Video Discription |
I've got mild bronchitis and my palate is wrecked, so today we've got a video that that I've been extremely wary of making.
The problem with introducing "rum" is that performing that introduction can support an audience's preconception that rum is all one single, simple, easily digestible category. By comparison, I'm pretty sure that anyone with basic knowledge would respond to the very idea of an introduction to "whisk(e)y" by asking, e.g.: given the size of the category, isn't that too broad to be useful?; is this more of a history, more about consumer advice, or what?; which whisk(e)ys are you going to be focusing on, and why those and not others?; and so on. Those are also exactly the right questions to ask about introducing "rum" if not still more so, given that cane-based spirits are arguably even more varied and widespread. The big difference - and the reason why "guides to rum" videos like this are not laughed off YouTube - is in the perception of the category and the availability and layout of the products on the shelf. Let the first part of this video therefore be about challenging the very idea that videos like this make sense.
For the rest, I'm going to lean firmly on the consumer advice side of things and mostly leave the history of cane spirits to the side (for those of you interested, I refer you first of all to the third chapter of the Cates' widely available book Smuggler's Cove). That mainly amounts to an update and expansion to my badly outdated "Building a Rum Palate" video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-xN-K_nnjA ) from two years ago. As impossible as it is to sum up "rum" in a handful of products, we can at least introduce the modern rum *shelf*, and I do think a core collection of around six bottles is enough to give one's palate a sense of the vast majority of the products you will find thereabouts. If you want to introduce yourself to your local's selection, then, what I'd recommend you take the time to learn is:
- A Cuban-style, column-distilled, molasses-based aged rum (I'm recommending Havana Club Añejo 7, but Don Q 7 will also do in a pinch - so will Flor de Caña Gran Reserva, though I don't mention it in the video - or the way-sweeter Bacardi 8 if you have no other choice)
- An unaged Caribbean-style "blended" rum (molasses-based and blended from column and pot still distillate; this really should be Wray & Nephew White Overproof)
- An aged Caribbean-style blended rum (I'm suggesting Doorly's 12, or its siblings Real McCoy 12, R.L. Seale 10, or a Foursquare ECS vintage release, but there's also Appleton 12 or - if you're up for it - Hamilton "Navy Strength" 114)
- An aged pot-still molasses-based rum, ideally from Jamaica (anything from Hampden is a great choice, and I'd point first to the LROK Younger 5yo; Worthy Park is also available and their Rum Bar Gold is cheap, and many recent Chairman's Reserve picks are also worth your attention)
- An unaged cane juice-based rhum agricole (Neisson Blanc is my pick, although there's plenty of good competition; I strongly urge you to buy an unaged one since the character of oaked agricoles is so radically different, but if you want an aged cane juice rum in addition I'd look at the older Neissons or even Barbancourt's 8 or 15)
- A 'flavored" rum (make your own, ideally; otherwise, I love the humble and thoroughly mixable Old Monk)
But that's just what you're going to find most of the time, and from there the exploration is endless. For those who want to push themselves still further, consider finding and learning:
- Batavia arrack, the Indonesian predecessor to colonial rum and the central character in punch, the first cocktail craze of Europe (Haus Alpenz' version is widely available)
- An unaged, higher-ester pot still rum (Hampden Estate's Rum Fire is your first candidate here)
- Haitian clairin, cane juice/syrup-based and wild fermented (if you buy several then I'd point you first to Sajous and Le Rocher, but Casimir might be the best choice if you're only buying one)
- A good unaged cachaça (I recently fell in love with the Magnífica de Faria "Bica do Alambique," but Novo Fogo or even Leblon will do in a pinch)
- A wooden pot-distilled rum from Guyana (almost certainly a Port Mourant, but try a Versailles if you see one)
- Unaged Mexican cane juice-based rum, especially from Michoacán but also from Oaxaca (I'm generally a big fan of the Uruapan range)
One last nota bene I should have mentioned: a *lot* of shelf rums are "dosed" with added sugar, and until our government starts requiring transparency your best protection is to check the hydrometer tests before buying:
https://rumproject.com/rumforum/viewtopic.php?t=1683
https://rumproject.com/rumforum/viewtopic.php?t=1690
Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/differentspirits) -
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