Rum is the People’s Spirit: What you really need to know about Rum

North Point Spiced Rum and North Point Pilot Rum

It’s approachable and easy to drink; it varies in ABV; it’s made in almost every country in the world; it’s perfectly sipped neat or mixed into cocktails; and there is guaranteed to be a flavour profile for every one in this massive spirit category.

I can hear you asking, “What exactly is Rum?”

In essence, it’s a spirit made from sugar cane – a tall and hard grass that grows in both tropical and subtropical regions all around the world. The spirit is distilled from fermented sugar cane juice or a byproduct of sugar cane juice, such as molasses. Due to the very limited shelf-life of sugar cane juice, about 80% of the world’s Rum is made from the incredibly shelf-stable molasses. 

The flavour profile of Rum varies depending on many factors – and I will tell you right from the start, the colour has nothing to do with it whatsoever. 

Currently, Rums are mostly categorised as White, Light or Gold, and Dark, but these are wildly outdated and will tell you nothing about the flavour profile of any given Rum. Why? Because colour can be removed or added. 

The rules surrounding the creation of Rum vary from country to country, just as Whisky does (though few are quite so strict), and for the most part, anything can be added to Rum for colouring, flavouring, or sweetening, so it’s really best to ignore the colour of a Rum completely and, instead, look for the answers to the following:

Where was it made?

What base does it use: sugar cane juice, molasses, something else?

What type of still was used?

Does it have an age statement?

Have botanicals or spices been used?

Have syrups or sugars been added?

What is the ABV?

All of these things will help you to predict the flavour profile of the Rum.

Country of origin will tell you a lot… sometimes. 

Because some countries have stricter rules than others, as well as unique methods and techniques, you can definitely use this information to predict flavour profiles. 

For instance, Rum created in Martinique, also known as Rhum Agricole Martinique, must be made from cold-pressed sugar cane juice from sugar cane grown in the region; it must be batch-fermented in open top containers for no longer than 72 hours; it must be distilled using column stills with at least 15 stripping plates, between 5 and 9 rectifying copper plates, and a water-cooled condenser; and finally, it must be bottled in Martinique or Guadeloupe, with only a minimal amount of caramel permitted to be added. They even have their own age categories which dictate the number of years it has spent in oak barrels.

Because of these rules, just from the country of origin, you can decipher the base type, the still type, that no botanicals or spices have been added, that caramel may have been added, and its approximate age. Unfortunately, though, most Rums will not provide quite as much information just from the country of origin. 

Sugar Cane Juice vs Molasses: do they taste different?

Very much so! Rums made using sugar cane juice will present as more earthy, herbaceous, and vegetal, whereas Rums made using molasses will be richer in flavour, with caramel, fruity, and tropical notes. 

Stills: column vs pot.

Rums distilled in pot stills will be more robust, fuller bodied, and more textural, whereas column stills will provide lighter, more delicate, and cleaner rums.

The age of the Rum.

Rums that have an age statement will tell you how much cask influence to expect, and bonus points if they tell you in which kind of cask(s) the Rum was aged – on the whole, you can expect fruitier flavours from wine and sherry casks, and more tropical flavours from whisky casks, but char and peat may come into play as well as any number of flavours from brandy, tequila, taru sake, or ale casks, just to name a few. 

Spiced and Flavoured Rums

Rums with flavour additions like botanicals or spices can generally be expected to have notes that reflect its ingredients (coffee, cinnamon, coconut, vanilla, etc), though some botanicals when distilled present differently than expected – for example, gorse can come across as coconut when distilled. 

Syrups are also frequently used to flavour Rums, which will simultaneously flavour and sweeten the final product. 

While we’re talking about sweetness, Rum is not inherently sweet. Even though Rum is made from sugar cane, the actual sugar from that ingredient never makes it past distillation – and, in fact, all alcohol is made from sugar: sugar is what feeds the yeast during fermentation, leaving behind alcohol (and CO2, but that’s for another day!). It’s why sweet or starchy ingredients are used to make alcohol – think potatoes, grapes, agave, grains, apricots... The reputation of sweetness that Rum has, comes mostly from the addition of sugar after distillation. 

And the addition of sugar can do a couple of things. Like water in Whisky, adding a bit of sugar to Rum can open up and amplify hidden flavours; however, adding sugar can also mask or hide volatile and harsh flavours. About the only thing you’ll know for sure if a Rum has added sugar: it’s going to be some degree of sweet. 

What does the ABV tell you?

Mostly it will tell you if it’s a Rum or a liqueur. To be classified as a Rum, the ABV (alcohol by volume) must be a minimum of 37.5% in the EU and UK, or 40% in the US. Anything lower, will be considered a spirit drink or a liqueur. 

Beyond that, a higher ABV will bring out the bolder and more complex flavours by increasing the extraction of aromatic compounds and enhancing the warming effect, while lower ABV Rums present themselves more gently on the palate.

North Point Distillery’s Rums are great examples of two rather different Rums with predictable flavour profiles. 

Pilot Rum is a 40% ABV Rum made from molasses; it’s double distilled in a pot still, and aged for 1-3 years in former Scotch Whisky barrels. From that description, you can predict caramel or butterscotch and tropical notes, as well as a textural mouthfeel, and with only a few short years of aging, a light wood/char and Whisky flavour from the cask influence. No chill or charcoal filtering means it retains the colour from the cask influence, and no added sweetener means any volatile notes have nowhere to hide, but the addition to a cocktail could open up some hidden notes. 

Spiced Rum, on the other hand, has the addition of botanicals, spices, and sugar and a slightly higher ABV of 43%. Like Pilot Rum, it has a molasses base and is double distilled in a pot still, so the robust and rich tropical and caramel notes are there. The addition of baking spices like cloves, cardamom, and star anise, as well as cacao and citrus, let you know exactly what to expect upfront. A post-distillation maceration of cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, and muscovado sugar infuses the final product with a rich brown colour and a natural sweetness that makes it easily sipped neat. 

So what should you take away from all of this?

A few things, really.

1. You should be reading the labels. They’re not just for decoration, and a lack of information will tell you just as much as the presence of information. Deciphering this can help you choose the right Rum for you;

2. Say it with me: Colour. Doesn’t. Mean. Anything; and 

3. You should be drinking more Rum; try different Rums as often as you can. It’s a worldwide spirit with a world’s worth of variance. Get curious about Rum and let it change how you enjoy spirits.

But mostly what you should take away from this: there absolutely is a Rum (if not a few Rums) out there for you. 

It is the people’s spirit after all. 

To get started on your Rum journey, head over to our webshop to purchase our North Point Spiced Rum and North Point Pilot Rum -- and let us know what you think!

Cheers,

Heather