The Rum Rundown

It’s officially time. We’ve tackled everything you need to know about Tequila, Mezcal, Vodka, and Gin… and now? Now, it’s time for Rum.

Rum might be the most misunderstood spirit on the shelf, and honestly, it doesn’t deserve that reputation. Walk into any liquor store, and every bottle will just say “rum.” But look closer, and you’ll spot white rum, gold rum, dark rum, black rum, spiced rum, aged rum… do you see my point here? There’s an entire world hiding behind one label, and rum doesn’t get the credit (or the curiosity) that other spirits like tequila or whiskey get. Today, we’re fixing that! Here’s what you’ll find in this one:

• What rum actually is (hint: it’s not just “the Caribbean’s whiskey”)

• The six main styles, and what to actually make with each

• Bar essentials and my bottle recs (wouldn’t be a guide without ‘em)

• Recipes to put it all into practice, duh

Quick tip before we get into it: want to know if you’re dealing with a good bartender? Hit them with the Daiquiri test. Literally. If they don’t know how to make a Daiquiri, save yourself and order a beer instead.

Click here for my RUM BOTTLE SHOP!

If you’d like to get in the spirit before we start, I’d recommend hitting play here… ahh, much better.

Sugarcane or molasses. As is true with most spirits, you ferment one of them with water and yeast. Then, the fermented liquid is distilled to extract the alcohol (it has to be watered down to make it drinkable, though). Don’t think you can try this at home, because you can’t! It’s actually illegal to make your own rum in many places (including the U.S.) without proper licensing.

It originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century. The exact island is still debated, but the earliest documented evidence of rum dates back to Barbados in the 1650s. It was first created by enslaved people on sugarcane plantations.

Think of rum less like one single spirit, and more like wine. A bottle from Jamaica is going to taste wildly different than one from Martinique or Barbados, even though they technically come from the same plant. That’s the whole reason rum feels so all over the place at first. It’s not an inconsistency; it’s personality.