History of: Rum
Country of origin:
Liquor lore insists that it is China or India, but the modern day spirit is from the Caribbean.
Why we love it:
Truth be told, we went to Puerto Rico and met a beautiful boy who was the son of the owner of Ron Del Barrilito. he has changed our perspective of rum, and Puerto Rican men, forever. That, and in 1942, a single barrel, which is stored in the “cellar”, was put aside with orders that it should only be opened when Puerto Rico becomes a free and independent nation. When and if that ever happens, the cask (barrel) will be brought to the town square in the center of Bayamon and its contents will be offered free to all those who wish to drink from it.
Where to find it (besides the liquor store):
Welcome to the Caribbean, love! The Caribbean is now the largest producing rum region in the world.
What it’s made of:
Sugar cane. Well, really it’s the molasses, from sugar cane, to be specific.
Classifications:
Rum is generally classified in two ways. One, by type. Two, by region/country. The bodies that govern the making of rum are not universal, they are different within each country. For now, we are going to give you the descriptions of the types.
First, in the most general sense, rum is divided into two categories based on distillation, then subdivided from there. The first two categories are Light Rum and Dark Rum, respectively.
Light Rum is produced in a column or continuous (same thing) still and is highly purified and blended. Like vodka, they are usually charcoal filtered, and therefore take on similar characteristics of vodka, i.e. they are not heavily aromatic and not as complex (fewer flavors).
Dark Rum (or heavier rum) are usually made in pot stills, just like their “heavier” cousins, cognac and scotch. Because the pot stills do not refine the liquor as much, the resulting flavor is much like cognac and scotch… more complex and aromatic.
From there, we get into the types of rums. Usually these are indicated by their color, and we have them listed from lightest to darkest.
White rum (aka light or silver rum) is, as you would expect, pretty light in body (think vodka). The are colorless, not complex, and of all the rums, mix the best. Think of it this way, if you mix it, you aren’t going to miss any flavors, because there aren’t a whole lot of them in there. Cachaça is often categorized as a light rum, but is actually a cane spirit, which changes the flavor profile just a titch. It is still light in body and flavor though, so it does belong here in some cases.
Golden rum, or amber rum, are still considered light rum, but are more medium bodied. These rums tend to be aged in casks, hence the golden color, mellower and more complex flavors.
We are going the throw Spiced Rum in here next, because it can be considered a white or dark rum (or golden for that matter) and it is set apart by the spices used to flavor it. These are a dynamic substitution for white rums in a variety of cocktails, and are very popular at tropical vacation destinations.
Dark rums are even more complex than the golden rums, have aged longer in casks, which are usually charred, and are quite rich. They are usually still produced in pot stills, and have a strong caramel flavor to them. Because of the intensity of flavor they possess, these are also the rums most often used in cooking.
Anejo or Aged Rums start stepping in the scotch-type profile. These are also sometimes called Premium Rum. These are pot stilled as well, and are blends of different rums from different years. These rums will often stipulate how old the youngest rum in the blend must be, and date them accordingly. Just like any other longer-aged, blended liquor, the rum is blended for taste and complexity, is a high-end product, and really should be enjoyed straight up or on the rocks. Yep, just like a scotch.
I suppose this list would not be complete without mentioning Overproof Rum. You might already be acquainted with this type of rum. Because of it’s high-octane, 151 (or more) proof, it’s not all that complex or flavorful, but if you are looking to skip over the part where you taste what you are drinking and go straight to the part that produces a hangover, this one’s for you.
History:
Because most rum is made from molasses, it’s no wonder that the people who were involved in sugar production are the ones that are credited with its inception. While sugar is present in a variety of plants, one of the most common (and easiest to cultivate) is sugar cane.
Saccharum Offinarum, or the fancy-schmancy name for sugar cane is a tall, thick grass that hails from Indonesia. We credit the Chinese with its cultivation and spreading of the plant to Asia and India. There are those, in turn, that credit Chine or India with the early production of rum, probably because of their involvement with sugar. There is also evidence Marco Polo documented being offered it in what is now Iran in the 1300s.
The origin of the name is just as shaky ( I mean, why can’t anyone get liquor history right?). The one that we like the best is the truncation of the word Saccharum into simply rum. It is good to know also that the French call it Rhum and the Spanish-speaking call it Ron. It is an excellent way to look at a bottle and figure out who colonized the country the rum is produced in. If it says Rhum, there’s a good chance the Frenchies were there first, and so on.
Regardless, sugar cane found it’s way into Europe. (We apologize for getting sidetracked.) When Europe began its expansion, the sugar cane found it’s way onto the boats. The Spanish and Portuguese were first, taking the sugar cane and planting it in the Canary Islands. In 1493, Columbus picked up the cuttings from the islands (he was sailing for Spain) and took them with him to the New World, planting them in what is today Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Portuguese picked up cuttings as well, taking them to Brazil.
It is easy to see how sugar cane flourished in the Caribbean, (similar climate to Indonesia) and it became a fixture on all of the islands. This, we are sure, was also prompted by the fact that Europe wanted increasingly more sugar. The new colonies went to work on the sugar cane, processing it and producing sugar and the by-product molasses.
