FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| BOOZE Let's see, in these pages I've covered vodka, gin, scotch, bourbon, tequila, a variety of brandies and grappa. What is left to cover in the major spirit category? I draw the line at rye - so rum it is. Once relegated to the backyards of North America where it was drowned in Coca-Cola and pounded back by ruddy-cheeked suburbanites, or as the preferred choice for spiking that ubiquitous holiday glop known as eggnog, rum is like the relative that only comes out of the woodwork for festivities, after which it resumes its life of quiet anonymity. I still have most of the last bottle of rum I purchased, some nine years ago. That being said, premium rums are now being hailed as the next big thing in the American spirit market, fueled by the current craze for cigars and all-things Cuban. An early name for rum, "kill-devil," provides the proverbial field day for modern marketers appealing to contemporary drinkers of such concoctions as "Voodoo Zombie" by Bacardi. It is unlikely the rum-drinking trend will catch on in the Canadian market to the same degree as it has in the U.S. (I'm still waiting for premium tequilas and bourbons to take off here), which is ironic, considering Cuban products are legal in Canada, but not in the U.S. Sugarcane is the plant responsible for rum, either in the form of a mash, or distilled from molasses and cane sap. It is assumed that the first versions of rum originated in either India or China. Alexander the Great reported tasting a spirit made from sugarcane after his visit to India in the fourth century. In 1493, Christopher Columbus introduced sugarcane to the Caribbean, where it continues to flourish to this day. Rum (and apparently sodomy and the lash) became a staple aboard English sailing vessels and the first spirit to gain wide acceptance in the new world. Most rums are made by pressing fresh sugarcane to obtain the juice, which is boiled and reduced to a syrup. The syrup is then centrifuged, which allows the sugar crystals to be removed, leaving behind what is essentially molasses. The molasses is distilled twice, typically in a continuous still, although some small-batch producers utilize copper pot stills. The final color of a rum is directly related to the amount of time the spirit ages in oak barrels, anywhere from six months and up to 15 years in a few rare examples. Puerto Rico produces roughly 85 per cent of all the rum sold in the U.S. (Bacardi is a prime example, although the label simply says "product of the Caribbean"), making rum one the country's major export commodities. Many of Puerto Rico's sugarcane plantations closed down after the First World War, and they now import most of their molasses from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, both of whom produce a significant amount of rum as well. Other rum-producing countries include Venezuela, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Haiti, Martinique and Barbados. What's around town for your edification or for your next Hemingway Binge-Nite theme party? Leaving aside all those pirate-festooned, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of... "Navy" types, the Philippines is represented by Tondena, available in white, gold and dark versions - Dillon 1982 Gold is from Martinique, and Appleton from Jamaica offers us five and 12-year-old Estate rums, along with a "Reggae Spiced," man. A Martinique producer that we'd love to see here is Clement, producer of spectacular sipping rums. Overproof rums (60-per-cent-plus alcohol) are the basis for potent punches as well as beingimbued with purported "restorative" and "curative" properties. Consumption of overproof rum in a straight form is not recommended for those susceptible to spontaneous combustion. Try the Appleton 151 overproof, if you dare.... The "Cuban tradition" category is best displayed by the rums of Matusalem & Co., especially their 15-year-old solera Gran Reserva (Matusalem uses mainly rums from Puerto Rico, as they left Cuba when Fidel showed up). Of course, Barbados has its Mount Gay and Cockspur, and Puerto Rico is the source of a plethora of rums of all shades. |