The role of sugar cane

We cannot talk about the production of rum without first talking about sugar cane.

Originally cultivated for its sugar production, sugarcane is a plant that is 2.50 to 6 meters high and 1.5 to 6 cm in diameter. It contains about 14% sucrose, 14% fiber. The rest is water. It can be of very varied colors and has leaves that can measure up to 1.50 m. The cultivation cycle can last from 4 to more than 10 years (before having to replant).

Cutting is done by machine or by hand (steep regions and/or cheap labor) and it is harvested once a year (twice in particular geographic areas such as Hawaii).
It is a plant that does not tolerate cold well. It is therefore grown in inter-tropical zones or in some more temperate countries that do not experience frost. Furthermore, once cut, the cane must be used within 36 hours (in practice for agricultural rum it is often within 24 hours).

Sugarcane accounts for 25% of world agriculture. From the cane juice we make ethanol for engines, cane sugar, and rum.

To learn more, we have written a more comprehensive article on the history of sugarcane .

Don't worry, we're not going to talk to you about ethanol and it's the sweet beverage that is rum that we're going to focus on now...

How is rum made?

Rum is made either directly from pressed cane juice (or vesou), or from molasses, a residue from the sugar industry.

Molasses, highly concentrated in sugar, has the advantage of also being preserved at low temperatures. It is both to use this waste from sugar manufacturing which we do not know what else to do with, and because molasses preserves well, that more than 90% of the world's rum production is made from molasses.

The two main ways to make rum

^1st way, agricultural rum

The vesou (fresh cane juice) is left to ferment for 2-3 days, generally with wild yeasts, in the purest tradition (Haiti), or with the addition of industrial yeasts (well, wild+industrial in this case because yeasts are found everywhere in the ambient air). The yeasts transform the sugar into alcohol to form a "cane wine". It is this wine or must obtained, which is 5-6°, that is then distilled. This gives a little less than 100 liters of 55° rum per ton of cane, a figure that varies depending on the sugar content of the cane.

The main characteristic of agricultural rum, a true cane brandy, is a great freshness that rises to the nostrils as soon as you bring your nose close to the glass.

To learn more, we invite you to read the following article to understand the importance of cane and terroir for this type of rum.

Countries: Guadeloupe , Martinique, Haiti , Mauritius…

^2nd way, molasses or candy rum

Before discussing the production of molasses rum, we must understand the refining of sugar. The cane juice, instead of fermenting as for agricultural rum, is immediately heated until crystals, sugar, are obtained. The water evaporates and it is the solid residue that is not transformed, also very loaded with sugar, which is called molasses.

The molasses can then be transported to another distillery, possibly in temperate latitudes such as in New England in the ^18th century for example, or processed on site in the rum distillery/distillery attached to the sugar refinery.

The molasses is then diluted in water, placed in a fermentation tank for a period that can range from 24 hours for light rums intended to constitute a neutral base for cocktails, to 12 days for "grand arôme" type rums (a specialty of the Galion sugar factory in Martinique) intended for cooking or to be mixed with other less aromatic rums, or to be tasted as is, as for Jamaican rums.

At the end of these different stages, the sugar is transformed into alcohol, the wine obtained is distilled and molasses rum is obtained.

We can also produce, more anecdotally, rum from battery syrup, cane honey or even cane syrup ( Botran for example).

Agricultural or molasses rum: What do these two types of rum have in common?

Distillation

Whether for agricultural or sugar rum, you can use a "Jamaica" type pot still which allows you to reuse the heads (80°) and tails (5-8°) from previous distillations, or a column still (single or double).

Aging carried out in tropical latitudes, particularly in the Caribbean, is restrictive because the angels' share, due to the heat, is much higher there than in Scotland or France for example (around 7%/year vs. 1-2% in temperate latitudes).

If you want to learn more about this topic, check out our article on distillation .

The traffic jam

Rum can be bottled as is, straight from the still, but after a few weeks in brewing vats in order to be more harmonious and to get rid of its alcohol vapors: this is white rum (85% of world production).

It can also, of course, be aged in barrels.

The reduction

In general, rum is reduced (with spring water) to reach a given strength, often 40° for old or white and light rums (Spanish type) and 50° or 55° for white agricultural rum, before bottling. But connoisseurs often prefer raw cask bottlings (natural strength, for old rums, straight from the cask).

For "marketing" reasons, molasses rum, especially Spanish or, a little more rarely, English, is sometimes tinted by the addition of caramel (up to 0.5%). From the point of view of the collective unconscious, the darker a rum is, the older it is and the better it is. In reality, it is not that simple...

Aging

Aging in barrels (or maturation) allows the following effects to be produced on the rum:
– subtractive (roundness)
– additives (tannins and phenolic compounds)
– interactive (with the surrounding environment, for example tropical aromas or sea salt)

It is carried out in tuns, often 600 litres, or in barrels of around 200 litres. Most of the time the barrels used, as for the ageing of Scotch whisky, are old bourbon barrels. Indeed, American legislation formally stipulates that bourbon must be aged in new barrels. This is why the reuse of these barrels quickly became established, giving rise to intense commercial traffic. We also use, more rarely, old cognac, port or wine barrels.

To go further, you can head to our article on the art of aging rums .

Quite recently a fashion for "finishes", which we also know on the Scottish single malt side, has appeared. This involves aging the rum for a few months in slightly atypical casks, at the end of the process. In the French Antilles, it was HSE who started down this path. A little later JM released Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados "finishes". But traditional Spanish-type rums also do them (for example Cañero, Dominican Republic).

The tasting

Old and very old rums are best enjoyed dry, while white rum is a prime ingredient for making cocktails (ti punch, mojito, etc.).

