The complete guide to Rum

«Rum - myth and reality»

Discovered by the West following on from the Spanish, French and English conquests of the Indies, rum was originally a slave and seafarer drink. Used as bait by pirates in their attempts to get the English Navy’s cabin boys drunk (and recruit them!) its bonds with this adventurous and tumultuous past have survived.

Whether it is called rhum (French rum), rum (Britain) or ron (Spain), this sugar cane spirit remains a common denominator across the Caribbean and South America, with each of these versions being the expression of distinct cultures and traditions.

In the mid noughties, more than one hundred countries were growing sugar cane, with Brazil, India and China in first place. The sugar cane produced supplied around 75% of the world’s sugar (source: ACER – Nov. 2005). Rum’s aroma profiles vary in accordance with the distillation and ageing methods used, ranking it top of the spirits list.

Photo#2: Caroni Distillery, Trinidad. Photo#3: During “The Rum Tasting of the Century” some of the oldest bottles in the world were opened: The Harewood Rum, distilled in 1780.

Caroni Distillery, Trinidad.

During “The Rum Tasting of the Century” some of the oldest bottles in the world were opened: The Harewood Rum, distilled in 1780.

«The European conquest of white gold»

Discovered in Asia and imported into Europe by pilgrims as far back as the First Crusades (1096-99), sugar was then a rarity eagerly sought after by all. A little at a time, it became big business and a source of rivalry between European nations. From the 14th century onwards, Venice acquired a monopoly over this brown gold and developed the earliest forms of sugar refining. Envious of this Italian success and hoping to bring the Venetian sugar domination to an end, Portugal and Spain added plantations and refineries to their colonies: Madeira, the Canary Islands and then the Azores. Lisbon quickly became an important refining center.

The western discovery of the Americas enabled sugar cane production to be extended even further, under the aegis of the Portuguese, who were excellent sailors. Whilst all eyes were on Brazil, Peru and Mexico as a result of their natural riches (timber, gold and minerals), the Caribbean soon became sugar islands. At the end of the 15th century Christopher Columbus introduced sugar to the Antilles. His first plantation experiments seem to have been on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and Santo Domingo). Then, in 1512, the Spanish embarked on an aggressive sugar cane plantation campaign in Cuba, which would count over 250 Spanish farming families just a few years later. From 1520 onwards, sugar cane spread across South America to Mexico, Peru, Brazil and beyond.

Prime players until 1630, the Spanish interest in sugar cane was gradually supplanted by gold and timber, leaving the way open to the French and English in the Antilles: Barbados, Jamaica, Martinique, Guadalupe.

«Rum step by step»

1

SUGAR CANE OR MOLASSES
A distinction is generally made between rums made by distilling sugar cane (vesou) and those made from molasses. The sugar cane juice obtained by grinding up sugar cane deteriorates rapidly and needs to be fermented right away and then distilled into what is known as agricultural rum. On the other hand, as a sugar cane refinement residue, molasses constitutes a thick and sticky syrup which can be used as an ingredient in desserts and other delicacies but is also used in rum production.

Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) grows in the equatorial zones of tropical regions. It can be found in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, the Antilles, Hawaii and Central and Southern America but also in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, China, India, the Indian Ocean islands and Australia, as well as in southern Spain. There are a great many varieties with various degrees of resistance to disease and diverse sugar levels. Cane is made up of water, fiber and sucrose. Cane is harvested 11 months after planting before it flowers, either manually or mechanically, the leaves and tips being left in the fields. It is only the base which is taken quickly to the sugar refinery to avoid sugar loss. Once the cane base has been ground down into fibers, hot water is added to extract the sugary juice in it. This pressing produces two products: cane juice for rum production and bagasse, which is the fibrous residue from sugar cane ultimately used as fuel. In the case of rum made from molasses, the cane juice (vesou) has its sugar extracted and is made into molasses.

2

CANE WINE AND FERMENTATION
Yeasts act on the fermenting must (molasses diluted with water, or vesou) transforming it progressively into alcohol, resulting in a cane juice containing 8-10% alcohol by volume on average. Cane juice fermentation is a key step in the formation of rum aromas and takes different forms in the various parts of the world it is made in, making for a huge variety of aromas.

There are three types of fermentation:

1. Spontaneous fermentation. This is the result of the yeasts and micro-organisms naturally present in the environment or the cane juice. This fermentation takes place in open vats and can last 1 to 2 weeks. Smaller distilleries, especially in Haiti, still use this technique.

2. Controlled (batch) fermentation. Generally done in batches, this fermentation makes use of yeasts grown in labs and then placed in contact with the sugary liquid. Certain distilleries maintain and grow their own yeasts which they guard over like factory brand names. This type of fermentation lasts 2 or 3 days and makes it possible to ensure consistent alcohol levels and aromatic qualities.

