How to drink rum correctly – 4 ways and recommendations for choosing

It’s time to put cola aside and forget about the pirate past of this drink, which now, unfortunately, only interferes with the correct perception of the Caribbean distillate. From sipping neat to mixing cocktails and even accompanied by appetizers, here’s everything you need to know about perfecting your relationship with rum and drinking culture. In this material, we will finally figure out how to properly, with what and why you need to drink rum.

Surely everyone who tries rum for the first time feels a bit like a pirate. It’s like Scotch whiskey, a sip of which makes many tasters feel more elegant and sophisticated, and a glass of brandy more relaxed. It’s amazing how something so simple can evoke such deep feelings and emotions. But pirates? Seriously? I don’t even want to imagine what the rum of the XNUMXth century was like, probably something else. And when, with thoughts about the drink of those times, an ignorant person takes a sip of Bacardi or Captain Morgan, his hand involuntarily reaches for a bottle of cola and that’s it, we’ve arrived!

However, other than vodka, there is no alcoholic beverage more versatile and popular around the world than rum. There are, of course, beer and wine, which are just as popular and even more popular, but they can hardly be called universal. The fact is that this distillate can be drunk in absolutely different ways, ranging from unhurried sipping of aged versions in its pure form to mixing amazing cocktails, which can include up to 10 or more ingredients. At the same time, rum in this chaotic mixture, if the right copy is selected, will not only not fade, but even retain the right to be considered the dominant component. So, for starters, we get acquainted with the article about this drink in order to understand what it is all about, and then read on. After all, it’s time to drink rum!

Time to mix – rum is drunk in cocktails

The first thing that comes to mind when you look at a bottle of light rum is to mix a cocktail. The combination of rum, lime juice and sugar syrup mixed with ice is flawless. The daiquiri is theoretically a simple cocktail, but in the right hands it blossoms into a multitude of vibrant flavors. Refreshing Mojito, feminine Pina Colada, mischievous Mai Tai – these are all classics that need no introduction. And also a whole string of crazy, fruity, rich in ingredients tiki cocktails, where, next to uncomplicated light, golden and spicy rum, aged, dense, rich rum adjoins.

Perhaps tiki cocktails are the only justification for using aged versions of rum as part of mixology. In other cases, you can get by with simpler and more budgetary names, but even for a good cocktail, Bacardi and Captain Morgan are not the best choice. They will show themselves well only at the next party with rum and cola, but even Cuba Libre can please a sophisticated cocktail fan if you take an expressive Jamaican (for example, Appleton Signature Blend) or Barbadian (the same Mount Gay Eclipse) as the main component. The main thing is to do everything right! That’s where the badass rums really shine, especially their spicy and dark versions, in Hot Buttered Rum.

What other rum cocktails should you try? Take any bourbon cocktail and replace it with aged Jamaican or “agricultural rum” (rhum agricole) from Martinique, you won’t regret it. Well, for those who are especially inquisitive, we offer to cook several exclusive mixed ones:

Time to dilute – drink rum with juices

Young rum does not have to be mixed in cocktails, it can simply be diluted with juice and more. To 1 part of rum, add 2-4 parts of orange, apple, pineapple or grapefruit juice, if it is light rum, and the same amount of cherry, pomegranate or blackcurrant juice, as well as any berry juice, if it is golden or dark rum. Before mixing, you can put a few ice cubes in a glass or use chilled juices. Also, light rum tastes great with tonic, if you prepare a drink according to the proportions of gin and tonic. What else to use for dilution? Ginger beer is an excellent choice, especially if some powerful spiced or aged rum is lying around in the bins – light rum will fade against the backdrop of expressive ginger with spices, but if you make ginger beer yourself, then it can turn out to be worthwhile. And another 15-30 ml of rum will enrich a cup of your favorite tea or coffee.

Dinner time – rum is drunk with snacks

Light rum is an excellent aperitif, while dark rum is an excellent digestif. But often rum, even aged, is consumed at dinner. Sugar cane-based drink goes well with many dishes, from smoky and creamy to sour and bitter. What do they drink light, golden and dark rum with? This one, just the same, depends on the belonging of the Roma to a particular class. Here are some excellent rum and food pairings:

• Light rum: Sweet, lightly grilled coconut-oatmeal cookies and a bowl of umami with tamari almonds.
• dark rum: cold-smoked salmon or gravlax in rye whiskey (a gourmet Swedish salmon dish).
• Aged rum: Spicy nduja (‘nduja, a type of salami) pasta on toast or fried chicken wings.
• For dessert: Soft goat cheese (Crottin de Chavignoles) or high quality dark chocolate.

Excellent, it is excellent, but it sounds somehow incomprehensible and expensive, right? There is something simpler, for example, caramelized chicken breast, pre-marinated in dark rum, tortilla with beans, fried bananas, shrimp and other seafood. Definitely worth a try to complement a glass of your favorite rum with aged cheese.

