Post #376380 by TikiSan on Sat, Apr 26, 2008 1:05 AM

Rum's ship comes in
With bartenders and consumers exploring its many facets, the previously low-rent liquor is gaining new respect

Paul Clarke, Special to The Chronicle

Friday, April 25, 2008

Between pirates and pina coladas, rum has had a difficult history. It's easy to see why: Words regularly appearing in proximity to its name have included "demon,""and Coke" and "yo-ho-ho," and for many years rum was considered a cut-rate tipple best suited for the low tastes of, well, rummies.

But if recent trends are any indication, it's time to put away the paper parasols and unplug the Daiquiri Dude: Rum is getting serious.

"It's been surprising how (rum) has gone from swill to swanky so steadily," says Wayne Curtis, a New Orleans rum expert and author of "And a Bottle of Rum." "I don't think anyone expected this 15 or 20 years ago, but it's really gotten some attention."

Industry figures bear out this shift: According to a statement issued earlier this year by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, sales of super-premium rum - essentially those brands priced more than $30 a bottle - grew 43 percent in volume in 2007, generating $29 million in revenue

"The number of rums available today has grown by about a factor of 10 over the last seven or eight years," says Ed Hamilton, a rum authority and importer, and publisher of the Ministry of Rum Web site. According to the spirits council, there were approximately 500 types of rum available in the United States in 2007, and overall rum sales grew almost 9 percent from the previous year.

"There are newer, better rums coming to the market every year," Hamilton says.

Part of rum's appeal is its expansive variety. While spirits such as bourbon or Tequila are manufactured using clearly defined sets of legal guidelines, rum is much more freewheeling. Every rum-producing region has its own production techniques, resulting in a dizzying array of styles.

"There's no spirit as diverse and as complicated as rum," says Thad Vogler, bar manager at Beretta in the Mission District. Vogler also conducts Beverage Academy sessions on rum at Bourbon & Branch in the Tenderloin; the next is scheduled for May 20.

"There's no other single spirit that can teach you about every aspect of distillates, from the agriculture (of the sugarcane) through fermentation to barrel aging and blending. Rum is such a great tool to explore all of those different attributes of making a distilled spirit."

As with almost anything related to the inside of a liquor bottle, rum's history is a bit fuzzy. The spirit probably originated in the Caribbean during the 17th century - Barbados lays a strong claim to parentage - and was created in an effort to produce a marketable product from molasses, a byproduct of the sugar industry. Known as "kill-devil," this prototype rum was grisly stuff, and early descriptions read like a bizarro Zagat review: "rough and disagreeable," "a hot, hellish and terrible liquor" and "not very pleasant in taste."
Reaching the New World

But as with any cheap source of entertainment, colonists soon warmed up to the new spirit. Curtis writes that like tobacco, whale oil and syphilis, rum was carried by sailors and merchant ships into ports throughout the New World. By 1700, rum from Barbados, Antigua and St. Kitts was a common bulk cargo bound for northern ports, and the spirit was praised among colonists as "the Comforter of their Souls, the Preserver of their Bodys, the Remover of their Cares, and Promoter of their Mirth." So prominent was rum in the American colonies that Benjamin Franklin listed "been to Barbados" as a euphemism for drunkenness in the Pennsylvania Gazette.

Curtis says rum "fell off the map" following the American revolution, replaced by native spirits such as rye whiskey and bourbon. Rum remained largely ignored until Prohibition was enacted in 1920; fortunately, in the preceding decades many distillers had instituted changes that resulted in a much higher-quality spirit.

"Americans began traveling to the islands - Cuba in particular - to get a drink and discovered that there was this rum that had been around for a half century or more that was really spectacular," Curtis says. "They started to appreciate it more for its higher-end qualities than as just the swill that got you drunk."