Molasses still contains a lot of sugar. And when the molasses got a chance to hang out with some water in the hot Caribbean sun, it fermented. This did not go unnoticed by the sugar mill operators, and soon it was being distilled into rum. Barbados, in particular, is often noted as being the first to produce it, circa 1651.
As with the history of any liquor, rum was used to treat maladies of those living in the tropics. It was sold at sugar plantations, and was widely distributed enough to replace brandy as the rationed drink of choice for the British Navy. The regular selling of the rum to the British Navy also ensured that the pirates were little more scarce.
Soon after the navy ensured that their rum was flowing swiftly out of the Caribbean, rum became part of the ugly side of European expansion. It is probably safe to say that the rum trade could not have survived without the existence of slavery, as slaves were needed to make the rum, and the existence of slavery would not have been possible without rum, to pay for the slaves.
It started with the export of rum from colonies in the Caribbean to the colonies in New England. In exchange, New England would export lumber and dried fish. There was a law in place to protect the British distilleries that stipulated colonies could not trade in spirits directly between each other. To avoid this “law”, molasses was shipped instead of the rum to the new colonies, and the triangle began.
The first rum distillery was set up on Staten Island in 1664. Rum quickly became New England’s largest and most profitable industry. Molasses was shipped from the Caribbean to New England, and made into rum. The rum was shipped to West Africa to pay for slaves. The slaves were shipped to the Caribbean to be put to work in the sugar cane fields to feed the increasing demand for sugar and rum. And it went on and on.
On and on, that is, until two things happened. The new colonies became embroiled in a fight with the British (the American Revolution) and the trade with the Caribbean colonies became strained. American rum distilleries closed. Soon after, whiskey took center stage as it became cheaper to produce (no sugar cane needed, the colonists could grow the grains themselves), and rum took a permanent backseat.
It is also noteworthy that during this time, Australia was also being colonized. As it was composed of mostly convicts, there was a distinct lack of wealth. Rum, during it’s boom, was used as a medium for exchange. While laws were imposed and eventually rum was no longer needed as a currency as the colony grew, the imprint was left and there are still rum distilleries to be found in New South Wales.
Not long after the new America declared it’s independence, Europe discovered that it could extract sugar from beets. The demand for sugar from the Caribbean dropped, and soon only the countries that grew the sugar produced the rum. Which brings us up to
Rum Today:
As mentioned above, those countries who still produce sugar still produce rum. A trip to the Caribbean has always been touched with daiquiri and mai tai fantasies, and the ever increasing tourist industry has kept the world awash in rum, even in climates (like Seattle) where we are more likely to curl into a Bailey and coffee than a mojito.
Like tequila, rum has enjoyed a percentage of the population that would have, in days past, turned to scotch for a libation. Rum is being aged and refined more and more, so that a well aged, well crafted rum can exude all the finer qualities of a good scotch. There are rums now that one wouldn’t dream of adulterating into a mai tai, for example. They are delicious, and have a caramel-y, sweet flavor that a scotch does not aspire to, that we, for one, find delicious.
We have a little list here for you of the areas that still produce rum, (grouped together by various spellings of “rum”) and what kind you can find… if you happen to find yourself in the tropics and a little thirsty. Or just in the liquor store, finding yourself a little thirsty.
Remember earlier when we noted that the colonizing country could be found by what the rum was called? Rhum for the French, and so on? Well, today, rum producing countries can be generally grouped together style-wise by the language that is spoken there. we finds this fascinating, and here is what we found:
Ron is what the Spanish-speaking countries call it, and they produce mainly light rums. Puerto Rico is a large producer of this style, which would explain the dominance of light rums in the United States. Other countries with the same style are Panama, Columbia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and of course Cuba. We invite, no, DARE you to find a Cuban rum here in the United States. (Incidentally, we would like to taste it too, if you happen to be in the Seattle area).
Rum is of course the English version. They are known for darker rums with a more complex and robust flavor with the molasses showing though. The countries with this style are Belize, the Demerara region of Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Bermuda and St. Kitts.
Rhum say the French! In true French style, rhum is pricier than it’s non-French counterparts. Why, you ask? Because they are French, dammit! We kid, we kid… it’s really because they make their rum from sugar cane juice instead of molasses, which is a costlier process. Rhums from Haiti, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante and Martinique are generally in this style.
We touched on Cachaça earlier, but we did not give it it’s due. Most people know Cachaça because of the Caipirinha, a drink made from Cachaça, lime and sugar (truly, a favorite). It is, technically, a rum. But it’s a cane spirit, and triple distilled. A little smokier than a rum, and clear like a vodka. Interesting, but a good try. It hails from Brazil, and is, as we found out, the national drink of Brazil. Yum.
There are also still versions of rum being made in other parts of the world, but they wouldn’t be what you would recognize as rum. The Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Central America, and Liberia all have “rums” that they make in a variety of ways with a variety of profiles, and can only loosely be called Rum.
We find rum to be delicious, and think it deserves more attention than you, decidedly bored, ordering a rum and coke. Try a Caipirinha, or a Pyrat on the rocks (we just love Pyrat rum because we love Pirates, and bad pirate jokes). When your glass is empty, you can cheesily quote our (and every girls) favorite pirate, Johnny Depp:
Why is the rum always gone?
