Rum

Rum is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane byproducts such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other casks. The majority of rum production occurs in and around the Caribbean and along the Demerara River in South merica, though there are rum producers in places such as ustralia, !ndia, Reunion !sland, and else"here around the "orld. Rum is produced in a variety of styles. #ight rums are commonly used in mi$ed drinks, "hile golden and dark rums are appropriate for use in cooking as "ell as cocktails. %remium brands of rum are also available that are made to be consumed neat or on the rocks. Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the &est !ndies, and has famous associations "ith the 'ritish Royal (avy and piracy. Rum has also served as a popular medium of e$change that helped to promote slavery along "ith providing economic instigation for ustralia)s Rum Rebellion and the merican Revolution. The origin of the "ord rum is unclear. common claim is that the name "as derived from rumbullion meaning *a great tumult or uproar*. nother claim is that the name is from the large drinking glasses used by Dutch seamen kno"n as rummers, from the Dutch "ord roemer, a drinking glass. +ther options include contractions of the "ords saccharum, #atin for sugar, or ar,me, -rench for aroma. Regardless of the original source, the name had come into common use by .ay /012 "hen the 3eneral Court of .assachusetts made illegal the sale of strong liquor *"hether kno"n by the name of rumme, strong "ater, "ine, brandy, etc., etc.* !n current usage, the name used for a rum is often based on the rum)s place of origin. -or rums from Spanish4speaking locales the "ord ron is used. ron a5ejo indicates a rum that has been significantly aged and is often used for premium products. Rhum is the term used for rums from -rench4speaking locales, "hile rhum vieu$ is an aged -rench rum that meets several other requirements. Some of the many other names for rum are (elson)s 'lood, 6ill4Devil, Demon &ater, %irate)s Drink, (avy (eaters, and 'arbados "ater. version of rum from (e"foundland is referred to by the name Screech, "hile some lo"4grade &est !ndies rums are called tafia. Origins The precursors to rum date back to yesterday Development of fermented drinks produced from sugarcane juice is believed to have first occurred either in ancient !ndia or China, and spread from there. n e$ample of such an early drink is brum. %roduced by the .alay people, brum dates back thousands of years. .arco %olo also recorded a /7th4 century account of a *very good "ine of sugar* that "as offered to him in "hat is modern4day !ran.

The first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the /2th century. %lantation slaves first discovered that molasses, a by4product of the sugar refining process, fermented into alcohol. #ater, distillation of these alcoholic by4 products concentrated the alcohol and removed impurities, producing the first true rums. Tradition suggests that rum first originated on the island of 'arbados. Regardless of its initial source, early Caribbean rums "ere not kno"n for high quality. /01/ document from 'arbados stated, *The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias 6ill4Devil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor* Colonial America fter rum)s development in the Caribbean, the drink)s popularity spread to Colonial merica. To support the demand for the drink, the first rum distillery in the colonies "as set up in /007 on current day Staten !sland. 'oston, .assachusetts had a distillery three years later. The manufacture of rum became early Colonial (e" 8ngland)s largest and most prosperous industry. The rum produced there "as quite popular, and "as even considered the best in the "orld during much of the /9th century. Rhode !sland rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in 8urope for a period of time. 8stimates of rum consumption in the merican colonies before the merican Revolutionary &ar had every man, "oman, or child drinking an average of : !mperial gallons ;/:.1 liters< of rum each year. To support this demand for the molasses to produce rum, along "ith the increasing demand for sugar in 8urope during the /2th and /9th centuries, a labor source to "ork the sugar plantations in the Caribbean "as needed. triangular trade "as established bet"een frica, the Caribbean, and the colonies to help support this need. The circular e$change of slaves, molasses, and rum "as quite profitable, and the disruption to the trade caused by the Sugar ct in /207 may have even helped cause the merican Revolution. The popularity of rum continued after the merican Revolution "ith 3eorge &ashington insisting on a barrel of 'arbados rum at his /29= inauguration. 8ventually the restrictions on rum from the 'ritish islands of the Caribbean combined "ith the development of merican "hiskey led to a decline in the drink)s popularity. Naval rum Rum)s association "ith piracy began "ith 8nglish privateers trading on the valuable commodity. s some of the privateers became pirates and buccaneers, their fondness for rum remained, the association bet"een the t"o only being strengthened by literary "orks such as Robert #ouis Stevenson)s Treasure !sland. The association of rum "ith the 'ritish Royal (avy began in /011 "hen the 'ritish fleet captured the island of >amaica. &ith the availability of domestically produced rum, the 'ritish changed the daily ration of liquor given to seamen from -rench brandy to rum. &hile the ration "as originally given neat, or mi$ed "ith lime juice, the practice of "atering do"n the rum began around /27?. To help minimi@e the effect of the alcohol on his sailors, dmiral 8d"ard Aernon directed that the rum ration be "atered do"n before

