| The rich roasted nut, smoky wood and tobacco flavors found in some dark, aged rums may draw you toward the rum shelf, but there is a lot more to discover. As you proceed on your journey of discovery you’ll notice the nuances of coconut and fruit in the light bodied palate of clear rums, or the aroma and taste of freshly cut sugar cane in rhum agricole. Or maybe you’ll prefer the unbridled flavor of cachaça – the spirit of Brazil.
Just as the language, dress and food of the different rum producing countries varies so does their rum and how it is enjoyed. As you are introduced to different rums take the time to learn about the distillery and country where it’s made. There’s a wealth of information available from the internet and the more you know about the spirit in your glass you more you will appreciate it.
The history of my favorite spirit is irrevocably tied to legends of sailing ships, piracy, navies and smuggling. In the second half of the 18th century more than 100 New England distilleries were busy turning West Indies molasses into the rum and St Pierre, Martinique was the Paris of the West Indies. When the British Parliament passed the Molasses Act and decreed that their fledgling colonists could only transport molasses in British ships from British West Indies islands the stage was set. The Boston Tea Party destroyed British tea but the night was fueled with rum, the new tax on molasses would affect local industry but the tea in Boston Harbor belonged to English merchants.
France, whose West Indian colonies were denied a market for their molasses, allied with their colonial trading partners to the north and provided gunpowder and arms to the new nation. The last naval battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in the Caribbean between the English island of Dominica and the French island of Guadeloupe.
For more than three centuries navies around the world mandated that sailors were to be given rum as part of their daily ration. Grog, a mixture of rum, lime and sugar is named for a sailing admiral who wore a grogram coat to battle. Those ingredients form the basis of many classic and modern rum cocktails. The rum punch is based on five ingredients: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak, add some spice and make it nice to make a West Indian rum punch.
Trader Vic built a legendary bar business on the lure of the South Pacific motif but he went to the Caribbean for his rum. The origin of sugar cane can be traced to Papau New Guinea but sugar cane and molasses spirits are made around the equator and beyond. But it is the Caribbean basin that is known as the world’s rum barrel and the undisputed home of the best rums in the world.
There are rums to be enjoyed before a meal, with the meal and others to be enjoyed after a meal. Some rums are made to be mixed while others are best slowly savored after being mixed only with the company of friends.
Many aficionados are looking for the oldest rum on the shelf, but experienced rum lovers know that much of the allure of sugar cane spirits is their diversity. Some of my favorite rums are aged for years in oak barrels in the tropics but other rums on my list of favorites were distilled to be enjoyed before they are aged at all.
The diversity of sugar cane spirits available today is just one of the reasons why rum is the fastest growing segment of the beverage alcohol industry. It won’t take you long to discover a few favorites among the outstanding rums on the shelves of your local store and there are new sugar cane spirits coming to the market almost every month.
Along your journey, your taste and appreciation for my favorite spirit will evolve. Keep an open mind, and mouth, and I’m confident that you’ll find more to enjoy than you ever thought possible.
After more than a decade spent sailing the islands in search of the best of the distillers’ art I discovered that often the best rum was the one in my glass. Getting to know a new rum should be like getting to know a new lover. Indulge yourself, spend the night with it. In the morning you’ll know if your new acquaintance is something to pursue or to put back on the shelf.
 But by all means, enjoy your journey into the world of sugar cane spirits, get to know your local rum merchant, learn to read and understand the labels and reviews and learn to taste all there is to taste in the spirit you’re drinking. The internet is also an excellent resource for information on rums and reviews from people like yourself, whether you’re new to the rum locker or have spent years in the islands.
Just Google Rum.
Ed Hamilton
Minisitry Of Rum
www.MinistryOfRum.com
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