Sat on the sofa the other night with a glass of honey rum that I had brought back from a holiday in Spain earlier this year (thank you Brexit for cheap duty free spirits!) I started wondering what rum is made from.
Whisky which is my go to choice is made from grains, vodka is made from potato, and gin is made from grains like whisky, but also infused with juniper berries. However, what is rum made from?
Rum however it tuns out to my amazement, is actually distilled from sugarcane products—primarily molasses or fresh sugarcane juice, given the sweet taste you often associate with rum, I’m not sure why I was as surprised by this as I was.
What Are The Base Ingredients of Rum?
- Molasses (Traditional / Mainstream)
- A thick, dark syrup created as a byproduct of the sugar refining process.
- Flavor Profile: Rich, sweet, caramel, vanilla, and dark fruit notes.
- Usage: Used in the vast majority of global rums, including traditional English-style (e.g., Jamaica, Barbados) and Spanish-style (e.g., Cuba, Puerto Rico) rums.
- Fresh Sugarcane Juice (Rhum Agricole & Cachaça)
- Raw, unrefined juice squeezed directly from harvested sugarcane stalks.
- Flavor Profile: Earthy, grassy, vegetal, and fresh.
- Usage: Used predominantly in French Caribbean styles (Rhum Agricole from Martinique and Guadeloupe) and Brazilian Cachaça.
Secondary Components
- Water: Mixed with molasses or juice prior to fermentation to lower sugar density so yeast can thrive, and used after distillation to bring the rum down to bottling proof (typically 40% ABV / 80 proof).
- Yeast: This is added during fermentation with the aim of converting the sugars into both alcohol and flavour compounds (esters). A skill that distillers have learned over time is how to choose specific types of yeast in order to shape the rum’s final aromatic profile.
