Rum

Rum is the spirit of sunshine, beaches, and little paper umbrellas. It is also one of the most varied spirits on the shelf, running from light and crisp to dark and syrupy.

What is it?

Rum is distilled from sugarcane, usually from molasses, the thick syrup left over from making sugar. A smaller group, often labeled rhum agricole, is made from fresh-pressed cane juice. Rum is made all over the world, and the rules vary a lot from country to country, so labels are not always consistent.

How is it made?

Sugarcane juice, cane syrup, or molasses is fermented and then distilled. From there, the rum may be bottled right away, rested in barrels, blended with other rums, or flavored with spices.

What does it taste like?

Even when it is not sweet, rum smells sweet. Light rums can be grassy and clean. Aged and dark rums lean toward brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, banana, and baking spice.

What are the main styles?

  • White or silver. Light, clean, and lightly aged or unaged. The mixing workhorse.
  • Gold or aged. Spent time in barrels, which adds color and mellow, toasty flavor.
  • Dark and black. Rich and molasses-heavy. Color may come from long aging, added molasses, or caramel.
  • Spiced. Flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, clove, and similar spices, and often sweetened.
  • Coconut. Rum sweetened and flavored with coconut. Many brands are around 21% ABV, about half the strength of regular rum, so they behave more like a liqueur. Some, like Malibu Black, are stronger.
  • Overproof. Bottled well above 50% ABV. Use sparingly and never near an open flame.

When would you use each style?

Use white rum in bright drinks like the Daiquiri and Mojito. Use gold or dark rum in punches, with ginger beer, or for sipping. Spiced rum loves cola and ginger ale. Coconut rum belongs in tropical drinks with pineapple.

Which mixers work well, and why?

Rum’s natural sweetness pairs beautifully with something tart: lime above all, plus pineapple and orange juice. Cola and ginger beer match the deeper caramel notes of darker rums, and coconut goes with almost any rum.

What can you substitute?

  • Gold rum for white rum: works fine, with a richer, toastier result.
  • White rum for coconut rum: coconut rum is sweeter and weaker, so a straight swap makes a stronger, drier drink. Use less rum and add a little coconut cream or simple syrup.
  • Dark rum for black rum: a close match. Add a few drops of molasses if you want that extra depth.

Did you know?

Heat speeds up aging. Rum resting in a warm Caribbean warehouse picks up barrel flavor much faster than whiskey resting in a cool Scottish one, so a young tropical rum can taste older than its age statement suggests. The warmth also makes more of it evaporate through the barrel. Distillers call that lost portion the “angels’ share.”

Try it yourself