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?

Why rum? There are so many different spirits out there, so what does rum have to offer that the others don’t? First and foremost, see the above point about sunshine in a glass. We actually meant that. You see, the incredible thing about a spirit like rum, and particularly dark rum, is its ability to evoke memories and emotions. It can conjure up the feeling of that beach holiday where you and your mates had a few too many Mai Tais whilst the sun went down. Or maybe it was a night in town drinking Cuba Libres. Or perhaps it was in a cosy armchair sipping a beautifully aged dark rum from Guatemala or Guyana, putting the world to rights by a roaring fire.

Hopefully, that gives you an idea, too, of the versatility of rum, be it a sipping drink on its own or with a couple of ice cubes, mixed with cola or another mixer, or in all manner of cocktails. This is thanks, in part, to how well rum combines with fruit and other drinks, as well as the wide variety of styles of rum available (white rum, gold rum, dark rum, spiced rum, rhum agricole… you name it).

Did you know?

We have also written an 'Ultimate Guide to Rum' which has in depth content about all manner of things rum related.

What is rum made of?

Like all good spirits, rum’s flavour starts with the raw ingredients. In this case, sugarcane - a tall grass which takes somewhere between 10 and 24 months to reach maturity, and which thrives in the sun. The way the sugarcane is used depends largely on the style of rum…

Rhum traditional / traditional rum

Typically, in Spanish- and English-speaking parts of the world, it is a byproduct of sugar production, called “molasses,” which is the key ingredient in their rum. Places like Cuba, Bermuda, Jamaica and Barbados do it this way, making a spirit often described as “rhum traditional”, or “traditional rum”. Think of this as your standard rum.

Rhum Agricole

However, the French do things a little differently, so in the French Caribbean (places like Martinique, French Guiana, and Guadeloupe), pure sugarcane juice or “sugarcane honey” is used. This makes a style of rum known as Rhum Agricole, which is then distilled and aged much in the same way as Cognac. The result is unique, and quite herbal and complex.

Spiced rum

There’s also spiced rum. We have an excellent selection of spice rum. This can be fantastic when served with a mixer (like a nice spiced rum and cola made with The Kraken or Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum), or even served neat - Rumbullion! XO 15 Year Old is a great example.

Spiced rum is typically flavoured with ingredients like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, or creamy vanilla, with added sugar for sweetness.

Flavoured rum

Flavoured rum is a much smaller segment, but well worth a look, particularly if you are into your cocktails. Taking rum as the base, these are flavoured with everything from fruits like banana, cherry, or pineapple, to rich, sticky offerings imbued with caramel, coffee, or chocolate. We have a varied and affordable selection of flavoured rums, right here.

Different styles of rum

Below are examples of a traditional rum, a spiced rum, a flavoured rum, and a Rhum Agricole.

How is rum produced?

The base ingredient of choice, be it sugarcane juice or molasses, is then fermented, and distilled.

With rum, distillation takes place in either a pot still (exactly what you will see if you picture a still in your head), which gives a very rich, thick, sometimes funky flavour. Alternatively, there is the column or “continuous” still. This will give you a lighter, purer style of rum which can work wonders as a base in all manner of cocktails.

The final piece of the puzzle is ageing. Rum can be bottled either unaged, or aged, and when it’s aged, the maturation process arguably accounts for the majority of its flavour.

Just like most fine spirits, rum is aged in oak, either “virgin” oak (which has never seen booze before), or oak that previously held something else, be it bourbon, sherry, wine… the list goes on.

What are the main types of rum?

White rum

White rum is unaged, which makes it fresh, crisp, and bright, but also much less complex and flavourful. You could certainly drink it neat, but we typically recommend white rum as an ingredient in cocktails (anything from the classic Daiquiri, to incredibly decadent Tiki drinks, and everything in between), or in a highball. Add a splash of fresh lime juice and top with cola for a classic Cuba Libre - great as a summery refresher.

Gold rum

Gold rum is an interesting one, mainly because it’s not really a thing. Well, it exists (look at it - right in front of your eyes!). What we mean is, that there aren’t any real designations for what gold rum actually is. Put simply, it’s a rum that’s been aged in oak for a little (thus the colour and some flavour), but not a lot (which is why it has less of the richness and complexity from the wood). As vague as that is, gold rum is a key part of any well-stocked bar. And that’s because, while short, the ageing process does a lot to soften and balance the spirit. Subtle hints of spice, vanilla, caramel, and even citrus will start to shine through. All that makes gold rum a perfect ingredient in a Mojito, or a delicious Rum Swizzle.

Dark rum

Aged rum or dark rum gets its lovely rich colour, as well as its flavour, from the ageing process. Particularly in the tropics, where the wooden barrels really expand and contract throughout the day and night, the wood absorbs and, in turn, infuses the spirit with tannins, vanilla, spice, chocolate, coffee, fruit, and so much more. If the barrels were previously used to age another spirit, like bourbon, or perhaps a fortified wine like sherry, you will also pick up those flavours too. As you might expect, with all that rich, complex flavour, dark rum is a superb choice for sipping neat. It works as a great digestif after a good meal, or paired with dark chocolate or fruit, or even with a cigar. Of course, you can mix dark rum too, and its depth and intensity lend it nicely to heavier cocktails like a Dark and Stormy, a Corn ‘n’ Oil, or a Rum Old Fashioned.

Navy-strength rum

The final option has nothing to do with ageing at all, but more with the history of rum. For more than a century, the Royal Navy issued a daily rum ration, or “tot”, which amounted to one-eighth of an imperial pint (around 71ml) of rum. The rum was meted out between 11am and midday when the sailors would cry “Stand fast the Holy Ghost”, to which the bosun would call “Up Spirits”. This bizarre practice continued all the way up until the 31st of July 1970, a day known as “Black Tot Day”.

So what exactly does “navy-strength” rum mean? Well, imagine you’re sailing for weeks or even months, and are required to issue rum to an entire crew, every single day. That’s a lot of rum. Not only that, but it’s also a lot of liquid on board a vessel dependent on its stocks of gunpowder. Wet gunpowder could literally spell the difference between life and death… What you needed was a rum strong enough that, when mixed with gunpowder, the powder would still catch light. If a mix of gunpowder and rum would catch fire, the rum was deemed to be at least 100 degrees proof (roughly 57% abv). And there you have it - Navy Strength Rum.

Obviously, this is incredibly strong stuff, but it does have its uses. There are plenty of cocktails which really benefit from the added kick - a Navy Grog, for example, or you could use Pusser’s Navy Strength to make a delicious Painkiller.

Different types of rum

Terrific white, gold, dark, and navy strength rums are below!

Rum producing nations of the world

Why not explore and sample some of the wonderful rums from the countries listed below?

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.