Don't
get me wrong, I love aged rums. I love their dark, mahogany hues and wafting
aromas of Caribbean fruit, vanilla and molasses. That's why as of 6:15am this
morning I've officially declared sipping barrel-aged rums from snifters the
new, cool thing in bars. When people ask you why dark rums are so hip, so
happening, here's a point-by-point breakdown of the approved response. Read
through the talking points and commit them to memory. Let their irrefutable
logic secure foothold in your mind and wash all other conscious thoughts away.
Ladies
and gentlemen, this is how revolutions begin. So, repeat after me, "Sipping
dark rums is really cool because of their...
•...enormous
diversity." You can sample a new dark rum every night for months and not run
out of products to sample. Distilled from sugar cane, rum is produced in nearly
every country that exports sugar, with the hub being the island nations of the
Caribbean basin -- Martinique, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, Saint Croix, Barbados
and Bermuda.
•...brilliant
range of styles." Rums adapt well to barrel aging and are produced in an
intriguing array of styles and types. Their ground swelling popularity has
prompted distillers to market their finest and most interesting styles,
including single barrel, vintage dated, wood finished and extended aged rums.
The road to discovery is downhill with the wind entirely at your back.
•...outstanding
value." Relative to single malts, artisan tequilas and alembic brandies, aged
rums are inexpensive. For one thing, sugar cane is a renewable resource
harvested three times a year. Its cultivation is less labor- and cost-intensive
than, say, growing cognac grapes or blue agaves. Another cost-restraining factor
is that rums age quickly in the warm, humid Caribbean climate. A spirit aged in
oak barrels for four to six years in the Caribbean drinks like it's been
matured upwards of 12-14 years.
•...delectable
taste." There's no
learning curve necessary to immediate enjoy the rich, semi-sweet flavor of rum.
It's distilled sugar, after all. Rums taste marvelous with the first sip, sniff
and swallow.
•...incomparable
mixability." Dark and full-flavored rum is also exceptionally mixable, equaling
vodka in that respect. But unlike vodka, rum has an irresistible taste and
aroma that lifts it head and shoulders above any other light liquor. In most
cocktails, vodka's characteristics go unnoticed, while rum is always a primary
contributor.
The
smart money says that rum is the next category to get blistering hot.
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