Rum

Rum is a spirit distilled from sugar cane, and the details of which part of the cane is where the category splits. Most rum comes from molasses, the dark by-product left after sugar is crystallised. A smaller share, mainly French Caribbean rhum agricole, comes from fresh pressed cane juice. Everything else about rum, from its colour to its sugar, depends on what happens after distillation.

What rum is made from

In the US, 27 CFR 5.147 defines rum as spirit distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane, cane syrup, cane molasses or other cane by-products, distilled below 95% ABV so that it keeps the taste and aroma of rum, and bottled at no less than 40% ABV. That is a broad net. Molasses rums are the norm, and agricole is the exception because fresh cane juice spoils quickly, so those distilleries have to sit close to the fields. The Martinique AOC, introduced in 1996, writes rules for the island’s agricole and forbids added sugar and flavourings.

How rum is made

Fermentation of molasses or juice is followed by distillation in either a pot still, which keeps heavy, ester-rich flavour, or a column still, which makes a lighter spirit. Many rums blend both. Appleton Estate Signature is a Jamaican blend of pot and column rums, which explains why it has more character than Bacardi Superior, a light column rum filtered after brief aging.

Types of rum

White rum is light, often aged briefly and filtered to remove colour. Gold and dark rum are aged longer or coloured with caramel. Aged rum can be genuinely complex. Spiced rum is flavoured and nearly always sweetened; Sailor Jerry and Captain Morgan Spiced are the big names. Rhum agricole is the grassy cane-juice style. Strength runs from 37.5% to as high as 75% for overproof bottles.

What the law allows

Here rum differs from vodka. US rules let producers add coloring, flavoring and blending materials, sugar and caramel among them, up to 2.5% by volume of the finished product without changing the designation. There is no vodka-style gram cap, and the label need not say so. Some places are stricter: Barbados rum, such as Mount Gay Eclipse, is governed by rules that bar added sugar in compliant bottles.

Calories and sugar

Unsweetened rum at 40% is about 97 kcal per 1.5 oz, all from ethanol. Sugar is where rum varies. Independent tests put Bacardi Superior at about 5 g per litre; spiced and sweetened aged styles are the likeliest to carry more. The sugar is added after distillation and the label rarely says so. Compare bottles on the healthiest rum page, and see gluten-free rum for the base-ingredient answer.

Rum and tequila

Our rum vs tequila comparison looks at how each spirit earns its reputation, and where added sugar and additives change the picture.

What it means for hangovers

Rum scores a 6 on the hangover index, the highest of the five spirits in this group: moderate congeners, high sugar and high additives. The sugar, caramel and glycerin that can be added are the reason cheap “smooth” rums deliver the worst mornings. Dark and spiced rums carry the most. If you want rum, choose an unsweetened aged bottle or a white from a producer who discloses its additions.