Once so important that the British Navy gave every sailor a half-pint a day ration, Rum is a spirit distilled from molasses (a byproduct of the sugar manufacture). There are a few instances where Rum is made from straight cane juice.

Rum is produced just about any where people grow sugar cane, but it’s true home lies in the West Indies. The style of Rum differs from island to island, with lighter rums coming from Spanish speaking islands, darker from English speaking islands and cane juice based from the French speaking islands.

Three Main Rum Styles

White / Silver rum –  un-aged and are create base for many cocktails.

Gold rum is barrel aged in American Oak (used bourbon barrels) giving it more flavor and character than un-aged rums. In some cases, coloring and molasses are added, to imitate actual time in the barrel.

Dark rum is aged the longest in heavily charred barrels. This type of rum is synonymous with Jamaica and Bermuda, but some very fine Dark Rums are now being produced in Nicaragua and Honduras. Dark Rum is also used in cooking quite often. Once again, coloring is sometimes used to imitate age.

Yet another type is rhum agricole, typically made in the French West Indies, is made from made from pure sugar cane juice instead of molasses. It may be a bit rougher than your molasses based Rum.

There are also several other types of rum including Naval, Spiced Rum, flavored and the oh-so-scary 151, which is an over proof rum. Many distilleries are also making super premium Rums that compete with fine cognac and whiskeys.

Rum Reviews

Rum Drink Recipes