Dark Vs White Rum: What’s The Difference – And When To Use Them
Rum, a Caribbean spirit known for its caramelised, slightly fruity and tart tasting notes, is in fact a very versatile liquor. It has as many uses in mixology as a base spirit for making creative cocktails as it has in the kitchen, where it is used in the preparation of myriad savoury and sweet dishes.
From a rum glaze on chicken wings to rum-soaked raisins added to plum cake, rum is used as a tart and earthy ingredient that brings a lot of depth to many of these recipes. So too with rum cocktails that acquire much complexity and flavourful layers upon the addition of this spirit.
Most commonly, dark and white rum are the two variations of the liquor that are used to prepare cocktail blends. For a novice mixologist, it might be a tad tricky to figure out which rum to use when.
As you gear up to mark annual rum day, here are some notes on the difference between the two variations and how each one can be incorporated into cocktail concoctions:
Colour Tells A Deeper Story
Dark and white – the colours of the rum reveal themselves in the name. But each of these hues has a very interesting story to tell about the two types of the spirit. Dark rum has a deep, brownish, caramelised hue that can range from golden amber to deep mahogany. White rum, for its part, is clear, light and subtly silver. These hues tell the story of the ageing, filtering processes and the flavours of the spirit.
So What Is This Story?
White rum is typically unaged. Or, even when it is aged, this happens in stainless-steel or oak barrels for a really short period. After this, the rum is charcoal-filtered, which removes its colour. The clear, silvery spirit then carries a clean, light and sweet taste – well-suited for blending several cocktails without overpowering them.
Dark rum, on the other hand, is an aged spirit. It is stored in charred oak barrels for at least six months. Also referred to as ‘resting,’ this process infuses rum with robust flavours such as those of molasses, caramel, vanilla and sometimes even spices. Certain dark rums are sometimes spiced and sweetened post-ageing too for adding more richness.
Also Read: Easy Dark Rum Cocktails To Pair With South Indian Pork Dishes
White Rum And Dark Rum Flavours
Very simply, white rum has very clean, crisp flavours with an underlying sweetness. It has a silky texture and a subtly citrusy and grassy aroma.
Dark rum has a full-bodied, rich tasting note with a toffee-like, oaky, spicy aroma. It has a smooth, caramelised and sometimes slightly syrupy texture.
White Rum Vs Dark Rum – When To Use Each
If you are a novice mixologist, you might want to start simple. Use white rum to blend bright and citrusy drinks containing fruits, fresh herbs and light mixers. This spirit works best in cocktails like mojitos with pronounced sour and minty flavours because it makes their fresh flavours more pronounced. For their part, the citrus-forward daiquiri or the creamy piña colada or even a fruity rum punch also contain more nuanced acidic and fruity flavours that are highlighted better because of the subtly tart notes of the white rum.
Contrarily, dark rum carries a lot of depth. It is much better-suited to robustly flavoured recipes like a classic dark and stormy made zesty with the addition of just a splash of ginger beer. Aged rum can also be used to prepare a rum old fashioned which carries sour flavours of lime juice undercut by the notes of the caramelised spirit. Evidently, drinks which require a caramelised depth and rich flavours can be made using dark rum as their base – making these cocktails well-suited to monsoon and wintry climes.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
