Rum is the result of fermenting sugar cane.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

(Please note, I'm not the author, just the cut & paster)

RUM

Rum is the result of fermenting sugar cane. It is the alcoholic drink that maintains a larger quantity of taste factors from its original product and that receives a minimal chemical treatment. It is aged in barrels, that do not necessarily have to be of oak since rum does not need its tanine. The colour varies between its water-white (its natural colour), amber and mahogany. The colouring agent is the sugar caramel, that does not add any taste to the rum.

The fast fermentation takes one day and is typical of Puerto Rico, Cuba and also Jamaica, and the result is the light rum. The slow fermentation can take up to 12 days and results into stronger rums, typical of Martinique and the traditional rums of Jamaica, whose aging and bottling is often made in the UK.

The French ascendancy over Haiti influenced the way rum is produced, since it is distilled twice, the same like cognac, and obtains a transparent colour.

The most famous rum of Martinique is the Rum Saint James, which is produced by the fermentation of dunder, which is a residuum that appears in the still after distilling the sugar cane. Its flavour makes this rum unique.

Puerto Rico is the world´s largest rum producer. There are two kinds: White Label, very light, and Black Label, something stronger. The aging of rum is made under the sate´s control. It is normally a dry, light-bodied rum. Puerto Rico is home to Ron Bacardi, the largest producer, which has its origin in Cuba.

:p

[Kristian]

Sorry to get back to this so late...

Where did you find this horrible source of knowledge?

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

K,

Where I got it is a better SOURCE of rum, than info, I guess.  Please be so kind as to point out the errors.  

[Kristian]

'this a quiz?

Well, I'm by no means an expert, having such a short experience with rums, but there are some things that even I can point out. Others can fill in the gaps.

1. rum is made of the molasses or sugarcane juice (rhum), not by fermenting the sugarcanes themselves (as is). This fermented product (alcohol % only about 4-5) is then distilled in pot or column stills and only after this it is aged (unless one bottles it as a white rum, in which case it is not aged - and if it is, not for more than a few months).

2. the reference of burned sugar being the colouring agent implies that rum would be a clear substance without this sugar - in reality, however, rum gains colour naturally when it is aged. Burned sugar might be used to adjust the colour, but in better products it is not the only source of colour (although there are many brands that are only coloured to resemble the aged variants and have not been aged at all). I think this error may originate from some dictionary source - I've seen it before somewhere.

3. aging and bottling of rums: I have no knowledge of any rums being aged in the UK. Manufacturers may blend and bottle the rums there and in other countries, but I don't think they do much aging outside the distilleries themselves. I don't know a lot about this, however.

These mistakes only relate to the basic production of rum. I think there are mistakes in the text about the various types of rum coming from different islands, but I don't know enough about them yet to say exactly what... The references to Haiti and its rums sound incredible, though, as does the description of rum Saint James - as far as I understand it, theirs' is supposed to be a typical French rum made out of the cane juice.

Well, anyone else want to add something?  

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

Thanks, but does not rum get MOST of it's colour from being aged in oak barrels?  And if not aged long, or in oak, remains somewhat pale?

[Kristian]

Yes, that's right. That's actually what I tried to say above, but perhaps I was too wordy. Most of rums' colour does come from the aging process in the oal barrels and burned sugar is only sometimes used to adjust this colour to the blender's or bottler's liking.

However, I have a nagging suspicion that not all dark rums are really aged and that there are some distillers who rely only on the burned sugar to colour their rums. If this suspicion is correct, these producers are essentially cheating their customers and ruining the reputation of rums as a whole... I'd like to learn the truth about this...

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

I'd bet a bottle of HC7 you are right!