White Rum

This is rum’s most sociable face, its most obvious manifestation as a party spirit at home in everything from a simple Cuba Libre – rum and Coke – to the most complex concoctions of modern mixology. But there’s regional character here, too – and more flavour than many people think.

The mojito, made with white rum – one of the most popular cocktails in the world

Making it big

The emergence of white rum as a mixable spirit in the second half of the 20th century secured its fortune – or rather, it secured the fortune of Bacardi, exiled from Cuba following revolution but unstoppable on its march to global superstardom, transcending the category in the process. To this day, people are just as likely to order a ‘Bacardi and Coke’ as a ‘rum and Coke’.

Bacardi – the global rum powerhouse – has its HQ located in Bermuda in The Caribbean

How is it Made

There’s a general correlation in spirits between colour and flavour, where dark equals intense and clear equals bland. Good white rum gives the lie to this notion, however, and it’s produced in more places, and by more people, than you might expect.

To take one example, the name of Flor de Caña 4-year-old gives a clue to these unexpected depths: just because a rum’s clear, it doesn’t mean it’s bottled straight off the still. Many white rums undergo a few years’ ageing, acquiring new levels of subtlety and complexity in the process.

So Cuba’s Havana Club Añejo Blanco marries smoothness to weight and punch; Santa Teresa Claro from Venezuela offers texture and body; and rhum agricole Barbancourt has a zesty, vegetal edge that refuses to be entirely subdued.

Make no mistake: these are rums which find their finest expression in a broad range of cocktails and mixed drinks, but they do so without sacrificing their own distinctive characters and provenance.

White Rum vs Dark Rum

There is a big difference between the overriding flavours of white rum and dark rum. White rum is all about freshness and vitality, whereas dark rum is noted for its power and richness. One is not better than the other; they are merely different. When it comes to cocktails, a Mojito cries out for white rum to match the clean, zingy style, whereas a Dark ‘n’ Stormy relies on the full-bodied robustness of a dark rum.

Did you know?

• Bacardi remains the rum world’s biggest brand bar none, selling well over 18m nine-litre cases in 2013
• Banks 5 Island combines rums from Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana, plus Batavia Arrack from Java, aged for 3-12 years, then filtered to remove the colour
• Wray and Nephew Overproof, dominates the Jamaican rum scene and – apart from being consumed in vast quantities – is also a popular household remedy for all manner of ills