Rum Rum Ron: What's the difference?

These 3 styles belong to the cultural and historical traditions of each territory.

Rhum or Agricole Method

The French or Creole style is made from fresh cane juice whose flavor it retains. The nose is fruity, the attack is straight and it's quite dry in the mouth. It has imposed itself in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti as well as in French Guyana and to a lesser extent in Reunion. Pride of our islands, agricole rhum only represents 2% of world rum production!

Rum or English Method

The English style produces so-called heavy rums reminiscent of the molasses from which they are made. They are also rich and very aromatic rums. Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Belize, Bermuda, Saint Kitts and Demerara in Guyana are its ambassadors.

The fermentations are medium to long and the distillate is often obtained with pot stills. The Age mentioned on the labels refers to the youngest rum used in the blend.

Ron or Spanish style

The Spanish style offers so-called light molasses rons, light both in alcohol and in flavors. They are mainly produced in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Colombia and Guatemala. The fermentations are short to medium and the distillate is obtained through multiple columns. They are the most consumed rums in the world, mainly in the form of cocktails.

The age mentioned on the labels is the average age of rums aged in the solera method or refers to the oldest in the case of a blend.

And Cachaça in all this?

Cachaça is a fermented cane juice brandy, like the French style but only distilled in Brazil. Cachaças are generally around 40% abv.

This article was written with ❤️ by

Alexandre Beudet

Epicurean