Rum is an obvious choice when it comes to warm-weather cocktails, but navigating the vast sea of excellent (and some not so great) offerings can be daunting. Thankfully, most gorgeous, brown sugar-brushed rums fit neatly into three styles: French, Spanish and English, or rhum, ron and rum, respectively.
“Rum has such a vast spectrum of flavor, density, character and even color,” says Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, owner of Latitude 29, a rum-centric, tiki-inspired bar and restaurant in New Orleans.
Berry likens the “incredible diversity” of rum to wine. Just as a bold, fruity red is vastly different from a crisp, minerally white, “a rich black Jamaican punch rum is on the opposite end of the spectrum, compared to a dry, unaged white Cuban rum.” Some are ideal for sipping, while others play well in cocktails.
And sometimes, you don’t have to choose just one. Polynesian drink pioneer Don the Beachcomber was legendary for mixing multiple rums into a single cocktail. “His mantra was ‘What one rum can’t give you, maybe three rums can,’” says Berry.
—Kara Newman
Photos by Biz Jones
