Читать книгу Rum: More than 100 of the world’s best rums - Dominic Roskrow - Страница 7

Styles of rum

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.