proof – 40.0% ABV.
Some countries also demand that rum is matured in oak barrels for a minimum length of time.
White rum
White rum is the entry point for many people new to the rum category. In many cases it is young rum that mixes easily and is the base for mainstream rum cocktails. It is a category dominated by Bacardi, one of the world’s most successful spirit brands.
But if ever there was a drinks category that defied the idea that the darker a spirit, the more flavoursome and older it is, this is it. There are several examples of superior rums that are clear, and drinks experts predict that premium white rum is set to become a trendsetter in coming years. There are white rums that have been matured for several years and their colour, but not their superior taste, has been stripped out.
Golden rum
Of all spirits categories rum is quite possibly the most lawless, which is a status it is happy to keep, given its rebellious and wild image. So there is no formal definition of what a golden rum is, but it is regarded as a halfway house between white rums and dark rums, and will have benefitted from some ageing. It is generally considered to be more complex than many white rums.
Dark rum
Dark rum at its best refers to rum that has been aged for a considerable time, possibly in heavily charred oak barrels. Dark rum is designed to be consumed in the same way as a single malt whisky. Dark rums may be aged for many years. But the category also refers to the very sweet Demerara style of rum, most commonly associated with Guyana. This style formed the base for the rums served on Royal Navy ships and served in British pubs.
Spiced rum
Normally a spiced rum gets its flavours from spices being added after distillation. There are two reasons for this: firstly, distillation will remove much of the flavour of the spices; and secondly, because the spicy flavours left in the still will affect the taste of the next distillation. Spices used include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, citrus peel zest, and ginger.
Rhum agricole
Rhum agricole is rum made in the French Caribbean islands, produced from fermented sugarcane juice and with a distinctive, earthy and more grassy flavour than standard rum.
Cachaca
The national drink of Brazil is a form of rum distilled from fermented sugarcane juice.
Ableforth’s Rumbullion! 15 Years Old
PRODUCER: Atom Supplies
AREA OF ORIGIN: Tonbridge Wells, England
VARIETY: Spiced rum
ABV: 46.2%
WEBSITE: www.ableforths.com
Ableforth’s Rumbullion 15 Years Old is one of the most thrilling and outstanding rums on the market, not because it is the very best, or the coolest, or the most popular, or the most fun, but because it contains elements of all those attributes, making it a truly great all-rounder. Rumbullion!’s creators have a healthy, irreverent approach to the world of spirits, and there’s something very playful about this delicious-tasting rum. It is loaded with Christmas spices, tastes wonderful in a trifle, and as a stand-alone drink, having won the title of the world’s best spiced rum in the past. Packaging-wise, it’s as cool as rum gets. Like the original, the 15-year-old is a rich blend of vanilla, orange peel and fine spices, but the extra years give it an oaky, rich and more complex flavour. Excellent.
Ableforth’s Rumbullion! Navy-Strength
PRODUCER: Atom Supplies
AREA OF ORIGIN: Tonbridge Wells, England
VARIETY: Spiced rum
ABV: 57.0%
WEBSITE: www.ableforths.com
There are plenty of drinks authorities who think that rum is set for a place in the drinks spotlight. It has always been a favourite with bartenders because it mixes so well, but with many spirits drinkers turned off by the high price of single malt, there is a feeling that sipping and aged rums are ideally placed to take advantage of the desire for well made spirits with their own personality and with heritage and provenance. If there’s been a problem with the category it’s that the rules governing what is and isn’t rum are lax, and standards vary considerably across the sector. Rumbullion! Navy-Strength has no such worries. This version isn’t just greater in strength, it’s bigger in flavour, too. Cardamom and cloves join the orange and vanilla hit of its sister expressions.
Admiral Vernon’s Old J Tiki Fire
PRODUCER: LWC
AREA OF ORIGIN: London, England
VARIETY: Golden spiced rum
ABV: 75.5%
WEBSITE: www.oldjspicedrum.co.uk
This super strength rum is ironically named, because Admiral Edward Vernon weakened the strength of the daily rum ration from its Navy Strength of 57.0% ABV. Navy Strength is the strength of rum needed for gunpowder doused in it to catch fire when lit. Any weaker ABV meant that the rum or gin had been diluted. Not surprisingly, the men weren’t happy with the change, and when they complained Vernon told them to add lime and sugar to make the weaker grog more palatable. That’s what’s happening here. Lime, vanilla and sugar mark out this rum, as well as a strong spicy note. Old J Tiki Fire is a high-strength version of Old J Spiced Rum, and the added strength means that Old J Tiki Fire makes its presence felt in a whole host of rum-based cocktails. Obviously not to be consumed neat.
PRODUCER: Alnwick Rum Company
AREA OF ORIGIN: Alnwick, England
VARIETY: White rum
ABV: 37.5%
WEBSITE: www.lindisfarne-mead.co.uk/AlnwickRum
Alnwick – pronounced Ann-ick – is a small town in Northumberland, in the far North East of England. Offshore is Lindisfarne, an island that is home to monks, countless seabirds, and alcohol production, especially mead. The Alnwick Rum Company fits right in here, and has successfully made dark rums that are