This is part [5/9] of the Rum Home Bar series, focused on helping you stock a thorough and versatile collection of rums for your home bar to maximize your home mixology and tiki adventures! These parts are presented in descending order of importance (in my opinion), so make sure you have 1 before 2, 2 before 3, and onwards!
5 | Black Rum
So, black rum (sometimes just called “dark rum” is a specific style of rum that is particularly useful for mixing in tiki drinks due to the flavor complexity and body that it adds. While you may be led to think that the darker the rum, the more “aged” it is, that’s definitely not true, and what the general consumer typically refers to as “dark rum” is oftentimes a very lightly aged “black rum” (or a spiced rum). As explained earlier in Rum and Color, the color that rum picks up from barrels will only ever be a golden hue. Additional caramel coloring, molasses, and spices can be added post distillation to increase the viscosity and add flavor to rums. In essence, a “black rum” is really a flavored rum, oftentimes not aged any longer than a few short years. Nevertheless, many classic tiki drinks specifically call for this style of rum, so it’s always a staple to keep around my home bar.
Bottles to Consider
- Coruba (Jamaican)
- Myers (Jamaican)
- Gosling’s Black Seal
Next rum style to stock: 6| Overproof Rum