Curtis gives much of the credit for the improvement in rum's fortunes to a company that still dominates the rum market: Bacardi. "The early manufacturer of Bacardi in the late 19th century really started paying attention to quality and consistency in a way that nobody really had before that," he says. In addition to employing techniques such as filtration, blending and barrel aging, Bacardi also paid attention to branding, placing its distinctive bat logo on bottles as a sign of quality. Now based in Puerto Rico, Bacardi is a major player in the spirits world. According to Adams Beverage Group, a beverage-alcohol industry trade group, Bacardi sold 9 million cases of rum in the United States in 2006, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the rum market; in second place was Captain Morgan, with more than 5.5 million cases, while mass-market brands such as Malibu, Cruzan and Ronrico also accounted for a substantial share of sales.
From white to black

Today, rum styles range from the austere white rums from Cuba and Puerto Rico that are almost as light as vodka, to the rich, dark spirits from Guatemala and Guyana that may resemble chocolate in flavor and crude oil in color. In between are the medium-bodied rums from Barbados, Jamaica and the Virgin Islands, and the intriguing rums from Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique that are made from pressed sugarcane juice or sugarcane syrup instead of the more typical molasses.

Rhum agricole - which, since it is made on French islands, is typically referred to by its French name - is made from fresh sugarcane juice. Hamilton says it is distilled at a lower proof than similar rums from Haiti, though at a higher proof than the similar cachaca from Brazil. Cachaca is also made from sugarcane juice but is typically produced and aged using different techniques, and may have sugar added before bottling. Rhum agricole is so notably different from other rums that Martinique, an overseas holding of France, has earned the rum industry's sole AOC (appellation d'origine controlee) designation from the French government, a characteristic it shares with Cognac, Calvados and Armagnac.

Unaged rhum agricole has a floral, grassy aroma and a peppery, Tequila-like bite. While its flavor is engaging, it's also assertive, and aficionados agree it's an acquired taste. When aged in oak, the rum's character is mellowed and rendered more approachable, but the spirit retains its brightness and has a flavor similar to that of Cognac or whiskey.

At Slanted Door, bar manager Erik Adkins serves aged Martinique rum in an Agricole Rhum Punch; he says the drink takes a little explaining. "When we serve a drink called 'rum punch,' we have a lot of people think it's going to be orange juice, pineapple juice, kind of your cruise-ship drink," he says.

Instead, Adkins is working with the classic 17th century concept of punch, which was typically composed of rum, lime juice, sugar, water and spice; Slanted Door's punch is made with cane syrup and clove tincture. "It's rustic, it's strong and it's hearty," Adkins says.
Go-to mixer

Since its debut in drinks such as punch, bombo (a mixture of rum, water, molasses and nutmeg) and grog (rum, water, sugar and lime juice), rum has demonstrated its impressive utility as a mixing liquor. Bartenders use rum in everything from classic daiquiris and mojitos to adventurous new creations.

At Death & Co. in New York, owner Dave Kaplan even worked with Minnesota spirits importer Eric Seed to source a rum customized to his bartender's needs. "I'm a huge rum fan," Kaplan says. "It's a nice, unique spirit, but the rum I wanted wasn't out there. I wanted a higher-proof rum, and realized if it's not out there and I want it, then other people probably want it, too."

After reviewing several styles, Kaplan settled on a blended, aged rum from Trinidad, dubbed "Scarlet Ibis." (It's also available at the Slanted Door.)

Philip Ward, bar manager at Death & Co., says the rum's characteristics work wonderfully in new drinks such as the Coin Toss, which includes Carpano Antica Formula vermouth and two hearty herbal liqueurs. "It has the richness of rum without being too sweet, and it has the backbone from the higher proof," he says. "That bite comes through when you're drinking a cocktail."

Bartenders can also custom-blend their own flavor from the many rum styles available. This was a common approach starting in the 1930s, when tiki impresarios Donn Beach and "Trader Vic" Bergeron came to dominate the field of exotic drinks.

"You'd never think of mixing a martini with two different gins or an old-fashioned with three different ryes, but that happens in rum drinks all the time," says Jeff Berry, author of "Sippin' Safari" and a self-described cultural anthropologist of exotic drinks.

