Caribbean Rum Flashcards
(143 cards)
1
Q
What is Navy Rum?
A
Not legally defined, often used to describe a particular style of amber-colored, high proof, flavorful rum. Refers to its inclusion in British sailors “daily tot”, a ration of spirits/beer/wine.
2
Q
When did a spirits ration become part of the official British naval regulations?
A
1731.
3
Q
For how long did ED & F Man source most of the rums used for Navy Rum?
A
Nearly 190 years (from 1784-1970)
4
Q
Where was Navy Rum blended and aged?
A
At the Navy supply depot in Deptford, in the London docklands.
5
Q
How was Navy rum aged?
A
In a sort of solera of massive, open-topped wooden tanks for two years.
6
Q
What was the historic proof for Navy Rum?
A
54.5% abv.
7
Q
What is a black rum?
A
A rum in which caramel, molasses, or both are added back into the rum after distillation, giving it a distinctively dark appearance, darker than could be achieved through aging alone.
8
Q
How was a rum labeled as overproof from 1816 - 1980?
A
If it had an ABV over 57.15
9
Q
What is a main difference between Rhum Agricole and Haitian rums?
A
Clairins have notably high levels of Group 1 and 3 fractions due to ambient microorganisms.
10
Q
What was the method for determining proof from 1816-1980 in the UK?
A
The gunpowder method - where gunpowder was soaked
11
Q
What is grog?
A
Rum diluted with water and lime juice, helped combat drunkenness and prevent scurvy.
12
Q
When and why was Grog first introduced to the British Navy?
A
- It was to dilute the rum and split it over time to prevent drunkenness.
13
Q
Who was Bill McCoy?
A
A famous rum runner of the prohibition era.
14
Q
What is Black Tot Day?
A
July 31, 1970, the day when the Royal Navy put an end to the daily rations of alcohol.
15
Q
What is Pusser’s?
A
A “navy style” rum created by Charles Tobias, replicating the blend of five West Indian rums that was once the basis for Royal Navy rations,
16
Q
What are some brands of spiced rum?
A
Captain Morgan Spiced
Kraken
Sailor Jerry
17
Q
What are independent rum bottlers?
A
Rum brands that purchase and bottle their rum from all over the world.
18
Q
What is E&A Sheer?
A
An intermediary in the rum industry selling components for rum blends.
19
Q
When was the use of sugarcane juice instead of molasses first used in French style rums?
A
Between 1810 and 1815.
20
Q
When was rum first made on the islands of Jamaica and Barbados?
A
As early as the mid-1600s.
21
Q
What is Plantation OFTD?
A
A multi-country blend of rums from Jamaica, Guyana, and Barbados.
22
Q
What are the requirements for a rum to be labeled tradicional or traditionelle in the EU?
A
Produced exclusively from raw materials grown in the region.
Distilled at less than 90%ABV
Contains a prescribed level of volatile substances (225 g/hl or more)
Is unsweetened.
23
Q
Rums from what countries make up the traditional blend of navy style rum?
A
Guyana
Jamaica
Barbados
Trinidad
24
Q
What is unique about Worthy Park in Jamaica?
A
They produce sugar and rum from their own sugar farm.
25
What are the main categories of Jamaican rum?
Common Cleans
Plummers
Wedderburns
Continental Flavored (Or High Ester)
26
Which country is the most important source of high ester sugar cane spirits?
Jamaica
27
What are Common Clean Rums?
Jamaican rums with the lowest level of esters. Light and floral.
28
What are Plummers?
Jamaican rums with a medium ester level. Has tropical fruit aromas and more structure than Common Cleans.
29
What are Wedderburns?
Medium high ester Jamaican rums. More flavorful and structured than Plummers.
30
What are Continental Flavoreds?
The most aromatic and flavorful Jamaican rums, often with medicinal or tropical fruit aromas. Originally exported for use in blending, often consumed as is in Jamaica. Long, slow fermentation.
31
Why was the Continental Flavored style of rum originally created?
To be sold to Germany, where is was blended with neutral spirit and sold as Rum-Verschnitt.
32
What is required of a rum to bear the label term "Certified Geographical Indication" and "Jamaica Rum"?
It must be tested and approved by the technical committee of the Jamaica Rum and Spirits Traders Association.
33
What types of yeast are allowed for Jamaica Rum GI?
Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, and naturally occurring wild yeasts. Genetically modified yeast are not allowed.
