Rum buyers guide for beginners

So you want to buy some lovely rum? Well, listen now, to what we say in our complete guide to buying rum for beginners! Lend us your ears/eyes/whatever and let us guide you through the process…

Author: Emma Symons
Time: Reading time 10 minutes

Why should I buy rum?

How is rum produced?Rum producing nations of the world

Why should I buy rum?

Did you know?

What is rum made of?

Rhum traditional / traditional rum

Rhum Agricole

Spiced rum

Flavoured rum

Different styles of rum

How is rum produced?

What are the main types of rum?

Different types of rum

Rum producing nations of the world

Historically, of course, rum was made where sugarcane was cultivated and traded. In his second voyage at the tail end of the 15th century, Christopher Colombus brought sugarcane to the Caribbean and the New World, starting with Hispaniola (present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). European colonists then spread and cultivated sugar crops around the Caribbean, and thus its past is linked with the trade routes and navies of the three most powerful empires of the day: Spain, Britain, and France.

This burgeoning sugar trade meant a great deal of leftover molasses (a byproduct from sugar production). The molasses were put to use, being fermented and then distilled, and rum as we know it was born. Hundreds of years later, the Caribbean remains home to the majority of the world’s rum distilleries. Barbados, said to be the first producer of the spirit, even has operational distilleries which date all the way back to the 18th century.