Rum poster : Rum Map of the 100 Best Rums in the World

Rum Map: the different types of rum

It is sometimes called Rhum, sometimes Ron, or Rum. What is the difference?

• The French style RUMS (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Marie-Galante, Reunion Island…) are intense and complex, with a floral dominance. Most of them are agricultural rums made from pure sugar cane juice.
• English style RUMs (Trinidad, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica etc.) are livelier, full-bodied and spicy. They are often created industrially from molasses (part of the cane juice that cannot be crystallized).
• Finally, the Spanish style RON (Panama, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Venezuela) are rather soft, round, and light. They are also based on molasses.

Rum map of the best rums in the world

In this map of rums of the world, you will find the following rums: Trois Rivières, JM, Clément, HSE, Damoiseau, Bologne, Longueteau, Legendario, Paranubes, Appleton, Don Papa, Malteco, Barbancourt, Bacardi, Foursquare, Cockspur and many others.

Map of rums: where does rum come from?

Rum comes from Barbados where it was first made around the 17th century. It is an alcohol obtained from sugar cane, which was used mainly by slaves and sailors, because it was believed to have many medicinal properties. Its history is closely linked to the colonial empires of France, Spain and England. Consumed for 300 years, its taste varies according to the ingredients used and the methods of elaboration.

Sugar cane originated in Asia, and was introduced to America by Christopher Columbus.​ In France, the first description of sugar cane distillation was written by a French Dominican missionary in the West Indies, Father Labat, in the 18th century.

Rum map of the best rums in the world: How is rum made?

Rum is made in four stages: fermentation, distillation, blending and aging.

The fresh canes, once arrived at the distillery, are chopped, defibered and crushed to extract the sugar. The cane juice (called vesou) is filtered and transported to the fermentation tanks. The bagasse (the fibers remaining after extraction of the juice) is used to feed the ovens for the next step: fermentation.

The addition of yeast transforms the sugar in the cane juice into alcohol after about 24 hours. This “wine” is then sent to a distillation column. The alcohol vapors are condensed and gathered. At this time, the rum is between 65 and 75% vol. A part will be served as white rum, another will be put to ageing to give a wooden taste and make an old rum.