34
Where does much of the high-volume production from Jamaica go?
To non-producer brands, such as Captain Morgan.
35
When was the Jamaican Rum GI established?
2016, updated in 2024.
36
Describe Appleton Estate rums.
Elegant with a fruity ester-driven lift in their aromas not especially high in esters. A blend of pot and column still marks.
37
What raw materials may be used in the production of Jamaican rum?
Sugar cane juice, sugar cane syrup, molasses, cane sugar, or any combination of these.
38
What may be added to Jamaica Rum?
Only water.
39
What is required for storage/maturation of Jamaica Rum?
It may be either unaged or aged in small food grade wooden barrels no larger than 250 L in size.
40
What is muck in Jamaican rum production?
The result of the concentration of dunder, a bacteria and ester rich concentrate.
41
What are the geographic limitations for the fermentation and distillation of Jamaica Run GI?
It is limited to the parts of the island in the limestone aquifer water basins (about half the island).
42
What is the oldest recognized rum producer in Jamaica?
Appleton Estate
43
Who currently owns Appleton Estate?
Campari
44
Who is Joy Spence?
The master blender at Appleton Estate. Possibly the first woman with such a position in the spirits industry.
45
What is Myers's?
A Jamaican rum brand known historically for its Original Dark and Planter's Punch Rums.
46
What type of rum are Myers's Original dark and Myers's Planter' Punch?
Traditional Black Rum.
47
What rum spread the word that Jamaican rum was the rum that belonged in a Planter's Punch?
Myers's Planter's Punch Rum.
48
Is the term Rhum Agricole legally recognized in the US?
No
49
What is Rhum agricole?
A subcategory of rum in the EU, for rum produced from raw sugarcane juice and limited certain production areas primarily in French Overseas departments.
50
What is the only AOC for rum?
Rhum de la Martinique AOC
51
What are the requirements for the ingredients in Rhum de la Martinique?
Two main species and hybrids of these approved for use - Saccharum Officinarum and Spontaneum. There are limits on sugarcane yield and strict standards for harvesting and processing.
52
What is Rhum Martinique Élevé Sous Bois?
A cask-aged rum that has been oak-aged for at least twelve months.
53
What is required for the fermentation of Rhum de la Martinique?
Must take place in open tanks, beneath the temperature of 101ºF, and completed within 120 hours. The final abv should not exceed 7.5% after fermentation.
54
What are the requirements for distilling Rhum de la Martinique?
Must occur in a specific style of continuous still with three elements - a heating chamber, stripping column and a condensation column.
55
When must Rhum Martinique be distilled?
Between January 2nd and September 5th
56
How many plates are required for column stills used in Rhum de la Martinique
At least 20
57
What material must column stills be made from for Rhum de la Martinique?
Copper or a mix of copper and stainless.
58
Is rectification allowed in the production of Rhum de la Martinique?
No
59
What must the ABV be of a new-make spirit of Rhum de la Martinique?
Between 65% and 75%.
60
What must appear on a label for Rhum Martinique?
Martinique (the appellation)
Agricole
Either Blanc or Vieux
61
What are the three main styles of Rhum Martinique?
Rhum Martinique Blanc
Rhum Martinique Élevé Sous Bois (Cask-aged)
Rhum Martinique Vieux (Extra aged)
62
What is Rhum Martinique Blanc?
A colorless rum aged for a minimum of 6 weeks in vats or tanks, no oak aging required.
63
What is Rhum de Sucrerie de la Bale du Galion GI?
A rum produced in Martinique by a single distillery in the Galion Bay area. Approved for 3 styles of rum molasses or cane syrup based.
64
What is Rhum Martinique Vieux?
A rum that has been oak aged for at least three years in oak with a capacity of the than 650 liters.
65
What are the aging designations for Rhum Martinique?
VO - 3 years in oak
VSOP - 4 years in oak
XO - 6 years in oak.
66
What is Grand Arôme?
An unaged, highly aromatic rarely seen high-ester rum produced with Vinasse (residuals left over form earlier distillations, like dunder in Jamaica)
67
What are the requirement for a Rhum Martinique to have vieux on the label?
It must have been aged in oak for at least three years in a barrel with a capacity of less than 650 liters.
68
What is Neisson?
A rum produced in Rhum Agricole of Martinique.
69
What is the last existing Martinique distillery to have been founded by a person of African descent?
