Rum wonders
Ever wondered how they make that magical liquid that when drunk moderately makes your night better and in excess your morning worse? Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugar-cane by-products such as molasses and sugar-cane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other barrels. The last part is what imparts the traditional colour and flavour to the rum, the longer its aged the deeper the colour and the more pronounced is the flavour. As for its origins, early distillers weren't always the best record keepers, but it's surmised that somewhere in the Caribbean (probably Barbados) the first heady dram was conceived. Today it's produced everywhere from Panama and Trinidad to Alameda, California and Puerto Rico and exported just about everywhere else. Light Rum: The Mild Stuff Aged or un-aged, white rum is the clear stuff most commonly used as the base for a daiquiri or mojito, t...