorite of some 10 rums in a blind tasting, I figured I had to try it. The company was kind enough to send both of its rums, light and dark, to be put to the test. Both are bottled in Barbados (not,…
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Something fun for the ladies using rum as the base spirit instead of vodka… El Cosmito 1 1/2 oz. white rum 1/2 oz. Cointreau (or other orange liqueur) 1/2 oz. peach brandy 1/2 oz. Damiana 1/4 oz. agave nectar cranberry juice Put first four items in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, then strain into…
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Cachaça continues its run for the It Spirit of the ’00s. Here’s another contestant: Água Luca, an otherwise standard cachaça with the distinction of being filtered twelve times en route to the bottle. Maybe that filtering robs Água Luca of some of its character? Água Luca has a very typical cachaça profile, with a strong…
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Want to celebrate Independence Day? Well, you can go to a parade, eat a hot dog, light some fireworks, or drink one of these liquors from Brave Spirits, four bottles designed specifically with “soldiers, marines, airmen, police officers, and firefighters” in mind. Presumably you can drink them even if you are not one of these…
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Pity the guava. No one really understands this tropical staple (go to Hawaii and you’ll be inundated with it), but it’s really quite good. A lot like a passion fruit, really, but with a decidedly unsexy name. Despite the lack of erotic appeal in the phrase “guava rum,” when you’re on your 12th flavored rum…
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The red bottle screams gimmick, but the rum inside is legit: Rubi Rey, I’m happy to report, is one of the best white rums on the market, and a good deal, to boot. Finished in white oak and marketed as a “single barrel” rum, Rubi Rey offers a very clean sugary rum flavor and a…
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If you haven’t seen Cabana’s advertisements in the glossies, you haven’t been looking hard enough. You really can’t miss them, what with the woman’s lower torso and the tagline “Authentically Brazilian.” (As a side note, this has caused some tongues to wag, as the spirit is brought to us by an American liquor magnate.) Politics…
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