Rum

A distilled beverage that originated in its modern form in the Caribbean, rum distinguishes itself from other hard liquors through the use of sugarcane and molasses during the fermentation process.

Rum has a heavy association with the colonial Americas and naval piracy. In the time of Jack Sparrow, all rums were of a heavy and dark variety, considered a drink of the transient and poor. It was not until the late 1800s until processes were created to distill a light rum. The first one of these became Bacardi, founded in 1862.

Because of its sweet and often spicy disposition, rum is one of the most popular liquors to use in tropical-themed drinks. The Pina Colada and Mai Tai are both rum-based drinks. From the 1980s through modern times, Mojitos have gained in popularity to become one of the most prominent club drinks. The mojito was developed in Cuba, and is primarily made from rum, tonic water, lime, garnished with mint.

There are seven different grades of rum:

• Light Rum
• Gold Rum
• Spiced Rum
• Dark Rum
• Flavored Rum
• Overproof Rum
• Premium Rum

Light Rum Light rum is the most basic rum. With a short aging process and no special additives or flavoring, this rum has a fairly straightforward taste, which is slightly dry and somewhat sweet. Because the rum is aged in plain oak barrels and not charred, it does not take on any color. Light rum is usually used as a base for cocktails.

Gold Rum Stronger in taste than the light rum, the aging process in charred barrels give the gold rum its golden color and deeper flavor.

Spiced Rum A good spiced rum does not use any artificial coloring and is based on the gold rum recipe. In addition to charred barrel aging, a spiced rum may contain spices and other ingredients such as orange peel, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, nutmeg and even ginger.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123395505336458213.html

Dark Rum Dark rum is produced the same way as gold rum, but with an extended aging process. The amount of charring in the barrel may also be significantly greater in order to produce a much darker color in the spirit. Dark rum is used to give body to cocktails and is often used in cooking. Dark rum may also use hints of spices, similar to the spiced rum.

Flavored Rum This rum specialty has become very popular because of the wide variety of flavors available. Usually a light rum is infused with tropical flavors such as pineapple, mango, citrus and coconut. This rum can be drank straight because of its high level of sweetness.

Overproof Rum The proof of a spirit is the level of alcohol it contains. Normally, most rum has a proof of 40%, but overproof rum can have alcohol content over 75%, or a 151 to 160 proof.

Premium Rum Like many other fine spirits such as whiskey, tequila or cognac, a fine rum should be appreciated and sipped slowly. The masterfully produced premium rums are aged over long periods of time and should be consumed slowly, with no additional ingredients to mask the natural flavor of the spirit.

• Note: The links in this section are to sites that require the user to be of legal drinking age.

• Bacardi

• Captain Morgan

• Appleton

• Pusser's

• Cruzan

• Malibu Rum

• Flor De Cana

• Havana Club

• Myers

• Bundaberg

• Old Mr. Boston

• DonQ

• Flor de Cana

• Ron Abuelo Rum

• Ron Cortez Gold

• 1Barrel Rum

• Kuknut Rum

• Cristal Lite Rum

• Cristal Lemon Rum

• 5Barrel Rum

• They mostly import Flor de Cana from Nicaragua.

• Cruzan Rum

• Centenario - Ron Centenario Añejo

• Gran Blason

• Ron Centenario Blanco

• Ron Centenario Conmemorativo

• Zacapa - Ron Zacapa Centenario Reserva