Neisson.
70
What is Zepol Kare?
Creole for "square shoulders", the nickname in Martinique for Neisson rum.
71
Who owns Neisson rum currently?
It is still run by the family, with the founder's daughter and grandson in charge.
72
What is Saint James?
One of the oldest brands of rum produced on Martinique.
73
Who was Paulin Lambert?
A Marseilles rum merchant who founded Rhum des Plantations Saint-James.
74
What was unique about the Plantations Saint-James?
It didn't exist when the brand named for it was created. The founder of Saint James bought a different estate (Trouvaillant) and renamed in Plantations Saint-James.
75
What happened to the Saint James distillery in 1902?
A volcano on the island (Mount Pelee) leveled the town and destroyed part of the distillery.
76
What types of rum does Saint James currently produced?
Both rum and Rhum Agricole.
77
What are the three types of rum produced in Rhum de Sucrerie de la Baie du Galion GI?
Blance (white)
Brun (6 months in oak barrels)
Grand Arôme (unaged, high ester rum)
78
What type of rum does Guadeloupe produce?
Rhum Agricole
Molasses based rum
79
Does Guadeloupe have and AOC?
No, but it does have a GI for its agricultural rhum.
80
Describe Guadeloupe.
A French overseas department made up of two islands, Basse Terre (larger) and Marie-Galante.
81
What are the three rum producers on Marie-Galante (the smaller island) of Guadeloupe?
Rhum Bielle
Distillerie Poisson (Rhum du Pere Labat)
Domaine de Bellevue (Rhum Magalda)
82
Is there a set limit for distillation strength in Guadeloupe?
No, and the strength can reach as high as 85% ABV.
83
What is Marie-Galante?
The smaller of the islands making up Guadeloupe.
84
How may rums produced on Marie-Galante be labeled?
Rhum de Guadeloupe - Marie-Galante.
85
What is the Caroni Distillery
A rum producer in Trinidad and Tobago from 1918 until 2002. Still has a stock of heavy marks and different varieties are available, sought after by enthusiasts.
86
What are some rums produced in Trinidad?
Fernandez Black Label
Angostura Single Barrel Reserve Rum
Portion of base for Kraken Black Spiced Rum
87
How many distilleries are currently in Trinidad and Tobago?
Only one, selling under the brand name Angostura. Also sells rum for blending.
88
What is puncheon rum?
An overproof traditional rum produced in Trinidad, may have as high as 75% ABV.
89
Describe the history of the rum industry of Trinidad and Tobago.
In the 1700s began to cultivate sugarcane and made rum from molasses. Had close to 50 distilleries producing rum for the British Navy. As subsidies waned, so did production. By 1950, only a handful remained.
90
How is Rhum Barbancourt produced?
From sugarcane juice via double distillation. Some aged in a way similar to cognac.
91
When was Rhum Barbancourt founded?
1862.
92
What is the Société du Rhum Barbancourt?
A Haitian rum producer founded in 1862 by Dupré Barbancourt, and Frenchman from the cognac producing region of Charente.
93
At what ABV is Clairin typically bottled?
50% (distillation proof) with no water or other additives added after distillation.
94
What is Clairin?
An unaged traditional Haitian rum made by hundreds of tiny distilleries in Haiti. Uses sugarcane varieties native to Haiti, is hand-harvested, uses natural yeast, and is distilled in small batches.
95
What is Demerara Rum?
A molasses based rum produced in Guyana. Heavy bodied and rich with significant molasses character and a moderate degree of "funk".
96
What are some types of Demerara Rum blends?
Younger blends may be bottled as 151-proof rum or used in "navy blends".
97
Describe Guyanese marks.
Rich, mouth-filling, which contrasts well with brighter, more ester-driven marks in blends.
98
When was rum first produced in Guyana?
The 1650s.
99
Who owns Demerara Distillers Ltd?
The government of Guyana.
100
What are the aging and bottling requirements for Demerara Rum?
May be aged and bottled outside of Demerara, except for a few expressions (Cask Aged Demerara Rum, Special Reserve Demerara Rum, and Grand Special Reserve Demerara rum).
101
What is the only distillery remaining in the Demerara area?
Diamond Distillery - operated by Demerara Distillers Limited.
102
What is a French Savalle still?
A four column metal still made by Armand Savalle in the 19th century.
103
What is the EHP wooden still?