Berry says classic drinks such as the zombie and the Navy Grog - examples of what Beach called "rum rhapsodies" - frequently combine lighter rums with richer full-bodied spirits to achieve the right balance of flavor and fragrance.

This diversity "creates this incredibly wide-open field for mixing," Berry says. "You can mix drinks with rum in such an infinite variety compared to other liquors. There's so much potential and elasticity depending on the type of rum you use in a drink."

At Forbidden Island in Alameda, co-owner Martin Cate mixes rums in complicated tiki-style concoctions such as the Sidewinder's Fang and the Coronado Luau Special, but he also wants his customers to understand the simple beauty of a well-crafted rum. In February, Cate launched the Kill-Devil Club, a program in which customers work their way through guided tastings of 97 rums. Cate starts many customers down the rum path with what he calls "gateway rums" - softer and simpler selections like Venezuela's Vizcaya VSOP, with more classic flavors of vanilla and caramel.
Quality for a bargain

There's no shortage of rums to explore. Jeff Berry recommends the Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum from the Virgin Islands as a lighter-bodied sipping rum, but his favorites include the smoky, tar-black demerara rums from Guyana, including those bottled by Lemon Hart as well as the 8- and 12-year-old rums from El Dorado. Wayne Curtis lists the Guatemalan rums from Zaya and Ron Zacapa among his favorites, and robust Venezuelan rums such as Ron Pampero Aniversario and Santa Teresa 1796 have ardent fans among bartenders. (For more rums, see Tasting Notes, page F4.)

While a few recent entries in the rum market have demonstrated an upward tick in price, rum is still the best bargain for those searching for quality spirits. Combined with its many diverse styles and intriguing history, this bargain status could help propel rum into its latest and possibly biggest renewal. With this rebirth, a beleaguered spirit that's played a prominent role in countless regrettable adventures - ranging from rum-fueled pirate raids to sunburned hookups with Captain Morgan - may have a bright new future.

"(Rum is) sort of where Tequila was a decade ago," Cate says. "Rum is finally getting to that point where people realize it's something more than just the stuff in that sickly sweet, bright-pink thing they had on vacation once."
Tasting notes

Embarking on an exploration of quality rum can be intimidating, but purchasing a few starter rums certainly isn't. Most premium rums are priced between $20 and $30, and truly excellent rums are still frequently less than $50. "Being able to get a 12-year-old or 18-year-old rum at the same price as a 5-year-old Cognac or a 10-year-old bourbon is amazing to me; it's awesome," Nopa bar manager Neyah White says.

That gives every rum aficionado the chance to find a personal favorite. White prizes the Angostura 1919 from Trinidad. "Eight years in bourbon barrels, and it's honey, vanilla, caramel - all the good things in life," he says.

Each rum-producing region uses its own distinctive methods of production and aging, and the rums from Haiti and the islands of the French West Indies are distinguished from the others in their use of sugarcane juice instead of molasses as a base material. Across the rum spectrum, there are many brands and styles worth discovering.

The bottles below are all 750 ml.

Appleton Extra (Jamaica, $29) Rich and oaky, Appleton Extra is an exceptionally smooth and voluptuous spirit that retains the characteristic molasses funk found in most Jamaican rums.

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum (Virgin Islands, $28) Smooth and creamy, with the delicate flavors of vanilla, brown sugar and caramel, the molasses-based Cruzan Single Barrel is lighter in body and flavor than most other aged rums. A very approachable rum for those just starting to explore.

Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum (Bermuda, $70) With a color, aroma and flavor that is all about the molasses, this rum is rich and heavy, tinged with flavors of dried fruit, yet has a surprisingly dry finish.

Mount Gay Extra Old Rum (Barbados, $36) Redolent of caramel and vanilla, with a smooth, buttery texture and offering a flavor rich with honey and toffee, the molasses-based Mount Gay Extra Old is an engaging, voluptuous rum.

