Sugar cane is a perennial grass native to Papua New Guinea that spread east to the polynesian islands and west to India. In the 1500’s, Portuguese settlers brought sugar cane and African slaves to Brazil. They then established plantations and soon after, began making a spirit from fermented sugar cane juice they called cachaça. In the 1640’s, British plantation owners in Barbados realized they could sell the spirit fermented and distilled from molasses which was thought to be a waste product from the sugar refining process. This molasses spirit was given a number of names including kill devil, rumbustion, and rumbullion, but eventually people settled on rum. From Barbados, rum quickly spread throughout the Caribbean islands and to the British colonies in New England changing and morphing to the tastes, preferences and circumstances of each new place.
Sugar cane spirits can be made anywhere in the world and the most popular brands are still made in and around the Caribbean. Due to history, geography and language, sugar cane spirits have developed into a number of regional styles. Cachaça, from Brazil, rhum agricole from Martinique, clairin from Haiti, and aguardente de cana from Mexico, are all made with fresh pressed cane juice. Batavia arrack from Indonesia is not technically a pure sugar cane spirit since it is made from cane and red rice. Rums from the former British Caribbean colonies are largely distilled from molasses using pot stills or a combination of pot and column stills. Rums (spelled ron in Spanish) from the former Spanish colonies have come to favor the lighter style made from column distilled molasses or cane syrup.
By and large, most countries allow some amount of additives in rum that do not require labeling. U.S. rum allows the addition of caramel coloring, while in other countries, additives such as sugar, glycerin, and vanilla can be added without being labeled.
Originally a French style of sugar cane spirit made from fresh sugar cane juice. Today, agricole can refer to any rum distilled from fresh cane juice.Cane Syrup: A viscous liquid made by boiling fresh cane juice to remove some of the water and caramelize the sugars.
Organic compounds found in spirits that contribute to the flavors and aromas. In sugar cane spirits, esters are often described as contributing fruity or vegetal flavors. In high ester sugar cane spirits, they are described as contributing “funky” aromas such as overripe fruit.
A collection of largely rum based cocktails that were created at bars such as Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood, CA, or Trader Vic’s in Oakland, CA. The Tiki aesthetic drew its inspiration from polynesian culture and a romanticized vision of the South Pacific.