There isn’t a spirit class as globally numerous and diverse as rum. Produced all over the place from Mexico to Fiji, its spectrum of taste is unmatched, starting from light-bodied, grassy and dry rums, to tannic, sturdy variations bursting with overripe tropical fruit. Exactly due to this range of favor, rum might be as daunting as it’s thrilling, rising solely extra so with each new launch.
“There’s extra good rum at an incredible worth accessible to the typical shopper than ever earlier than,” says Kevin Beary, beverage director at Three Dots and a Sprint in Chicago. This proliferation of latest rums, nevertheless, has indirectly translated into a greater understanding of the nuances of the class for the typical drinker. “Rum is an insanely numerous umbrella class, with myriad subcategories and appellations, DOCs and technical manufacturing variables—it makes it endlessly discoverable and attention-grabbing, but additionally very laborious to outline, talk and pigeonhole,” says Jim Wrigley, beverage supervisor at Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa in Grand Cayman.
The stark distinction between kinds of rum is way higher than that between, say, bourbon and rye. Even from the identical nation of origin, there might be important variation relying on the uncooked materials used (sugar cane juice, molasses or each), the fermentation, distillation and growing older strategies, and whether or not or not there are components within the bottle (e.g., caramel coloring, sugar, and so on.). Starting to know how these variables impression a rum’s taste makes navigating the ocean of rums that a lot simpler.
In contrast to whiskey, the place a single bottle can cowl most traditional cocktails, having just one rum stocked is akin to relying solely on a paring knife within the kitchen. “When beginning your property bar, I might counsel an incredible bottle of evenly aged rum in your Daiquiris and Mojitos, a bottle of well-aged rum [for spirit-forward serves] and a navy-strength or overproof rum [for tiki cocktails],” says Kyle Jones, proprietor and managing director at Bon Vivants within the Bahamas. To spherical up a few of the important rums for mixing in cocktails, we’ve requested an array of rum-loving bartenders from world wide to advocate their go-tos.
