Category: rum

  • Why Add Sugar to Rum When it’s Made from Sugar in the First Place?

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    Camper English
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    As mentioned in yesterday's post, rum is distilled from any sugar cane derivative like fermented fresh cane juice or molasses. But some producers add sugar to their finished rum after distillation. Adding sugar to any spirit can soften it and hide some flaws, but if you look at the (allegedly) sweetened rums in this post on…

  • How Much Sugar is Added to your Rum?

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    Camper English
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    It's a funny thing about rum: It all is distilled from a fermented sugar cane derivative (fresh cane juice, molasses, or something in between), but sugar doesn't pass through the distillation process, so some producers add sugar back into the distilled rum to sweeten it up. Recently on Facebook, people have posted lists of sugar…

  • Jamaican Rums Bring the Stank on Details.com

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    Camper English
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    In my second story for Details.com, I wrote about the wonderfully pungent pot-still rums and blends from Jamaica.  Bring the Funk: New Jamaican Rums Embrace the Stank August 16 is National Rum Day—a virtual invitation for bloggers to post recipes for crappy blender drinks and liquid fruit salads. Not only does this celebrate dumb cocktails,…

  • Filtration in Spirits: A Primer

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    For CLASS Magazine online at DiffordsGuide.com, I wrote an article about filtration in spirits. This was based on the research I did for my talk on the subject at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic earlier this year.  Don't Forget the Filtration FactorBy Camper English  Nearly every spirit undergoes some sort of filtration, yet we rarely acknowledge…

  • DonQ Rum Visit to Puerto Rico

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    This summer I visited the Destileria Serralles Puerto Rico, the home of DonQ Rum. DonQ is distilled in the southern part of Puerto Rico, in Ponce. The distillery has been on the same site since 1865. As with most rum distilleries, it was once the site of a sugar refinery and the distillery was a…

  • Angostura Rums Distillery Visit

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    In my last post I talked about the history and production of Angostura Bitters. In this one I'll talk about the history and production of Angostura Rums. I visited the distillery on Trinidad in March 2011. History of Angostura Rums The House of Angostura was in the bitters business since 1824, but didn't enter the…

  • The Orange in Pyrat Rum

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    Camper English
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    A great rum mystery is finally solved! If you've had Pyrat rum, you've probably noticed its very strong orange taste- so strong that many people have wondered if something was added to the rum. Well, now we know why Pyrat tastes so much like orange.  I was at the Patron tequila distillery last night meeting…

  • Tiki Drinks in Fine Cooking Magazine

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    Oh hey, my latest story for Fine Cooking magazine is online already.  Tiki Time Showstopping tiki drinks are back on the menu, and they’re causing quite a stir. Here’s how to create these tasty cocktails at home—don’t forget the swizzle sticks and umbrellas. by Camper English Sipping from opposite sides of a cocktail served in…

  • More Fun With Distillery Waste

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    Camper English
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    I am a big fan of distillery waste. Not bathing in it, but learning about it.  In most cases where a grain is distilled into whiskey or vodka, the spent grain (after all the sugar has been removed to be fermented) is sold off as animal feed. In Cognac (at Hennessy anyway) the spent lees (grape parts)…

  • California Rum

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    Last week I visited the St. George Spirits distillery to sample their new rum, Agua Libre, and watch them distill more of it. The new release was distilled from fresh California-grown sugar cane juice (not molasses) and aged for two and a half years in French oak barrels. From the media contact: After pressing 25…