Jamaica / Rum

Rum has been associated with the more rumbustious side of Caribbean life for centuries (you can even hear the name of the drink in the word rumbustious), and Jamaica has had its fair share of the history and lore of the drink as well as its production. In Port Royal in the 1680s it wasn’t unknown for people to be invited in for a drink of rum at gunpoint. Henry Morgan, a very successful buccaneer and pirate who later became the Governor of Jamaica, has even left his name on a brand of rum, Captain Morgan’s.

Rum is, of course, a by-product of sugar, and this crop was grown on the island from the earliest days of Spanish settlement from around 1510. But it was really with the arrival of the English in 1655 that the distillation of rum itself began in earnest. Even so it was only on the coasts at that stage. It took until the mid-1700s (when a treaty was signed with the Maroons) for the whole country to be devoted to the cultivation of sugar. By the late 1700s, though, when sugar had become “king”, there were more than 300 estates on the island.

The most popular rum in the local bars around Jamaica is white rum (actually a clear liquid), which has not been aged. It is fearsomely strong, tastes like rocket fuel and is universally known as “John Crow Batty” because of its strength. Red or gold rum has been coloured (with caramel) and then aged in barrels. The ageing process gives the drink a much mellower and smoother taste. It is possible to visit the distilleries to see the sugar-making (sometimes), the distillation and then the ageing process.

Appleton Estate is Jamaica’s oldest surviving working sugar estate. Rum was first commercially produced here in 1749. It is now under the ownership of J Wray & Nephew Limited. The factory produces several white rums under its Appleton and Jamaica Rum brands, among them the Overproof (62.8% alcohol by volume or US 151 proof), and aged golden rums. They also sell Appleton Extra, and Appleton 21 Year Old and their flagship rum Appleton Estate V/X, which is a blend of golden rums between five and 10 years old. It has a rich aroma with a hint of toffee and very smooth flavour. Their Sangster’s is a rum cream.

Another product of Jamaica is the coffee liqueur Tia Maria. It is reputedly surrounded by considerable lore – apparently stretching back to the 17th Century, the time when the Spanish and English were warring over the island, when a supposedly secret family recipe of a coffee-based cordial was hidden in the treasure box of a fleeing Spanish noblewoman. It was among a handful of items apparently saved by her maid, Maria, after whom the liqueur was eventually named. Actually Tia is a familiar term for auntie. Tia Maria, a blend of rum, Blue Mountain coffee, vanilla and cane syrup, has been commercially produced in Kingston since 1947.

Appleton Estate, Siloah - Jamaica’s oldest sugar estate and rum distillery is set in the valley below the Nassau Mountains an hour’s drive south of Montego Bay. The estate covers 11,400 acres and has its own sugar factory and distillery, with rum produced in both pot and column stills. See how juice was originally extracted from sugar cane, watch it being boiled and learn about the distilling, ageing and blending processes used to produce ten million litres of rum each year. And learn about the “angels’ share”, in which the rum evaporates from the barrels while ageing. Visitors get to sample rum and raw cane juice.

Contributor: Deana Bellamy