RYE
DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX
Authentic Caribbean Rum A masterpiece of distillery
In Ottawa, the words “Dominican
Republic” mean one thing: mid-winter vacations in the tropical sun. My visit was a little bit different, though.
I went there to learn how Caribbean rum is made. In the West Indies, it turns out, there are
as many rum-making traditions as there are people making it. Stopping first at Brugal distillery, I was
surprised to discover how far back the island’s rum history stretches. Although rum was made elsewhere long before Christopher Columbus brought sugar cane here some 500 years ago, the Caribbean has since become its spiritual home. Made by hand is normal on “island time.”
Once-used bourbon barrels, for example, are charred one by one at Brugal before being filled with rum. That’s a sharp contrast with the automated processes used in Kentucky to char those same barrels the first time, for bourbon. Re-charring burns off the bourbon flavours so they do not carry over into the rum. At Barceló, the contradiction of a modern
distillery shrouded in 3,000 acres of hand- cultivated plantation is striking. A glistening stainless steel factory in a sea of tall, gently undulating sugar cane – this is authentic
56 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
Dominican stuff, not the sun and surf of travel brochures. However, it was on a side trip to Haiti that
the Caribbean and its rum really took life for me.
An embarrassment of rum riches Diversity is one of the key attractions of
Caribbean rum. As each distillery has its own production techniques, there is an incredible array from which to choose. The urge to bring home dozens of newly discovered liquid treasures is almost irresistible. But how to choose? Although Canada has a long rum-drinking
tradition, we know very little about the drink itself. From the paltry selection at the LCBO, you’d never suspect that fully 20 per cent of the spirits consumed here are rum. With so little “study material” at home, it’s difficult to learn the ins and outs, but that just makes us want it more. Still, well-stocked Caribbean shelves
can overwhelm the vacationer in search of gems. Good news! A rum revolution quietly sweeping the Caribbean has greatly improved our chances of bringing home the best ones. The West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association (WIRSPA) has
www.bounder.ca
Photos By DAVIN DE KERGOMMEAUX
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