3. Controlled (continuous) fermentation. This method developed in industrial rum production and consists of keeping a fermentation vat full at all times and adding molasses to it. This keeps the yeasts active and involves removing a quantity of must from different places where sugars have already been digested by yeasts.

3

CHOOSING THE STILL
In common with a great many other spirits, rum can be distilled using continuous column stills or batch stills (the more traditional producers).

The choice between these is often influenced by the colonial histories of the various countries. In fact, former British or French colonies still generally use copper batch stills, while former Spanish colonies tend to use column stills. The type of rum made is largely the result of the distilling method chosen. The heavier rums are frequently the product of batch stills (for a rum whose heart is obtained at 68 to 70 degrees) and the lighter rums are made using column stills (the spirit is obtained at over 90 degrees, leaving very little room for the more intense volatile compounds).

A) Batch distilling: this technique requires stopping stills frequently for cleaning purposes, with stills being left unused between distilling sessions. This is the most traditional method and, as we might imagine, the one which produces the highest quality at the expense of the speeds dictated by industrial production rhythms.

B) Column or continuous distilling: frequently equipped with two or four columns which fill up automatically, this type of distilling does not need to be stopped once columns are full. Made up of various concentration plates around which the vapors circulate, this technique enables rum aroma profiles to be controlled and targeted. The less intense vapors are thus those which get to the last column plate. The heavier ones remain on the lower plates.

C*) Multi-column distilling, on the other hand, is used to make industrial quality spirits. It enables production to be constant, with liters and liters of rum being made without a break and with the columns being filled continually, the distillation plants increasingly resembling oil refineries rather than distilleries.

*Spirit Academy does NOT sell rums made using multi-column distilling as we believe that these are soulless and spiritless, serving only for mass consumption.

4

AGEING
There is no legal framework for rum ageing and the appellations attached to it, and thus these vary from producer to producer. Whilst it is true that ageing takes place primarily in barrels previously used for Bourbon, barrels used for Cognac and new oak barrels are also sometimes used.

Maturation, whilst rare, is done by European bottlers and distributors in Banyul, Port, Xérès or Madeira barrels. There is no minimum period and few rums are more than 8 or 12 years old. Aged at their production site, barrels of rum are subjected to extreme climatic conditions resulting in high levels of evaporation.

The evaporation issue: ageing conditions in the Caribbean’s tropical climate are unusual ones.

As oak is permeable to alcohol molecules, which are themselves hydrophilic, the combination of a high temperature and significant humidity levels leads to evaporation and more rapid ageing. In a tropical climate, ageing means an annual loss of 6-8% of barrel contents, as compared to 2% in temperate climates such as those of Scotland or Ireland. This means that only 65% of the contents of a barrel have survived after 5 years of ageing and this drops to around 45% after 10 years and 36% after 15 years. In Scotland it would take 55 years for this to happen. But whilst evaporation is significant, the ageing process is such tropical climates is very real.

Two years of Caribbean ageing corresponds to 6-8 years of Scottish ageing. A range of solutions for this evaporation problem which do not risk jeopardizing rum’s DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) status have been sought. There are two opposing camps: the supporters of ageing in the country of origin and those in favor of taking advantage of Europe’s slower esterification and oxidization processes.

«The main rum styles by country»

Rum can be made anywhere in the world, but the most prestigious rums come from the Caribbean and Latin America.

The Caribbean’s historic legacy has led to three colonially influenced rum types: Spanish, British and French. This influence is felt in the names given to rums and has led to three characteristic styles developing. The rons made in Cuba, Guatemala, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Columbia and Venezuela – and thus Spanish in tradition – are made from molasses and distilled in column stills. They are smooth and gentle in character, with maturation in barrels previously used for Spanish wines or port.

Rums made in Jamaica and the islands of Grenada, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Trinidad or the Demerara area of Guyana – and thus of British origin – have retained their copper batch still traditions. More robust and characteristic in flavor, they are mainly made from molasses. One of the most appealing families of rum is Navy Rum, which has been distributed to seafarers every day for over three centuries.

France is the only country to have introduced a legal framework regulating rum production and appellations to its overseas territories: the French Antilles, Guadalupe, Martinique and Marie-Galante are all known for both their agricultural or z’habitant rums made from fermented and distilled pure sugar cane juice and for their traditional rums, in contrast to Reunion which produces both of these in addition to a tangibly British-influenced Grand Arôme rum.

«Great rum categories»

The lack of thoroughgoing legislation means that rum ageing and its appellations vary from one producer to the next. Thus, traditional rum can be made either from vesou (cane juice) or molasses. Despite this, as regards the French overseas territories, the term ‘traditional’ applies to rums with an impurity rate (TNA) of 225g/HAP or over.

