White.

Gold.

Dark.

Spiced.





These are familiar to both rum drinkers & non-rum drinkers. These categories have been a standard in bars the world over ever since rum became a global spirit. But how much do they actually tell us about what we are drinking?





The short answer is absolutely nothing, aside from the colour of the liquid.





Rum has had colour added to it for an extremely long time usually through caramel (which is vastly different from what you’ll find in a Twix). The vast majority however, was completely unaged & sold as either ‘White’ or ‘Coloured’. This caramel wasn’t used to sweeten the rum, and it wasn’t generally any more expensive.





How we got to where we are today with our so-called ‘categories’ stems from British Navy rum. A lot of this rum was extremely dark due to the sailor’s appetite for strong, sweet-tasting rum which was achieved by adding molasses & caramel. Once drinks distributors starting bringing Bajan rum to the Uk they wanted to distinguish it from the Navy style, leading them to labelling it at ‘Gold’ rum. Thus beginning a division of these categories from the more traditional ‘White’ or ‘Coloured’ that was always favoured in the Caribbean.





A contributing factor to these categories gaining momentum in the mainstream is because there is an easy correlation to be made between colour & age. The misconception is that white rum either hasn’t been aged or only aged for a short period of time, essentially not having enough time in a barrel to pick up tannins & therefore colour. On the opposite end of the spectrum, people believe that the longer a rum has been aged for the darker it will become. Both of these half truths leave the average rum drinker with a simple equation. White rum should be mixed, usually in a long drink & some of the darker stuff, (usually with a lot of added sugar) can be palatable enough to drink on it’s own.





Obviously this is a gross generalisation of rum.





The four below rums could all arguably be describes as 'white rum'.

Clairin Sajous, Foursquare Veritas, Trois Rivieres Cuvee de L'Ocean, Bacardi Carta Blanca.

Clairin Sajous - Haitian Agricole made on a 30 hectares sugar plantation using a pot still. Powerful overripe fruit flavours.

Foursquare Veritas - Blend of column still rum from Foursquare in Barbados & pot still rum from Hampden in Jamaica. Creamy, slightly oily with banana & mashmallow.

Trois Rivieres Cuvee de L'Ocean - Made using sugar canes which are grown next to the Atlantic Ocean on Martinique. Earthy, mown grass with hints of salinity.

Bacardi Carta Blanca - Molasses based rums are aged between 12-24 months then filtered through charcoal & blended. Clean citrus flavour with hints of vanilla.





Four completely different rums. The same Category.





This is where the problem lies, how do we create rum categories that allow people without a vast interest in rum to enjoy it to the fullest?





Various people have tried to provide a better system for people to improve their understanding. The two most influential people who have had a stab are; Luca Gargano, founder of Velier & Martin Cate, rum expert and author of the famous ‘Smugglers Cove’ book.





Mr. Gargano’s version can be found in detail here . It essentially splits rums up into 4 different categories based on distillation methods, which is great if you know about the differences between column & pot distillation. Not so great if you don’t. It also doesn’t take into account the starting material used to make the rum e.g. Sugar cane juice or molasses, or how/where the rum is aged.

Mr. Cate’s method to untangling this unholy mess is slightly more complex, with a whopping 21 different categories, which he uses for cocktail recipes in his extremely famous book. These are slightly more comprehensive, with age covered as well as base material used to create the rum. Only slightly daunting if you are new to drinking rum, “Just find one of the 21 categories you enjoy and go from there.''.





The great Matt Pietrek, otherwise known as Cocktail Wonk covers the flaws in both these systems amongst others in some more detail here . Even going as far as creating mandatory information on every rum label.





What To Do Next?





As you can all imagine, there is no easy solution to the current predicament rum find itself in. As the premium & super-premium rum sectors continue to grow, there seems to be almost no assurance of quality to somebody with zero rum knowledge. Long term this will surely harm rum sales, due to people not trusting the category in the same way they can with something like Scotch Whiskey. It ultimately boils down to people not being willing to part with their hard-earned cash for something they have no guarantee of actually enjoying.





In terms of changing our current categories of rum, much smarter men than I have tried & nothing has stuck in the public’s conscience. I like the idea of having as much information about the production method as possible on the label, but short of all distilleries agreeing to it (they won’t) & every bottle coming with a leaflet explaining rum production (only slightly impractical), I feel like it would be nothing short of confusing for everybody other than spirit enthusiasts.





There is hope however!





One of the biggest advocates of transparency in the rum world is the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers’ Association (WIRSPA) which include members from: Antigua, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, Suriname & Trinidad. These countries certainly produce a lot of rum between them and can provide a good start for the rest of the world to follow suit.





Another thing which has become a very hot topic over the past couple of years are Geographical Indications (GIs). These are essentially a set of laws for rum making in each country. The biggest of these GIs to come into effect have been for Jamaica & Barbados, with rum from each island having to complete several pieces of criteria to be called “Jamaican Rum” or “Barbados Rum”.





As more GIs get approved by distilleries from each country this should provide a greater understanding of what consumers are expecting to get when buying a rum from a particular area. Which can only result in more trust & people will to experiment with different distilliery’s products.





For the short term, I’d simply recommend everybody try as many different styles & distilleries you can possibly find. Chances are you aren’t going to like everything (I’m sorry Mount Gay XO Peat Smoke, I tried to love you so much!). However the pain (and losses of funds), will be 100% worth it when you try something that makes you forget about everything and leaves you speechless for a minute*. You’ll also ended learning a thing or two in the process if you don’t over-do it on the RumBar Daiquiris.





*Yes, I am talking about the Caroni 1996.