As we gratefully emerge from the iron grip of a vengeful winter, it comes time to consider spirits well-suited for warmer months, those distillates more associated with fun, sun and heat than with shivering in the dark. I speak of tequila, of course, with its refreshing margarita, and gin, coupled with tonic in a highball.
But no list of summery sips would be complete without the signature spirit of the Caribbean, rum.
Rum is a spirit that knows no general appellation and little in the way of rules. While the majority of rums are manufactured from molasses, which is a convenient byproduct of the refining of sugar cane into sugar, not all of them are made in this way. Certain rums, often identified as rhum agricole and hailing from the French West Indies, are distilled from pure cane juice, rather than refined molasses. Another variation is Brazilian cachaça, the world’s third most popular spirit and a ubiquitous presence in South America’s largest nation, which for legal reasons is also identified in the United States as Brazilian rum.
Brazilian producers are currently seeking an appellation of origin for cachaça, which would recognize it as a distinctive and unique Brazilian product, but even some of the spirit’s defenders admit that the differences between cachaça and cane juice rum are less tangible than geographic.
Despite their differences, the majority of rums, including many clear or “white” rums, are aged for a period in wooden barrels, most of which previously held American whiskey, with some countries, such as Puerto Rico, demanding a legal minimum of one year of such aging. After this time, white rums will be filtered to eliminate the color the wood imparts to the spirit, while other rums will be longer aged and left the gold or amber hue at which they emerge from the barrel.
Because the islands of Caribbean and South American regions, where the bulk of rum is produced, are hotter year-round than, say, Kentucky or the Scottish highlands, some say that the evolution of the spirit is more rapid than that of a bourbon or whisky. What is certainly true is that, at eight, 15 or even 21 years of age, rum develops a much deeper color, unequivocally complex aromas and intense flavor notes that might include baked fruit, roasted nuts, rich chocolate and toasted spice.
It is these older rums that some say represent the future for the spirit, sipped slowly from a snifter rather than mixed. At prices generally much lower than comparable whiskies, cognacs and armagnacs, they can provide a delightful respite from the cold of winter, but with an ice cube or two, can be a satisfying nightcap in the heat of summer.