The last remaining fully working wooden continuous Coffey Still, built in 1880.
104
What brands of rum does Diamond Distillery produce?
El Dorado Rum
Diamond Reserve Rum
105
Where is the last fully operating wooden continuous Coffey still located?
Demerara Distillers (Diamond Distillery)
106
What are the Demerara vat stills?
Two wooden pots stills over 250 years old, owned by Demerara Distillers Limited.
107
What is Demerara Rum GI?
A rum fermented and distilled in the Demerara region of Guyana, produced using either sugarcane juice or (more commonly) molasses.
108
When was the GI for Demerara Rum registered?
2021
109
What is the base material for most rum produced in Barbados?
Molasses
110
What is Bajan See-through?
A term sometimes used for Barbados White Rum
111
What is the West Indies Rum Distillery?
A large distillery on Barbados that mostly supplies the blending mark in particular marks for Malibu.
112
What are the three large distilleries located in Barbados?
West Indies Rum Distillery
Mount Gay
Foursquare.
113
What is Mount Gay?
The world's oldest documented rum brand located in Barbados.
114
Who was Sir John Gay Alleyne?
A wealthy and talented planter and political figure in Barbados who oversaw improvements in rum and sugar making in Barbados during the mid to late 18th Century. Mount Gay was named in honor of him.
115
When was Mount Gay founded?
1703
116
What type of rum is produced by Mount Gay?
Mostly blends of double retort pot and column still rums.
117
What is Mount Gay Eclipse?
The staple brand of Mount Gay, named after the 1910 total eclipse.
118
Where did George Washington reportedly order a barrel of rum from for his inauguration?
Barbados
119
Describe rums from Barbados.
Blends from both pot and column stills that are expressive and elegant. Neither extremely rich or high in esters.
120
What is Foursquare Rum Distillery?
A Barbados distillery opened in 1996 on grounds of former sugar plantation dating back 350 years. Produces high quality rums including some aged in specialty barrels (cognac, bourbon, Zinfandel, port).
121
Describe the typical Puerto Rican rum.
Lighter in style, delicate, clean, floral notes. Produced in continuous column stills, highly purified. May be filtered to remove color from aging.
122
What are some brands of Puerto Rican rum?
Bacardi (larges)
Ron Llave
Ron Palo Viejo
Don Q
Ron del Barrilito
123
Is Cuban rum aged for a third time?
It may be, but is not required.
124
Who distributes Havana Club from Cuba?
Pernod Ricard
125
How must Cuban rum be distilled?
In column stills.
126
What is destilado de caña in Cuban rum production?
A very high strength sugar cane spirit used for blending. Must be between 94.4 and 96% abv.
127
What is Aguardiente in Cuban sugar cane spirit production?
A lower-strength rum used for blending. Must be no less than 47% and no more than 76% abv.
128
What are maestros roneros?
Cuban rum masters.
129
What is the most widely distributed Cuban rum?
Havana Club
130
What must Cuban rum be made from?
Molasses from sugar cane grown in Cuba and selected yeast.
131
What is the Cuban method of Rum ageing?
The newly made lower-strength spirit (aguardiente) has to be oak aged. This aged rum is then blended with a highly rectified spirit and water to create a base spirit. The blends are then re-barreled and aged for a second period before being blended.
132
What may be added to Cuban rum post-distillation?
Caramel color and sugar (up to 20 g/L)
133
What is the confusion with the name Havana Club?
There is also a Havana Club Puerto Rican rum produced by Bacardi. There is ongoing litigation involving this.
134
What are the requirements for a Cuban rum to qualify for a given class based on age?
The base and final rums must both include a certain percentage of rums that meet a minimum ageing requirement.
135
What is vino de caña?
The Cuban name for the fermented molasses that will be distilled.
136
What are the age classifications for Cuban rum?
Añejo Blanco
Corto Blanca
Carta Oro
Añejo Reserva
Añejo
Extras or Extra Añejo
137
Who was Jose Arechabala?
Founded Havana Club.
138
What are some brands of Cuban rum?
Havana Club
Ron Santero
Santiago de Cuba
139
Who was Captain Morgan rum named after?
Sir Henry Morgan, a Welsh privateer.
140
What rums are produced on St. Croix?
Cruzan Rum
Captain Morgan
141
142
143
When and by whom was Cruzan Rum founded?
1769 (as Estate Diamond) by the Nelthropp family.
