The Rum Diary

The Rum Diary was written as a fictional account of the alcoholic endeavors of the writers of the San Juan Star in the late 1950’s. Hunter S. Thompson, wrote the story outline in the early 1960’s at 22-years old, but did not publish his work until 1998. He later cited that this was because politics controlled his life for most of the 60’s and 70’s.

In honor of the screen adaptation of this third novel by Thompson, I have decided to revisit the topic of Rum. Some may remember the post “Rum, Dominos, and Baby Jesus” from January where I go into the history of rum. You can take a look at this post again for more information, but basically Rum is an alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products through a process of fermentation and distillation and is then aged in oak barrels.

The majority of the world's rum production occurs in the Caribbean and Latin America, but is also produced in Australia, Fiji, Mexico, Hawaii, The Philippines, India, Reunion Island, Mauritius, and South Africa.

There are many different grades/qualities of Rum:

Light Rum (called silver or white Rum since they are filtered after fermentation) has very little flavor aside from a general sweetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails. The majority of Light Rum comes out of Puerto Rico.

Gold Rum (called amber Rum) is medium-bodied Rum that is aged. These gain their dark color from aging in wooden barrels (usually the charred white oak barrels that are the byproduct of Bourbon Whiskey).

Spiced Rum (Rums that obtain their flavor through addition of spices) is significantly darker in color and includes spices such as Cinnamon, Rosemary, Absinthe (aniseed), or Pepper.

Dark Rum (also known as brown Rum, black Rum, or red Rum) is aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum with hints of spices.

Flavored Rum (rums infused with flavors of fruits) come in many varieties such as banana, mango, orange, citrus, coconut or lime. These are generally less than 40% alcohol.

Overproof Rum (rum that is much higher than the standard 40% alcohol) can have an ABV greater than 60%, and some reach as high as 75% to 80% ABV.

Premium Rum (such as with Cognac and Scotch) was created as a market exists for premium and super-premium rums. These are generally boutique brands that sell carefully produced and aged rums.

Here is a list of Swig Knowledge’s Top 5 Rums of the Caribbean:

1.       Mount Gay Rum (Barbados) possesses the oldest surviving deed (1703), making Mount Gay Rum the oldest existing brand of rum in the world. Mount Gay Rum is sold in 66 countries across the world with its primary export market being the United States.  It has a stong bond with the sailing community and is the sponsor of many regattas across the world. Today, Mount Gay  produces: Sugar Cane Brandy, Silver Eclipse, Eclipse Black, Eclipse, Special Reserve, Extra Old, 1703, and a handful of Flavored Rums.

2.       Goslings (Bermuda) was started by James Gosling who set out from England in 1806 bound for America. Instead of going on to America, Gosling landed on Bermuda and in 1824, the company rented out their store front which they still maintain. The company started formulating what would eventually become known as “Black Seal Rum” and holds the trademark for the Dark 'N' Stormy cocktail.

3.       Myers's Rum (Jamaica) is named after the brand founder Fred L Myers. This molasses-derived blend of up to nine Rums has been produced since 1879. The dark rum is commonly used in mixed drinks and is also a common cooking ingredient in food recipes.

4.       Cruzan Rum (U.S. Virgin Islands) was founded in 1760 and has been maintained by the Nelthropp family for eight generations. Today, Cruzan is known for their many flavored Rums and their Overproofed Rum called “Estate Dark” which comes in at 151 proof. The correct pronunciation is "kru-shun".

5.       Don Q (Puerto Rico), named after the legendary Spanish fictional character Don Quixote, was created in 1865 when Juan Colon imported a still which he purchased in France and produced his first few casks of Rum for family and friends.  The Don Q brand began world circulation in 1932 and is responsible pumping $120 million a year back into the Puerto Rican market.

As you can see, I did not include the mass produced Rums such as Bacardi and Captain Morgan (Puerto Rico) or Havana Club (Cuba). Although they are decent quality Rums and contribute to 80% of Rum sales worldwide, I felt that they do not represent the original Rum making process.

Honorable Mention (My favorite Rum right now – not based in the Carribean):

Ron Zacapa Centenario (Guatemala) is a popular premium rum created in 1976 to celebrate the centenary of the foundation of Zacapa, a town in eastern Guatemala.  It is made using the concentrated first pressing sugar cane juice (virgin sugar cane honey) rather than molasses and is aged and blended using a unique aging system traditionally used for sherries. Early Zacapa bottles came in a bottle covered in a “Petate” (a hand-woven matting made from palm leaves which dates from the Mayan period). More recently they feature a band around the middle of the bottle.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to grab a bottle of Rum and find a beach…especially with winter approaching the Northest!