We thought “Malibu” was rum, and we used to love “Captain Morgan” dark rum! ….

Rum Styles – I thought all rums were from the Caribbean…
We thought “Malibu” was rum, and we used to love “Captain Morgan” dark rum! One of the reason rum is so great, is because various region produces their own distinct style of rum.

There are over 100 countries that produce rum, as we have found out on our rumming journey, these range from small islands such as Mauritius, Fiji, St Lucia, and Martinique, to countries such as Japan, USA and Australia!

Thanks to Ian Burrell and the rum community, Rum Festivals are becoming more and more popular, with a number of new ones been launched all around the world including Marseille, Athens and Mauritius!

We highly recommend you to visit one, as this will give you the chance to experience the different styles and brands of rum,  where no rum taste the same!

Some of the most common rum styles are:

English-style rum: meaning rum from islands once or still under British control, like Barbados, Jamaica & Guyana, one such rum is “El Dorado 12-Year Old” rum from Guyana.

 

 

 

French-style rum: made from sugar cane juice rather than molasses, and normally originates from French Caribbean islands, one such rum is the “Trois Rivieres VSOP” rhum from Martinique.

 

 

Spanish/Cuban-style rum: usually slightly lighter in body, has a fairly smooth taste, highly-fruity, and a bit brandy like. Normally produced by column distillation. One such rum is the “Diplomatico Reserva” rum from Venezuela.

 

 

American-style rum – usually pot-still rum aged in oak barrel for a short period of time, and known to have a high level of congeners (fusel oil anyone?). One such rum is the “Maui Gold” Rum from Hawaii.

 

 

Jamaican-style rum – Distilled in pot stills with high levels of esters, these are normally white and quite potent rums, with the most coveted rums having a really high ester counts. One such rum is the “Wray & Nephew / Overproof Rum” rum from Jamaica.

 

 

South Pacific-style Rum – covers rum produced everywhere from the Pacific Islands (Fiji) down to New Zealand and Australia. Typically made from high grade molasses harvested in the Pacific Island with high ester contents, the rum tends to be a bit lighter due to a milder climate than the western rums which can speed up the aging process. One such rum is the “Murderer’s Bay Rum” from New Zealand.