However, increasingly, amber rums, VO or VSOP, are used as a base for cocktails, while some particularly aromatic whites are enjoyed neat (Neisson, Bielle, Longueteau, etc.).

To learn more about how to taste rum (which glass to choose and the different steps) we invite you to read our article on tasting rum .

To learn more about cocktails and get some simple recipes recommended by great professionals, you can consult the interviews we gave to mixology aces: Danilo Grenci , Guillaume Drouot and Joseph Akhavan.

The regulation

The legislation is generally not very restrictive. Nothing at the global level, weak at the European level (must be obtained by distillation of products derived from sugar cane), more restrictive at the French level: to obtain the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), which only Martinique rum has to date, the rum must have 225 grams of non-alcohol per hectoliter of pure alcohol, 325 for old rums, called thus as soon as they are aged at least 3 years in barrels with a maximum capacity of 650 liters. This designation also guarantees a high level of product traceability, which is not the case everywhere.

The different styles of rum

There are three main styles of rum: French, English and Spanish.

French style (rum)

The French style is an agricultural rum made from cane juice, mainly produced in the French West Indies, with a fresh nose characteristic of sugar cane, fine and complex. These rums have won numerous awards at the Concours Général Agricole in Paris.

White rum

White rum has a nose marked by fresh cane of course, but also, often, and to varying degrees, by fresh butter, ripe banana, exotic fruits, hay, blond tobacco, aromas of pastry, tea, honey... In the mouth the finish is often long.

Amber rum

Amber rum, also called "aged under wood", is an intermediate category that is mainly used in the world of agricultural rum. This rum spends a few months (less than 3 years) in oak barrels and is halfway between white rum and old rum. It retains the freshness of the cane while taking on a golden color and light woody and spicy aromas. It is quite sweet and allows you to do without cane sugar syrup for the ti'punch.

Old rum

Old rum, on the other hand, has a more varied profile depending on the vintages, so it is difficult to generalize. However, there are a certain number of recurring aromas, such as spices, wood, dried fruits, orange and tobacco. The finish is generally long and dry in the mouth.

English style (rum)

White rum

English-style white rums are generally quite rare. You may find some aged rums from which the color has been removed by carbon filtration.

On the other hand, Jamaican white rums are a category in their own right. These ultra-aromatic (but not flavored) rums are the result of long fermentations and are capable of enhancing any type of cocktail thanks to their fruity notes. Among them is the Overproof category, rums with a very high proof.

Old rum

Old English-style rums often have a high level of non-alcoholic elements (up to 2000/HLAP – HectoLitre of Pure Alcohol – for some Jamaican rums): heavy, oily, spicy, sometimes with empyreumatic aromas (burnt, smoky, grilled, tarry such as Caroni) or even solvent aromas (Jamaica). It doesn't sound appealing when you explain it, but it can be very good...

Spanish style (ron)

White rum

English and Spanish styles share some common characteristics when it comes to white rums: based on molasses, light white rums have an ethereal nose, with licorice and sulfur notes. On the palate it is dry, a little acidic, with sometimes sulfur and a short and subtle finish. They actually contain few non-alcoholic elements and thus constitute a "neutral" base for cocktails.

"Real" white (i.e. unaged) Spanish-style rums are very rare; they are more likely to be rums aged 1 to 3 years from which the color has been removed by filtration.

Old rum

Old rums are sweet, often with notes of vanilla and empyreumatic aromas (but this time more caramel, chocolate, pastry, toast, etc.).

There are very often – but not always – additions of sugar and flavorings for taste, and caramel for color.

Brazilian rum or cachaça

Finally, cachaça is the Brazilian rum, regulated by stricter legislation: pure cane juice, between 38 and 48°. Sometimes, it is distilled directly to the right alcohol content, without reduction. In general, it is not aged and is used a lot in the production of caipirinha. When it is aged, it is often in exotic woods. It is less well-known than rum because it is mainly intended for the local market (only 1% of production is exported), but its subtle cane aroma is worth discovering.

Other rum-based drinks, such as rum liqueur, rum cream or rum liqueur

Which rum to choose: some advice on which rum(s) to start with

In practice, here is a necessarily limited and reductive list of rums which successfully represent their category and which you should have tasted at least once:

French style, white agricultural rums

Neisson, HSE vintages for example the 2016 vintage, Clément Canne Bleue (Martinique), Rhum Rhum et Bielle (Marie-Galante), clairins (Haiti), Longueteau 62° (Guadeloupe).

These are also the rums that we generally use to make our homemade rum mix .

French style, amber rums

Neisson's 105 profile already has everything of an old one, the golden Depaz is an ally of the Ti'punch and the HSE aged in wood has a slight taste of apple.

French style, old agricultural rums

HSE, Neisson (again), JM, the Trois Rivières vintages (for Martinique), Rhum Rhum and Bielle again (Marie-Galante).

English style, white rums

Jamaicans such as Rum nation Jamaica White Pot still , Worthy Park Rum Bar

English style, old rums

If for Trinidad, Jamaica or Guyana we recommend that you favor independent bottlers (Velier, Silver Seal, Mezan, La Compagnie de Indes, etc.), for Barbados the Foursquare distillery is a safe bet (no added sugar or caramel) with the brands RL Seale's, Foursquare and Doorly’s

White Spanish Style

Cuban Rum

Old Spanish style

Abuelo, Botran, and some special rums from independent bottlers who do not add (or not too much) sugar and caramel like Rum Nation Peruano 8 years, Plantation Guatemala or Mezan Chiriqui.

To learn more

We invite you to consult our little encyclopedia of rum , as well as, for the more courageous, the excellent work History of Rum .

Olivier and Nico, from the Rhum Attitude team