Time to be an adult – rum is drunk clean

True connoisseurs of this drink buy aged rum and drink it in its pure form. To do it right, it is enough to know the rules for drinking whiskey and follow them – a good aged rum is akin to a good scotch of several decades of aging. If you are too lazy to read another extensive material, then just follow these recommendations:

1. Choose the right glass. Any glass with a narrowed neck will do, so that the aroma will be concentrated and can be appreciated. The most affordable, but not the best (too high concentration of alcohol vapors) option is a snifter (cognac). It is better to pay attention to a grappa glass, glencairn (whiskey glass), sherry copita, tumbler or a special glass for rum (such, for example, is in the Riedel line). The glass must be perfectly clean and free from foreign odors.
2. Assess color and transparency. Pour 30-50 ml of rum into a glass and hold it to a bright light to appreciate the color and clarity of the drink. In fact, color plays a secondary role, but the absence of any suspension is a very important parameter. Sediment is not allowed in aged rum!
3. Carefully assess the aroma. To do this, you need to swirl the liquid in the glass to release the aroma and fill the glass with it, and then let it drain, observing the ductility of the “legs” (especially inquisitive people should also read the article on cognac tasting rules). After that, tilt the glass to about 45^о and very carefully bring the top of it up to your nose, appreciating the initial impression of the smell of the drink. Then you can lower your nose into the lower part of the glass, while opening your mouth and taking a breath – so the alcohol vapor does not burn the receptors of the nose, and you can feel even more nuances. The procedure should be repeated a couple more times, drinking a little warm water in between.
4. Try. Drink some water first to clear your taste buds. Too strong or rich rum can be diluted with a little pure water. After that, take a tiny sip so that the drink first hits the tip of the tongue and continues its way to its base. Rate the first impression. As a rule, after the first sip it is difficult to judge the drink, since the receptors and the throat first experience an alcohol shock – they need to get used to a new stimulus. Therefore, do not rush to draw conclusions – all subsequent sips will bring much more pleasure.
5. Evaluate the finish and aftertaste. After each slow sip, listen to your feelings. What finish – long, medium or short? Warm or burning? Spicy or peppery? Have new flavors emerged or not? Does it get warm in the chest? But the “finish” ends sooner or later, and then only the aftertaste remains. Most aged rums leave behind a lingering sensation, almost a second wave of flavor, and a secondary aroma (which can be enhanced by slowly inhaling the air through the nose). They say that the aftertaste reveals the real aroma of rum, but not every aged copy has it.
6. Be restrained in judgment. We all have different receptors in our mouth and nose. All the wonderful flavoring aromas that the drink received from the barrel will, in varying degrees of saturation, affect the overall impression of a particular taster. During the first tasting, try to assess the general flavor direction (for example, “taste fruity”), and next time be specific (yep, there is, for example, “apricot”, and later – “I smell dried apricot here”). All comes with experience…

If you’re a beginner but already know a thing or two about aged drinking culture, you’ll probably be heading over to read reviews of a particular aged rum. Such reviews usually contain a huge number of juicy epithets and comparisons, such as: “Such and such a rum has a deep copper color with hints of orange peel. The aroma is exceptionally intense caramelized corn, nuts, chocolate truffle, dried cherries and marzipan aromas. The first sip is velvety, sweet and ethereal, with deep aromas of chocolate-coated cherries and figs, brown spices, cola, almonds, rind and toffee. The finish is long and sweet, with rich colors of caramel, vanilla, spices, cigar boxes and dried fruit…”. You take a sip of that very ambrosia and… no marzipan, no chocolate-covered cherries, no cigar box.

What’s wrong? Where did I miscalculate? Maybe fake?

Now answer honestly the question: do you know what marzipan is and how it smells? What flavor does a box of Cuban cigars contain? Have you tried chocolate covered cherries or figs? In order to look for such nuances in any alcoholic beverage, you must first feel them personally, understand their essence, remember, and only then compare them with aromas and taste sensations during tasting. Your tastes must evolve, and for this it is not enough just to drink good drinks. All our sensations are the result of experience!

Time to buy rum – recommendations

Of course, recommending a drink to a novice or experienced reader is a risky undertaking (again, we recall the experience and uniqueness of each set of receptors). But we take the risk. Before you buy a bottle for 20-40 bucks (a wonderful feature of this drink: the price of a bottle of good 20-year-old rum starts at 40 dollars, while the scotch of the same gradation will cost from 100 dollars and more), it’s not a bad idea to try it content. You can do this in a good themed bar. Start with this. If this is not possible, but you want to try a good aged rum, try starting with the following copies (inexpensive for every day):

• cross 9 spiced Rum from St. Croix ($13) is a great introduction to real aged spiced rums; look for complex layers of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and toasted wood on the palate.
• Pampero Ron Old Special from Venezuela ($17) – quite hard, but very typical for Latin American rums; look for lime, a variety of spices, chocolate, tobacco, caramel in taste.
• Cane flower Gold 4 year from Nicaragua ($16) – exceptional rum with a very low price tag; look for various spices, caramel, toasted coconut and pepper in taste; later, be sure to try the 12-year-old and 18-year-old versions of Flor de Caña.
• Saint James Royal Amber Rum Agriculture from Martinique ($22) – a typical “agricultural rum” with a nice price tag; look for vanilla, woody, nutty flavors.
• El Gold 12 year Old from Guyana ($24) – expressive notes of anise, coconut, pepper and a smooth, long aftertaste; later, the 15-year-old and 21-year-old versions of the Guyanese rum are a must-try.

TOP 5 aged rums for a closer acquaintance with the drink:

• Edwin Charley The Virtue ($140) – A rare rum that is very hard to get and doesn’t please with its price tag, but it is worth every dollar spent on it.
• Havana Club Barrel Proof from Cuba (from $50) – a strong rum that is bottled directly from the barrel.
• English Harbour Aged 10 Years Book from Antigua ($90) – a bit overpriced and hard to find, but worth a try.
• Saint James Hors D’Age Rum Agriculture from Martinique ($35) – the best example of “agricultural rum”.
• Plantation 20th Anniversary Extras Old from Barbados ($40) – an exceptional rum from Claude Ferrand cognac producer.

Let’s say goodbye to the sim. Drink good drinks and do it right!