Embrace the Authentic Taste of Caribbean Rum
When it comes to the world of drinks, most enthusiasts are all too familiar with the nuanced flavours and grape varieties in wine. Where many discerning drinkers will confidently navigate towards their favourite wine styles and regions, it’s often an area slightly overlooked in spirits outside of the likes of whisky. Many keen spirits lovers will know the difference between Scotch, Bourbon, and even Japanese whisky. And with the recent gin boom, terms like London Dry and Navy Strength have also permeated consumer consciousness. But when it comes to rum, it’s often viewed as a homogenised category, where rum is used to cover a huge number of types of rums, including differing styles, production methods, raw materials, and regulations, and even spirits styled as rum.
However, the landscape of rum is not as simple as it may first appear. Take rhum agricole, for example. One of the most controlled styles within rum, it can only be made from fresh sugarcane juice, with controlled fermentation rules and strict aging regulations. Its production methods are even protected by the French AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) system in Martinique, just like that of Cognac and Champagne. The result is a grassy, fresh, and terroir-driven profile, quite different to the caramel-rich, spicy rums you may be used to.
At Sterling & Malcolm, our founders have a proud British-Jamaican heritage, and it made sense, therefore, to focus on using Caribbean spirits in our recent golden rum launch to bring a taste of their legacy to British shores.
And it’s the Jamaican background of our founders, exploring the unmistakable taste of Jamaican rum into adulthood that’s inspired the start of Sterling & Malcolm. So what’s so special about Jamaican rum? And why does it differ from neighbouring islands?
Firstly, Jamaican rum is known for its bold and intensely aromatic style. If you’re enthusiastic about the world of rum, you may have heard the term “dunder and muck” and Jamaica is one of the key islands that incorporates this process. The dunder is essentially residue from previous distillations, and the muck is microbial-rich pits that increase ester production. Both of these elements are added to the raw material e.g. molasses, before fermentation begins. This promotes fruity esters in the rum - think irresistibly tropical notes of overripe bananas, pineapple and tropical fruit salad. This isn’t exclusive to Jamaica, but is certainly a hallmark of the island’s style.
Jamaica is also one of the lasting few regions that still uses pot stills, instead of column only stills. Double retort pot stills add even more character to the process, but both create rums that are deeper and more complex in flavour and aromas than column distillation. With the intense characterful style of the rum, relying heavily still on the traditional old-world methods of rum making, Jamaica produces rums that are known for being bold, funky, fruity, smooth, and complex.
To set our Caribbean golden rum apart, we decided to age the spirit in British oak casks, bringing together a meeting of worlds to create legacy-led spirits that represent our founders’ heritage. With the number of cooperages dwindling in England, this felt like an important part of the step to help preserve a respected and highly-skilled industry, along with bringing a British influence to the rum. British oak adds a rich, golden hue to the rum, and leans towards savoury and spicy tones, unlike the sweet vanilla found in American oak casks. It gives our rum its smoothness and complex intensity. Maturing in England, in a cooler climate than that of the Caribbean, also adds a special quality to our Jamaican rum, with a slower, more refined maturation process for an elegant and nuanced golden rum.
Embrace the spirit and savour the legacy for yourself by discovering our rum here and follow for all the latest Sterling & Malcolm news at xxxxx.