Pyrat XO Reserve (Anguilla, $42) One of Martin Cate's "gateway rums," the Pyrat XO is fruity and very sweet - verging on cloying - with the bright flavors of mango, vanilla and honey. Lighter and less complex than many other aged molasses-based rums, the Pyrat XO offers a very gentle entry to the world of premium rum.

Rhum Barbancourt Reserve du Domain 15-year (Haiti, $44) If the Pyrat XO is a gateway rum, the Barbancourt 15-year is near the culmination of the rum journey. Crisp and floral, with an engaging grassy aroma from its sugarcane juice base, this rum is pleasantly dry, with a Cognac-like complexity and a lingering, oaky finish.

Rhum Clement VSOP (Martinique, $39) It's difficult to comprehend that this is a rum. Gentle and oaky, with a deep vegetal quality and a long, woody finish, this aged sugarcane-based rhum agricole bears more resemblance to a Cognac or a single-malt than to aged molasses-based rums.

Ron Pamparo Aniversario (Venezuela, $34) Rich yet crisp, with a classic vanilla and caramel flavor that is fruity yet dry, the Ron Pamparo Aniversario demonstrates that some of the most engaging molasses-based rums on the market are coming from the old Spanish Main.

Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Anos (Guatemala, $40) About as indulgent as rum gets. Soft as a feather bed, sweet but not cloying, and with deep, deep notes of chocolate and brown sugar, the molasses-based Zacapa is so smooth and luscious you just want to crawl into the glass and roll around in it.

Scarlet Ibis (Trinidad, $36) Surprisingly light and floral for a molasses-based rum, the Scarlet Ibis has crisp, aromatic notes of vanilla and toffee. The higher alcohol level - 98 proof - makes it a little more assertive than your typical sipping rum, but this same quality means the rum is sure to keep its identity when mixed in a cocktail.

• Paul Clarke
  Coin Toss

Makes 1 drink

This original cocktail from the Manhattan bar Death & Co. uses Scarlet Ibis rum from Trinidad; Santa Teresa 1796 rum from Venezuela is a suitable replacement.

• 2 ounces Scarlet Ibis rum
• 3/4 ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth
• 1/4 ounce yellow Chartreuse
• 1/4 ounce Benedictine
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Instructions: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill with ice, stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Agricole Rhum Punch

Makes 1 drink

Erik Adkins, bar manager at San Francisco's Slanted Door, uses the distinctive flavor of aged rhum agricole in this adaptation of a classic punch recipe.

• 1 1/2 ounces La Favorite Rhum Agricole Ambre
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Martinique Cane Syrup (see Note) or rich demerara syrup (see instructions)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 5 drops clove tincture (see instructions)
• -- Nutmeg

Instructions: Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake well and pour (unstrained) into a rocks glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

To make rich demerara syrup: Combine 2 parts demerara sugar with 1 part water in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until sugar is completely dissolved and syrup comes just to a boil. Let cool before using; keep unused portion refrigerated.

To make clove tincture: Dry-toast 1/4 cup whole cloves and let cool; place in a jar and add enough Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum to cover (approximately 1/4 cup); seal and let soak for two weeks, adding more rum if needed to keep cloves submerged. Filter and store in a dropper bottle

Note: Petit Canne Sugar Cane Syrup from Martinique is available at PlumpJack Wines in Noe Valley and K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City.
Airmail

Makes 1 drink

Bar manager Thad Vogler uses an aged rum from Haiti in this classic cocktail served at Beretta in San Francisco.

• 2 ounces Barbancourt Five Star 8-year-old rum
• 1 ounce honey syrup (see Note)
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 to 2 ounces chilled Champagne, to taste
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Instructions: Combine rum, honey syrup and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake well and strain into a coupe glass. Top with chilled Champagne and garnish with a dash of bitters.

Note: To make honey syrup, combine equal parts honey and hot water and stir until honey is dissolved. Let cool before using; keep unused portion refrigerated.

Paul Clarke is a contributing editor at Imbibe magazine and publisher of the blog the Cocktail Chronicles. E-mail comments to [email protected].

This article appeared on page F - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle