Our little rum glossary

Rum has its vocabulary, its jargon, and it is not always easy to find your way around. Even seasoned enthusiasts wonder about notions that can be vague, and therefore sometimes diverted from their true meaning. However, it is important to be able to understand and decipher the labels, as well as the sometimes too well-coated speeches. This is why we offer you this little rum lexicon, a tool that we hope will serve as a machete in the tropical jungle of sugar cane spirits.

Agricultural

Agricultural rum is a rum made from pure sugar cane juice. A rum can benefit from this designation if it was produced in one of the overseas departments (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Reunion) or on the island of Madeira . Elsewhere, these rums simply bear the name of "pure cane juice rums".

Iron still

This is the traditional still as used in cognac or whisky . Mostly made of copper, it is composed of a tank topped with a swan's neck where the vapors are concentrated. These then take a coil, where they cool and condense to return to the liquid state. We speak of repasse and discontinuous distillation because most of the time the liquid is passed through it twice in order to obtain a satisfactory alcohol, but it can also operate by single pass. Chamarel Cœur de Chauffe rum is an example of rum resulting from a double distillation.

Amber

An amber rum is a rum that has spent between 12 months and 3 years in a tuns or barrel. Below this period, it is always a white rum. Beyond 3 years, it is an old rum. We can find different names, amber, rum aged in wood, golden, gold or straw rum.

AOC

The Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée is a label that certifies that a rum has been produced in a certain region and according to certain specifications. Martinique is the only region in the world to benefit from this AOC, since 1996.

Assembly

This key step in rum making involves blending rums from different barrels, different ages, and different aromatic profiles to achieve a harmonious marriage. One of the main challenges of blending is to maintain a similar aromatic profile over time, batch after batch. We can cite Pusser's, a reproduction of the blend that was part of the rations of sailors in the British Navy.

Bagasse

It is the fibrous residue that remains after pressing sugar cane. Once dry, it is often used to fuel distillery boilers, or to feed animals.

White

A white rum is a colorless rum. But it doesn't stop there because there are some subtleties. It can be a rum that has simply not been aged. But it can also be a rum that has aged less than 18 months in a cask for example, or even an old rum filtered with charcoal, from which all its color has been removed, as for this Botran.

Blend

See assembly

Brut de fût

A rum that has not undergone any modification between its removal from the barrel and its bottling. It may sometimes have been reduced during aging. This term is a source of debate since in other spirits such as whisky, no modification is made during the entire aging period. This gives very powerful and expressive rums, like this famous Manutea from Moorea selected by Rhum Attitude.

Cachaça

A cousin of agricultural rum, cachaça is a Brazilian cane brandy. Made from pure cane juice, it is traditionally distilled in a still, in a single pass.

Cask Strength

A rum that has not undergone any modification between its cask and its bottling. It retains its alcohol content when it leaves the cask, without reduction.

Clairin

Eau-de-vie made from pure sugar cane juice (and sometimes syrup) made in Haiti . It is a very artisanal product most of the time: wild fermentation, distillation in a still, bottled without reduction. It is the Velier company that introduced these clairins to the world, working with the producers Sajous, Casimir and Vaval.

Column

The distillation column is a continuous distillation method, as opposed to the discontinuous distillation of the repasse still. The column is fed with steam from the base, and with must to be distilled from the top, without interruption. The liquid descends along the column and meets the steam, which carries with it the aromas and alcohol. The most famous are the traditional Creole columns (in copper) and Coffey (in steel). There are also coupled columns that produce lighter rums, and even multi-column installations from which very refined rums come out. For example, agricultural rums from Martinique are often distilled in Creole columns.

Distillation

It is a principle that aims to separate the different components of a liquid according to their boiling temperature. It is a way of separating alcohol and aromas from water, while concentrating them.

Dunder

See vinasses.

Raised in wood

See amber.

Independent bottler

Born from the world of whisky, this player in the world of rum plays an important role. It is a selector who does not produce its own rums, but selects them from distilleries or brokers, often offering alternative versions of officially bottled rums. Examples include La Compagnie des Indes , Kill Devil, Samaroli or Silver Seal.

Esters

They are part of non-alcohols, that is to say molecules other than water and alcohol. Even if they are not the only ones responsible, these aromatic components are at the origin of many aromas, and are measured to define the concentration of a rum. Jamaican rums are often defined as "high ester rums", they are for the most part very concentrated.

Fermentation

This key step occurs when the yeasts feed on the sugar present in the must (pure juice or molasses), thus releasing CO2 and alcohol. They will also create chemical reactions that will give rise to all sorts of aromas.

Filtration

It is often done cold (chill-filtration) and makes the rum clearer and more transparent. It carries with it the cask dust, but also fatty compounds, often a source of aromas. It can also be filtered on charcoal to remove the color from a rum. This is the case, for example, with Flor de Caña 4 years .

Finishing

This practice consists of finishing the aging of a rum in a barrel that previously contained another alcohol, to enrich the range of its aromas thanks to the liquid still contained in the wood. HSE has marked the world of agricultural rum with its famous world finishes.

Lightning

The foudre is a large vat, most often made of wood, where the rum is left to rest and aerate. Its large capacity means that the rum has relatively little contact with the wood. Most amber rums are aged in oak foudres, like this amber La Favorite.

Full proof

Refers to a rum that has not undergone any modification between its distillation and its bottling. Like cask strength, its definition is subject to interpretation.

Was

Synonymous with barrel or cask, this is where rums age. It can be of different capacities and different types of wood. It is most often made of oak (American or French), but you can also find acacia or chestnut, among others. Cachaças use local Brazilian species, as for this range offered by Soledade .

Great aroma

Highly concentrated traditional rum, for which vinasses were used during fermentation. It is often used as a flavor enhancer, to enhance the aromas of other rums or certain food preparations. Lontan de Savanna are grand aroma rums.

High Ester

Highly concentrated traditional rum, with or without the use of vinasse for fermentation. The term refers to a high level of aromatic compounds. Rums from the Hampden distillery are often high ester rums.

Industrial

Said of a molasses rum (from the industrial production of sugar). Synonym: sugar rum.

Rum liqueur

A rum that contains more than 100 grams of sugar per liter. Mauritian distilleries produce excellent rum liqueurs, such as Chamarel and its vanilla liqueur.

Cane honey

It is a pure juice of cooked sugar cane, reduced to the consistency of a syrup. Typically used at Barbancourt.

Molasses

It is the residue of sugar production, a black and viscous syrup that still contains sugar but is no longer crystallizable. It is diluted to prepare a molasses rum must.

Monovarietal

An agricultural rum that comes from a single species of sugar cane. Clément was the first distillery to offer white rums from the single blue cane.

Topping up

Consists of filling the evaporation of the rum in the barrel, by filling the void with a rum of the same age. This avoids too much oxidation, but above all more evaporation, because the emptier the barrel, the greater it is.

Overproof

Se dit d’un rhum qui dépasse le « proof », selon la Navy britannique, soit le degré au-delà duquel la poudre à canon s’enflamme, même imbibée de rhum. C’était autrefois un critère nécessaire pour embarquer du rhum sur les bateaux militaires, même si aujourd’hui on emploie des instruments plus modernes pour mesurer le taux d’alcool. Il s’agissait en réalité d’un rapport volumique entre l’alcool et l’eau présents dans un spiritueux. Les britanniques fixaient le 100 proof à 57,1% (« Imperial Proof »), et les américains  qui ont conservé le terme l’ont aujourd’hui établi à 50%. La Jamaïque est friande de ces overproofs, dont le Wray & Nephew est un fier représentant.

Straw

See amber

Plot

An agricultural rum made from a single plot of cane. Longueteau 's single-plot rums have particularly distinguished themselves in this field.

Angels' Share

This is the evaporation of rum in the barrel. It is often three to four times more important in the tropics than in Europe. (2-3% against 8-10%)

Pot still

A retort still of the same type as that used for whisky. Caribbean pot stills are often equipped with retorts which allow for a single pass. The stills at the Hampden Distillery in Jamaica are good examples of Caribbean retort pot stills.

Reduction

This is the dilution of rum with water, in order to bring it to a desired alcohol level. It must be done gently and slowly to properly homogenize the mixture.

Single cask

A single barrel, isolated for its particular qualities. As opposed to an assembly of several barrels.

Small batch

Aging of a small batch. A limited production of old rum.

Solera

Aging process inherited from Spanish bodegas, particularly in the sherry sector. It consists of a pyramid of casks where the oldest rums are at the base (the solera), and the youngest on the upper floors (criaderas). When rum is drawn from the casks at the base, or when the angels' share has done its work, these casks are filled with the upper casks. It is then said that the oldest rums "educate" the younger ones. The age indicated for rums aged in Solera is therefore often that of the oldest rum, or sometimes an average. Santa Teresa 1796 rum is one of the most famous representatives of this method.

Spiced

Spiced rum, with fresh spices, infusions or syrups. These are often sweet rums. We can mention the classics such as Chairman's Reserve Spiced or Kraken.

Spirits

An alcoholic beverage obtained by fermentation and then distillation, as opposed to a beverage obtained by fermentation alone.

Toasting

C’est la chauffe ou le « bousinage » du fût. On chauffe l’intérieur du fût pour créer des arômes torréfiés, faire ressortir certains arômes du bois (vanille, fruits cuits), favoriser les échanges bois / liquide. Avec le « charring » (« brûlage » ou « carbonisation »), on peut aussi créer une filtration grâce au charbon obtenu à la surface du bois. On peut appliquer différents niveaux de chauffe ou de brûlage selon le résultat souhaité. Les rhums Flor de Cana sont de bons exemples de charring très poussé.

Traditional

Refers to a rum (agricultural or industrial) which contains a minimum of non-alcoholic compounds of 225 grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol (225g/hlap).

Aging

It is the act of aging a rum in a barrel.

Vinasses

It is the residue of distillation, the liquid that is exhausted in alcohol after the operation. Rich in acids and potassium, they are often used as fertilizers. They can also be reused for fermentation, creating an acidic environment conducive to the work of yeasts and thus very aromatic rums. The Savanna distillery, in Reunion, produces a grand arôme rum for which vinasses are used for fermentation.

Vesou

It is the cane juice which is used to prepare a pure cane juice rum must or agricultural rum.

VO

Very Old: A rum that is at least 3 years old. It can also be called old rum or VS.

VSOP

Very Superior Old Pale: A VSOP rum is at least 4 years old.

XO

Extra Old: An XO rum is at least 6 years old. It can also be called extra-old or hors d'âge.