The Allure of Aged and Craft Rums

Aged and craft rums are nothing like the rum you may have tasted splashed into a pina colada served at a beach resort. Instead, these carefully cultivated spirits offer rich, nuanced tastes more commonly associated with scotch than rum.

At the Desert Diamond Distillery in Kingman, Ariz., wood chip aging is the key to rum that distillery owners John Patt and family describe as unique to the climate. “We decided right out of the gate that if we’re going to make rum in Arizona, it’s going to have it’s own signature wood aged taste. We were not going to copy Caribbean rum.” The Arizona micro-climate and Patt’s use of new oak wood barrels contributes to the distinctive flavor of the rums he produces.

Begun in 2010, utilizing a double stack still created in Germany by Arnold Holstein, the distillery does not use any injected flavors or artificial coloring. The rum is made in 1000 liter batches, and Desert Diamond provides a minimum two-year aging process, with four barrels of rum crafted per month.

Gold Miner Agave Rum is an award-winning, smooth, dark rum sweet with agave. It received the 2011 SIP Award silver medal. Gold Miner Dark Rum received platinum at SIP with its notes of French oak and a base of white rum. Gold Miner Rum is a smooth, sweet white rum that’s perfect for mixing or drinking on the rocks. The distillery also crafts the rum-based Gold Miner Vodka that’s smooth and slightly smoky. And rounding out Desert Diamond’s craft list is the Gold Miner Barrel Reserve Rum with strong hints of vanilla, licorice, and spice – a rich, warm flavor that garnered a gold medal in the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Across the country in Ipswich, Mass., Privateer Rum uses Grade A molasses and boiled brown sugar along with a proprietary yeast blend to create their barrel aged amber rum, which offers notes of almonds and brown butter when sipped. Privateer’s silver rum added cane juice crystals and boiled brown sugar to rum that is not barrel aged. At Privateer, rum is crafted using a longer, cooler fermentation temperature than conventional commercial rums. The fermentation process lasts for six days, creating added complexity and flavors to the rums made. Privateer has a long history, with six generations of the Cabot family crafting finely honed rum. The distillery’s philosophy has long flown in the face of the rushed fermentation process of 24 hours at 105 degrees that are the earmark of most commercial, mass-produced rums. Privateer keeps its rums at 74-78 degrees over the six-day fermentation period Privateer utilizes.

Located in the small beach town of Rehobeth, Del., Dogfish Head Brewing crafts fine beers and serves up locally-sourced food to its community – as well as crafting fine rums. Founded by Sam Calagione in 1985, Dogfish produces 175,000 barrels of beer annually and runs its more recently added distillery above the Rehobeth Beach Brewhouse.

Their Dogfish Head Brown Honey Rum is double-distilled, created with Delaware wildflower honey and aged in oak chips. Amber and smooth, it won Best in Category from The American Distilling Institute in 2012, and it’s as smooth as it is potent. The most traditionally made rum in the Dogfish oeuvre, the White-Light Rum is an unspiced triple distilled rum crafted with high-quality molasses. Tasting this drink requires a trip to Delaware, the White-Light is distributed in their tasting room only.The citrusy, slightly spicy Dogfish Head Wit Spiced Rhum is also triple-distilled and offers a unique flavor of orange and coriander.

With finely crafted rums like these, rum drinkers’ palettes are invited to expand. Expect to enjoy more sophisticated and varied tastes, and a sipping experience unlike any traditional, mass-produced Caribbean rum when discovering the complexity of aged and craft rum like these.