Traditional rums can be split up into two large categories on the basis of the way they are made:

THE AGRICULTURAL RUMS
Obtained by distilling fresh sugar cane juice and made primarily in the French Antilles, agricultural rums, also called z’habitant rums, developed from the second half of the 19th century onwards, when sugar prices declined.

Agricultural Rums selection ›

RUMS MADE FROM MOLASSES
Developed from the residues of cane sugar production after the juice has been concentrated via heating and the elimination of impurities (molasses, as we have seen) such rums can take the ‘industrial rum’ appellation if they are made via direct fermentation or the Grand Arôme rum appellation (TNA > 500g/HAP) if the fermentation takes place in the presence of ‘vinasse’ (liquids left over from rum distilling) and if they are made in certain geographical areas (Martinique, Jamaica and Reunion).

Scopri la selezione Rum di melassa ›

OLD RUMS: for the ‘rum vieux’ appellation, rums must age for a minimum of three years in oak barrels.

WHITE RUMS, on the other hand, made from either vesou or molasses, are an excellent base for cocktails. Many have alcohol levels of over 40% and are put in steel vats or large barrels for several weeks for more rounded flavors. There are also white rums from countries (Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua) in which rums are required to have been aged three years in barrels (4 in Nicaragua) and are active carbon filtered to remove their color. The result is white rums with the aromas of amber-colored rums.

AMBER RUMS: (these generally remain in oak barrels – generally previously used for Bourbon – for 18 months, but their color can also be the result of caramel or syrups.

DARK RUMS these are encompassed within the tasting rum category. They are the outcome of 2 or more years in oak barrels. For rums aged at their production site, climatic conditions mean that 4 years in oak barrels suffices to make an old rum with a complex aroma profile.

Some rum bottlers make single vintage bottlings matured in original barrels which are exotic to various degrees. Primarily inherited from the whisky industry, this practice is no guarantee of rum quality as the single vintage notion does not exist. As far as maturing is concerned, its value is a direct result of the skill of the master distiller.

SPICED RUMS: these are the result of spices (ginger, cinnamon, etc.) and flavorings macerated in white rum, producing a variety of aromas and flavors for all tastes.

Of all alcoholic drinks, rum definitely has the widest ranging tasting potential. Whilst white rums are much in demand for cocktail making, some offer a wealth of aromas which lend themselves well to tasting all the same. Highly aromatic rums can go very well indeed with fruit juice aromas.

However, the higher the impurity (TNA) rate, the more aromatic the rum, and such rums merit tasting alone rather than mixing.

White agricultural rums fall into this category. Certain Jamaican white rums are also worthy of note, despite being made from molasses but distilled in batch stills. The dark rums are the best suited to tasting pure in cognac balloon glasses. Thus, the phase ‘never judge a book by its cover’ is true of both rums and whiskies and an amber color is not synonymous with quality. In the absence of serious legislation, abuses are rife in this category of drinks (sadly) and labels are sometimes misleading for the purposes of considered choices. French rums are the ones that fare best, as they are subject to more stringent and effective legislation.

«The Gargano Classification»

It is universally acknowledged that the rum market is a huge success story at the present moment. But a significant element in this success is the enormous number of brands and this is engendering considerable confusion about what rum actually is. This risks making this success a short term one.

The rum label comprises rums made in distilleries, rums that are only brand names, private labels, rums aged in tropical or continental European climates. No true distinctions are made between the various categories (apart from AOC agricultural rhums). Velier was the first firm to establish the concept of three different ‘styles’ to distinguish between Latin American rums, British rums and French rums on the European market over 20 years ago. This was useful at the time but is a little incoherent now. Velier continues to work for the adoption of a single language across all categories within the rum community and trading world. We believe that rum’s long-term success will require bringing these huge differences out into the open, for both products and producers.

This classification was created in 2015 by Velier’s owner Luca Gargano, and promoted together with Richard Seale from the Foursquare distillery (Barbados). It is based on distilling method, the only thoroughgoing method capable of comprising all types of rum. It was designed to act not as a quality distinction but rather as an objective classification method to raise the credibility and value of rum as a whole.

The first distinction is raw materials: sugar cane juice, syrup and molasses.

1. On the first level of the diagram below are Pure Single Rums distilled in batch stills, a guarantee of raw material yield and distiller know-how.

2. Single Blended Rums are on the second level, a mixture of rums distilled in column and batch stills.

3. On the third level Traditional Rums are distilled in traditional single or double column stills.

4. The fourth level consists of rums made in large volumes with modern multi-column distilling systems which, as we have seen, produce soulless industrial rums which we do not deal with at Spirit Academy.

This classification can only be applied to rums stating the distillery they were made in, whether these are original bottlers from the distilleries themselves or independent bottlers.

Rums which do not declare their distillery of provenance are impossible to classify because we have no information on how they were made or where they come from (the country of origin is not enough)!!!

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