being issued, a mi$ture "hich became kno"n as grog. &hile it is "idely believed that the term grog "as coined at this time in honor of the grogram cloak dmiral Aernon "ore in rough "eather, the term has been demonstrated to predate his famous orders "ith probable origins in the &est !ndies, perhaps of frican etymology. The Royal (avy continued to give its sailors a daily rum ration, kno"n as a *tot,* until the practice "as abolished after >uly :/, /=2?. story involving naval rum is that follo"ing his victory at the 'attle of Trafalgar, Boratio (elson)s body "as preserved in a cask of rum to allo" transport back to 8ngland. Cpon arrival, ho"ever, the cask "as opened and found to be empty of rum. The pickled body "as removed and, upon inspection, it "as discovered that the sailors had drilled a hole in the bottom of the cask and drunk all the rum, in the process drinking (elson)s blood. Thus, this tale serves as a basis for the term (elson)s 'lood being used to describe rum. !t also serves as the basis for the term *Tapping the dmiral* being used to describe drinking the daily rum ration. The details of the story are disputed, "ith some historians claiming the term originated instead from a toast to dmiral (elson. Caribbean light rum Cntil the second half of the /=th century all rums "ere heavy or dark rums that "ere considered appropriate for the "orking poor, unlike the refined double4distilled spirits of 8urope. !n order to e$pand the market for rum, the Spanish Royal Development 'oard offered a pri@e to anyone "ho could improve the rum making process. This resulted in many refinements in the process "hich greatly improved the quality of rum. +ne of the most important figures in this development process "as Don -acundo 'acardi .asso, "ho moved from Spain to Santiago de Cuba in /97:. Don -acundo)s e$periments "ith distillation techniques, charcoal filtering, cultivating of speciali@ed yeast strains, and aging "ith merican oak casks helped to produce a smoother and mello"er drink typical of modern light rums. !t "as "ith this ne" rum that Don -acundo founded 'acardD y Compa5Da ;'acardi< in /90E. Grades 8$ample of dark, spiced, and light rums. The grades and variations used to describe rum depend on the location that a rum "as produced. Despite these variations the follo"ing terms are frequently used to describe various types of rumF #ight Rums, also referred to as light, silver, and "hite rums. !n general, light rum has very little flavor aside from a general s"eetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails. #ight rums are sometimes filtered after aging to remove any color. 3old Rums, also called amber rums, are medium4bodied rums "hich are generally aged. These gain their dark color from aging in "ooden barrels ;usually the charred "hite oak barrels that are the byproduct of 'ourbon &hiskey<. Spiced RumF Theses rums obtain their flavor through addition of spices and, sometimes, caramel. .ost are darker in color, and based on gold rums. Some are significantly darker, "hile many cheaper brands are made from ine$pensive "hite rums and darkened "ith artificial caramel color.

Dark Rum, also kno"n as black rum, classes as a grade darker than gold rum. !t is generally aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum, and hints of spices can be detected, along "ith a strong molasses or caramel overtone. !t is used to provide substance in rum drinks, as "ell as color. !n addition to uses in mi$ed drinks, dark rum is the type of rum most commonly used in cooking. -lavored RumF Some manufacturers have begun to sell rums "hich they have infused "ith flavors of fruits such as mango, orange, citrus, coconut, and GlimkeH "hich is a lime rum found in S"eden. These serve to flavor similarly themed tropical drinks "hich generally comprise less than 7?I alcohol, and are also often drunk neat or on the rocks. +verproof Rum is rum "hich is much higher than the standard 7?I alcohol. .ost of these rums bear greater than 21I, in fact, and preparations of /1/ to /0? proof occur commonly. %remium RumF s "ith other sipping spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, a market e$ists for premium and super4premium spirits. These are generally boutique brands "hich sell very aged and carefully produced rums. They have more character and flavor than their *mi$ing* counterparts, and are generally consumed "ithout the addition of other ingredients.

Production methodology Cnlike some other spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, rum has no defined production methods. !nstead, rum production is based on traditional styles that vary bet"een locations and distillers. Fermentation Sugarcane is harvested to make sugarcane juice and molasses. .ost rum produced is made from molasses. &ithin the Caribbean, much of this molasses is from 'ra@il. notable e$ception is the -rench4speaking islands "here sugarcane juice is the preferred base ingredient. Jeast, and sometimes "ater, is added to the base ingredient to start the fermentation process. &hile some rum producers allo" "ild yeast to perform the fermentation, most use specific strains of yeast to help provide a consistent taste and predictable fermentation time. Dunder, the yeast4rich foam from previous fermentations, is the traditional yeast source in >amaica. *The yeast employed "ill determine the final taste and aroma profile,* says >amaican master blender >oy Spence. Distillers that make lighter rums, such as 'acardi, prefer to use faster4"orking yeasts. Cse of slo"er4"orking yeasts causes more esters to accumulate during fermentation, allo"ing for a fuller4tasting rum. Distillation s "ith all other aspects of rum production, there is no standard method used for distillation. &hile some producers "ork in batches using pot stills, most rum production is done using column still distillation. %ot still output contains more congeners than the output from column stills and thus produces a fuller4tasting rum.

Aging and blending .any countries require that rum be aged for at least one year. This aging is commonly performed in used bourbon casks, but may also be performed in stainless steel tanks or other types of "ooden casks. Due to the tropical climate common to most rum4producing areas, rum matures at a much faster rate than is typical for Scotch or Cognac. n indication of this faster rate is the angel)s share, or amount of product lost to evaporation. &hile products aged in -rance or Scotland see about EI loss each year, rum producers may see as much as /?I. fter aging, rum is normally blended to ensure a consistent flavor. s part of this blending process, light rums may be filtered to remove any color gained during aging. -or darker rums, caramel may be added to the rum to adjust the color of the final product. Rums offered by NCL: ppleton 'acardi Superior 'acardi Coco 'acardi Ra@@ 'acardi + 'acardi #imon 'acardi 9 Captain .organ Castillo Spice Corte@ /1/ proof 3oslingKs 'lack Seal .alibu .ount 3ay 8clipse .yers Dark %usserKs %yrat L+ Reserve