{
  "api": "/posts/why-rum-needs-a-better-classification-system/index.json",
  "collection": "posts",
  "date": "2024-01-18T09:00:00-08:00",
  "description": "Color and country tell you almost nothing about what's in the bottle. Production method tells you everything.",
  "draft": false,
  "fields": {
    "author": "Martin Cate",
    "date": "2024-01-18T09:00:00-08:00",
    "description": "Color and country tell you almost nothing about what's in the bottle. Production method tells you everything.",
    "draft": false,
    "image": "",
    "lastmod": "2025-03-02T11:20:00-08:00",
    "publishdate": "2024-01-18T09:00:00-08:00",
    "tags": [
      "rum",
      "classification",
      "education"
    ],
    "title": "Why Rum Needs a Better Classification System"
  },
  "html": "\u003cp\u003eWalk into most bars and the rum shelf is sorted by color. White on the left,\ngold in the middle, dark on the right. It\u0026rsquo;s tidy, and it\u0026rsquo;s close to useless.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColor in rum is a poor proxy for anything. A rum can be dark because it spent\nfifteen years in oak, or because someone added caramel coloring last Tuesday. A\nrum can be crystal clear and have been aged for years, then filtered back to\nwhite. Two bottles sitting next to each other, identical in the glass, can\nbehave completely differently in a drink.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"country-doesnt-fix-it-either\"\u003eCountry doesn\u0026rsquo;t fix it either\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe other common approach is to sort by origin — Jamaican, Barbadian, Guyanese,\nCuban-style. This is better, because regional traditions are real. But it\nbreaks down fast. Jamaica produces both delicate column still rums and some of\nthe most aggressively funky pot still rums on earth. Calling both \u0026ldquo;Jamaican\u0026rdquo; and\nstopping there tells a bartender nothing about which one belongs in a Mai Tai.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd it collapses entirely for blends. What country is a rum made from stocks\nacross four islands?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-actually-matters\"\u003eWhat actually matters\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree things determine how a rum tastes and how it behaves in a cocktail:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBase ingredient\u003c/strong\u003e — molasses, evaporated cane juice, or fresh cane juice\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStill type\u003c/strong\u003e — pot, column, or a blend of both\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAging\u003c/strong\u003e — unaged, lightly aged, aged, long aged\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose three axes, combined, describe a rum in a way you can act on. A pot still\nunaged rum and a column still lightly aged rum are different tools. Once the\nshelf is organized this way, substitution stops being guesswork. If a recipe\ncalls for a blended aged rum and you\u0026rsquo;re out, you reach for another blended aged\nrum — not for whatever else happens to be brown.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"why-it-took-so-long\"\u003eWhy it took so long\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRum has no equivalent to the appellation systems that govern Cognac or Scotch.\nOutside of a few designations like AOC Martinique, producers can label almost\nanything almost anything. \u0026ldquo;Reserve,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;XO,\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Private Stock\u0026rdquo; mean whatever the\nmarketing department wants them to mean.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat absence of regulation is part of what makes rum thrilling — the category\ncontains more variety than any other spirit. But it means the burden of\nclassification falls to us. If the industry won\u0026rsquo;t organize the shelf, the people\npouring from it have to.\u003c/p\u003e\n",
  "id": "posts/why-rum-needs-a-better-classification-system",
  "lastmod": "2025-03-02T11:20:00-08:00",
  "markdown": "\nWalk into most bars and the rum shelf is sorted by color. White on the left,\ngold in the middle, dark on the right. It's tidy, and it's close to useless.\n\nColor in rum is a poor proxy for anything. A rum can be dark because it spent\nfifteen years in oak, or because someone added caramel coloring last Tuesday. A\nrum can be crystal clear and have been aged for years, then filtered back to\nwhite. Two bottles sitting next to each other, identical in the glass, can\nbehave completely differently in a drink.\n\n## Country doesn't fix it either\n\nThe other common approach is to sort by origin — Jamaican, Barbadian, Guyanese,\nCuban-style. This is better, because regional traditions are real. But it\nbreaks down fast. Jamaica produces both delicate column still rums and some of\nthe most aggressively funky pot still rums on earth. Calling both \"Jamaican\" and\nstopping there tells a bartender nothing about which one belongs in a Mai Tai.\n\nAnd it collapses entirely for blends. What country is a rum made from stocks\nacross four islands?\n\n## What actually matters\n\nThree things determine how a rum tastes and how it behaves in a cocktail:\n\n1. **Base ingredient** — molasses, evaporated cane juice, or fresh cane juice\n2. **Still type** — pot, column, or a blend of both\n3. **Aging** — unaged, lightly aged, aged, long aged\n\nThose three axes, combined, describe a rum in a way you can act on. A pot still\nunaged rum and a column still lightly aged rum are different tools. Once the\nshelf is organized this way, substitution stops being guesswork. If a recipe\ncalls for a blended aged rum and you're out, you reach for another blended aged\nrum — not for whatever else happens to be brown.\n\n## Why it took so long\n\nRum has no equivalent to the appellation systems that govern Cognac or Scotch.\nOutside of a few designations like AOC Martinique, producers can label almost\nanything almost anything. \"Reserve,\" \"XO,\" and \"Private Stock\" mean whatever the\nmarketing department wants them to mean.\n\nThat absence of regulation is part of what makes rum thrilling — the category\ncontains more variety than any other spirit. But it means the burden of\nclassification falls to us. If the industry won't organize the shelf, the people\npouring from it have to.\n",
  "readingTime": 2,
  "slug": "why-rum-needs-a-better-classification-system",
  "summary": "Walk into most bars and the rum shelf is sorted by color. White on the left, gold in the middle, dark on the right. It’s tidy, and it’s close to useless.\nColor in rum is a poor proxy for anything. A rum can be dark because it spent fifteen years in oak, or because someone added caramel coloring last Tuesday. A rum can be crystal clear and have been aged for years, then filtered back to white. Two bottles sitting next to each other, identical in the glass, can behave completely differently in a drink.",
  "title": "Why Rum Needs a Better Classification System",
  "url": "/posts/why-rum-needs-a-better-classification-system/",
  "weight": 0,
  "wordCount": 387
}