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Tastes of the Tropics
Readying Your Backbar for the Rum Renaissance
By Edward Hamilton
More than 50 years ago, Trader Vic wrote that rum was the most versatile and underappreciated spirit behind the bar.
Across the country and around the world, rum’s reputation is being
elevated from the bottom shelf as consumers discover the virtues of the
most versatile distilled spirit. In the past decade, the number of rums
imported to the United States from the world’s rum barrel, also known
as the Caribbean basin, has grown from a few to a several dozen. And as
more and better rums become available, the demand for the Caribbean
spirit continues to grow.
Ten years ago, many in the industry expected rum to take its place at
the forefront of the alcohol beverage industry. That shift toward rum
has been slow to come, but during the last decade many rum producers
steadily have been increasing their inventories in anticipation of
today’s growing appreciation of their efforts.
Bacardi, for instance, took its most complex rum, Bacardi 8 Year Old
Rum — made using an original recipe from 1862 and originally a personal
preserve of the Bacardi family, reserved for special occasions and
family reunions — and launched the brand in the United States in 1996.
This golden sipping rum is made from a blend of aged Bacardi Rums
ranging from eight to 16 years. Key flavor notes include vanilla and
oak obtained from time spent aging in wood as well as subtle notes of
dried fruit, prune and butterscotch.
At a time when vodka marketers are busy strategizing how to put their
newest flavored concoction in your glass, flavored rums, most bottled
at about 25 percent alcohol by volume, are designed to complement the
other flavors in a cocktail instead of replacing them.
Despite the wave of flavored rums flowing into the established
distribution channels from suppliers such as Whaler’s, RedRum, Malibu,
Cruzan, Bacardi and Captain Morgan, sales tend to be in bars where the
emphasis is on the number of drinks a bartender can pass across the bar
in a shift. On the other hand, professionals who know the value of
building relationships with their clientele prefer to take the time to
use fresh ingredients to add the color and flavor that complement the
alcohol in a cocktail rather than just pouring colorless, low alcohol
content, flavored liquids into their drinks.
The Great White Hope
If you think of good rums as only those rich, dark mahogany-colored
sugar cane spirits, you’re only half right. There are some very good
white rums that, once discovered, will make patrons think twice before
they order their next cocktails.
Unlike other white spirits, many white rums are aged several years
before they’re carbon-filtered, to remove the color gained during the
time spent in oak barrels.
The popularity of the Mojito has fueled the demand for more and better
white rums, and distillers and importers have been working overtime to
deliver clear rums that are more than colorless, tasteless neutral
spirits. Flor de Caña Extra Dry is aged four years in oak barrels
before it is carbon-filtered, for a tropical floral and coconut
taste. Angostura, better known for its bitters, also produces a
very good white rum called Angostura Premium White, but distribution is
not as comprehensive as it could be, since Angostura is focusing on its
dark rums.
Mojitos aren’t the only way rum drinkers are enjoying the better rums
that are coming to discerning bars. Rum aficionados are filling their
glasses with aged rums and discovering some of the best-kept secrets
and best values in the spirits industry. Among the aged rums gaining
recognition are Cruzan Estate Diamond, Barbancourt 5 Star, Ron Zacapa
Centenario and Gosling’s Old Rum. But keep an eye out for old rums from
Antigua’s English Harbour, Dominican Republic’s Barceló and the small
family-owned distilleries in Martinique.
Rum Ruminations
“I have the luxury of working in London and in the USA as well as a
couple other interesting spots, and I can tell you that rum is hot
everywhere,” says Dale DeGroff, a leading authority and popular
personality in the beverage world. “It seems that the rum agricole
brands are the most interesting.”
Mike Miller, owner of Delilah’s in Chicago, says, “Curiously, a rum and
cola is the second most called-for cocktail, that’s not on special, on
a daily basis –– with no name brand called. However, I am finding it
very easy to introduce people to a wide variety of brands. They taste
them and they like them. Ron Anjeo Anniversario is a perfect example;
everyone likes it, and it is picking up steam. Ron Zacapa, Cruzan
Single Barrel and St. James Extra Old are all brands that people are
finding and finding out that they are irresistible.
“The real problem is finding places to taste and purchase these fantastic rum brands.” NCB
Edward Hamilton,“The Minister of Rum,” has spent extensive time in
the Caribbean and is an expert contributor on the topic of rums. Log
onto ministryofrum.com for more information.
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