Wales Tourism and Visit Planning

CT&L Editors' Choice Rum Tasting

The Caribbean runs on rum. Well, at least it sits around relaxing on rum. Call it cane juice, kill devil, ron, rhum or rum, the firewater made from fermented molasses mash is as much a part of this region and its history as whiskey is a part of Ireland, wine a part of France. Unfortunately, many a Caribbean traveler's first experience with rum is the ubiquitous "punch." Often mixed by the tubful, some cheap rum punches are the equivalent of torpedo juice and Kool-Aid, leaving the drinker literally with a lousy taste in his mouth.

That's too bad, because Caribbean distillers have spent centuries refining the art of creating, aging and blending sugar's ethereal spirit. The finest rums deserve every bit the consideration given good cognacs, bourbons and brandies. With that in mind, we decided to perform a public service and pour ourselves a drink or two (or 40) of the Caribbean's best in order to search out the region's top tots.

THE PANEL
Our first rum-tasting panel was made up of our editors and publishers along with esteemed guests that included a high-ranking corporate officer who was invited in the hope that our booze-laden expense report would be approved. It was a group of well-seasoned Caribbean travelers, sailors and sand junkies -- all qualified veterans of many a rum "sundowner."

THE RULES
This was a blind tasting. Contrary to some of our panelists' beliefs, this does not mean that you continue tasting rums until you fall down blind. It is simply a technique used to prevent any brand bias -- the tasters were not told the names of the rums until after completing the entire category.

No wine-tasting-type spitting was allowed aside from the unintentional "spit takes" brought on by exceptionally funny mispronunciations of the Haitian rum, Barbancourt (bob un coo).

Crackers and water were administered after each round of rum to cleanse the palate and minimize hangovers.

Any panelist committing three spills was officially flagged.

THE RUMS
We tested a total of 40 rums in three different categories: premium, regular and flavored. Each was drunk neat -- no ice, no water, no mixture of seven fruit juices with nutmeg on top. We collected rums from Bermuda to Guyana, from Jamaica to Barbados, and from $6 to $40 a bottle. You'll be able to find many of them at your local liquor store, although we do admit that the rum fairy dropped by with a couple of bottles that must have washed ashore without going through U.S. Customs. Prices are approximate retail.

THE AWARDS
Our award system begins by ranking rums on a one-to-10 point scale. We then group the best into three prize categories, with three stars as the highest honor. A number of rums did not receive a star. We rated each sample for color, smell and taste, although the final rankings were based purely on drinkability. Color, usually a sign of aging, did not carry weight because even some aged rums are filtered back to clear while other, younger rums are darkened with the addition of caramel. Likewise, smell was a consideration, but not as important as taste: Potpourri may smell nice, but you don't want to sprinkle it on your ice cream.

FUTURE PANELS
The annual CT&L rum tasting will remain a real-world, real-people taste test. That means you'll be invited to become a member of the kill-devil swilling team. And starting next year, we're making it part of an entire rum-themed vacation event that will take place in the islands. Stay tuned.

[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]