Caribbean Rum: The Islands' Most Essential Drink

Rum was born in Barbados in the 17th century, and the story of its birth is inseparable from the story of the Caribbean itself. The sugarcane plantations that defined the colonial economy of the islands produced molasses as a byproduct of sugar production, a thick, dark syrup that fermented naturally in the tropical heat. The enslaved workers on the plantations discovered that this fermented molasses could be distilled into a spirit, and by the mid-1600s, Barbados had the first commercial rum distillery in the world. Mount Gay, which traces its origins to a deed of sale dated 1703, is the oldest rum brand in continuous production anywhere on earth. The role of rum in the colonial economy was profound; it was currency, it was ration, it was the lubricant of the slave trade and the Royal Navy alike. The history of rum is the history of the Caribbean, and understanding one requires understanding the other. The styles of rum divide along the same colonial lines as the islands. The English-style rums of Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad are full-bodied, molasses-based spirits aged in oak barrels; the style that most people think of when they think of rum. Barbadian rums are elegant and refined; Jamaican rums are funky and expressive, with a distinctive ester character that comes from the long fermentation periods used by the island's distilleries; Trinidadian rums, anchored by the Angostura distillery, are clean and versatile. The French rhum agricole of Martinique and Guadeloupe is a fundamentally different spirit; made from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses, it is lighter, more aromatic, and more complex than the English-style rums, with a grassy, vegetal character that reflects the raw material. Martinique's rhum agricole has its own AOC designation (the only spirit outside France to hold one) and the best examples from distilleries like Rhum Clément, J.M., and Neisson are among the finest spirits produced anywhere in the world. The Spanish-style rums of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic are lighter and cleaner than either the English or French styles; the basis for the mojito, the daiquiri, and the Cuba Libre, cocktails that have become global standards. The great distilleries of the Caribbean are worth visiting as destinations in their own right. Mount Gay in Barbados (the oldest rum brand in the world) offers distillery tours in Bridgetown that cover the history of the brand and include tastings of the range, from the accessible Eclipse to the rare and extraordinary 1703 Master Select. Appleton Estate in Jamaica's Nassau Valley is the most celebrated Jamaican rum producer; the estate has been producing rum since 1749, and the tours of the distillery and the surrounding sugarcane fields are among the best agricultural tourism experiences in the Caribbean. Angostura in Trinidad is best known for its bitters (the small bottle with the oversized label that sits on every bar in the world) but the distillery also produces a range of rums that are among the most underrated in the Caribbean. Rhum Clément in Martinique is the benchmark for rhum agricole; the estate, in the south of the island, offers tours that explain the distinction between agricole and industrial rum production with a clarity that makes the difference immediately comprehensible. The rum punch is the universal Caribbean cocktail, and the formula is one of the great mnemonic devices in the world of drinks: one of sour (lime juice), two of sweet (sugar syrup), three of strong (rum), four of weak (water or fruit juice). The proportions are fixed; everything else is variable. Every island has its own version; Barbados adds Angostura bitters and a grating of nutmeg; Jamaica uses overproof rum and adds a float of dark rum on top; Trinidad uses the local Angostura rum and serves it over ice with a slice of orange. The debate about which island makes the best rum punch is one of the great ongoing arguments of Caribbean travel, and the only way to settle it is to drink your way through the evidence. The rum shop is the social center of Barbadian life; a small, informal bar that serves rum by the glass and Banks beer by the bottle, where the dominoes games run all afternoon and the conversation covers everything from cricket to politics to the price of flying fish. The rum shop is not a tourist attraction; it is a community institution, and the visitor who finds one and sits down for a drink is experiencing something more authentic than any organized tour can provide. The equivalent institutions exist on other islands under different names (the rum bar in Jamaica, the bar in Trinidad) but the Barbadian rum shop is the archetype. The cocktails that define their islands are a map of Caribbean drinking culture. The mojito (white rum, lime, sugar, mint, soda water) was born in Havana and remains the defining drink of Cuba. The daiquiri, in its original form (rum, lime, sugar, shaken with ice), is another Havana creation, a drink that Hemingway made famous at the Floridita bar and that has been debased by the frozen blender version that bears its name. The Dark and Stormy (dark rum and ginger beer) is the national drink of Bermuda, where it is a protected trademark of the Gosling's rum brand. The Painkiller (rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, cream of coconut) was created at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands, where it is still served to sailors who swim ashore from their anchored boats. The Ti' Punch (rhum agricole, cane syrup, a disc of lime) is the national drink of Martinique, served at room temperature in a small glass, a drink of such simplicity and intensity that it requires a good rhum agricole to work at all. Practical notes on buying rum to bring home: the duty-free allowance for US travelers returning from the Caribbean is one liter per person, though travelers returning from US territories (Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands) can bring back more. The bottles worth seeking out include Mount Gay 1703 Master Select from Barbados, Appleton Estate 21-Year from Jamaica, Rhum Clément XO from Martinique, and Angostura 1824 from Trinidad. Distillery tours worth doing: Mount Gay in Barbados (book in advance), Appleton Estate in Jamaica (the most comprehensive agricultural rum tour in the Caribbean), and Rhum Clément in Martinique (the best introduction to rhum agricole). The rum you buy at the distillery is often not available outside the Caribbean; the limited releases and single-barrel expressions that distilleries sell on-site are worth the luggage space.