Spirits 101: Rum

Wednesdays on the BottleBlog will feature an education session on wine, beer or spirits. Today, Shannon Spare discusses rum.

My husband and I got married in July of 2006, and we took our honeymoon in Negril, Jamaica. I had always loved rum, but it was the week I spent there that really began my love interest with the spirit. Since that trip, I've returned to Jamaica twice, and also vacationed to the Dominican Republic, another country where rum rules.

Rum is a sweet spirit that is made, aptly, from sugarcane and aged in oak barrels, typically. Yeast is added to the sugarcane to begin the fermenting process. Most rum producers use very specific strains of yeast so that the resulting liquor can be easily controlled in terms of consistency of color and flavor.

Most rum is generally aged for at least a year. How the rum is aged is where the rum gets its color: Dark rums are aged in oak casks, where a rum that is aged in a stainless steel cask remains clear.

Rum's origins are from the early 17th century, slaves from plantations in the Caribbean discovered that alcohol could be made by fermenting molasses (which is derived from sugarcane). Today, most of the world's rum is still made in the Caribbean and Latin America, and less often in other parts of the world including Australia and parts of India. Most likely, the word rum is derived from the Latin word for sugar: saccharum.

There are a few different types of rum, and each has its own distinct flavor and personality. Light rums have a very mild flavor with a great sweetness, which makes it perfect as the main ingredient in so many delicious frozen and chilled beverages. Spiced rums are rums that are flavored with, you guessed it, spices, and in some cases, caramel. Most rum drinkers are well acquainted with "The Captain," Captain Morgan, one of the more popular spiced rums. Dark rum has intense flavors of molasses or caramel, and is used in cocktails to add depth or color. Dark rum is also the most popular rum to use while cooking. Flavored rums have become immensely popular. As you browse the rum aisle at Joe Canal's, you'll see a vast array of fruit and other flavors that add a twist to juices, sodas and frozen cocktails. For me, Parrot Bay or Malibu it's a welcome addition to diet coke for a change once in a while. And while standard rum is generally 40% alcohol or lower, overproof rums are much higher in their alcohol content, up to 80%!

Traditionally, my first drink I order when I'm on vacation is a Dirty Banana, a refreshing frozen cocktail that includes white rum, cream, coffee liqueur, simple syrup and a whole banana. I've yet to be able to duplicate that at home, there's just something about the feel of the Caribbean breeze in my hair and white sand between my toes that makes the drink taste better.