“All roads lead to rum.” -W. C. Fields

The spiritual core of Cocktail Wonk is deep dives into rum you won’t find anywhere else. From flavor science to the obscure companies behind much of the global rum trade, we’ve covered it here.

Below is a curated list of rum-related links written by me for CocktailWonk, PUNCH and Bevvy.

• Introductory Rum Knowledge
• Advanced Rum Topics
• Deep Dives & Secrets Reveals
• Geographic Indications (Regulations) for Rum
• Rum History
• British Navy Rum History
• Jamaican Rum
• Guyana (Demerara) Rum
• Martinique / Guadeloupe (French Rhum)
• Cuban Rum
• Barbados Rum
• St. Lucia Rum
• Puerto Rican Rum
• Trinidad Rum
• Grenada Rum
• Interviews
• Other Rummy Topics
• Ruminations Column (Bevvy)
• PUNCH Magazine
• Event Write-ups

Introductory Rum Knowledge

Can Rum Survive Its Moment in the Sun?

Rum is made from Sugar – And so are Bourbon, Cognac, Vodka and Tequila

Categorically Flawed – How Rum’s Classifications Hold It Back

Age Statements: Not Always Worth the Paper They’re Printed On?

Black Rum: Setting the Record Straight

Rum Has No Rules – Neither Do Whiskey & Brandy

Richard Seale’s Epic Takedown of “Rum has no rules”

Rum Has No Rules is Lazy Journalism

Is Rum Made From Sugar or Not?

The Cocktail Wonk Comprehensive Caribbean Rum Tour: Bottles $45 or Less

Great Cringe-Free Gifts for Rum Enthusiasts

Begone “Overproof” Rum!

An Open Letter to Authors Writing About Rum

The Colonial Rum Classification – A Primer

Advanced Rum Topics

Moving Beyond Rum Categories – A Modest Proposal

Ooh LAA LAA – What’s It Mean?

Bourbon vs Rum: Technical Head to Head

High Ester Rum Production with Vivian Wisdom

Privateer Rum’s Maggie Campbell on Barrel Aging Science – Tropical or Otherwise

Four Questions For Your Rum Categorization: A Spirits Educator Weighs In

Are High Ester Rums for Drinking? Richard Seale Weighs In

The Case of the Missing Marque – The Barrel Did It

Beyond Jamaican Funk – Next Level Hogo

Why You’re Not Making Wray & Nephew 17 at Home

A New Batavia Arrack from By the Dutch – Not What You’d Expect

Days of Dunder: Setting the Record Straight on Jamaican Rum’s Mystery Ingredient

From Alchemy to Spirit Science: Esters, Gas Chromatography, and Accelerated Aging

Deep Dives & Secrets Reveals

The most important rum company you’ve never heard of: E&A Scheer – Rum Merchants to the World

The Main Rum Company: Vintage Cask Valhalla

Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof: Behind the Scenes and Deeply Deconstructed

Liquid & Logistics: Inside E&A Scheer, Master Bulk Rum Blenders

Plantation’s New Xaymaca Special Dry – Deeply Deconstructed

Independent Rum Bottlers: The Real Story

Geographic Indications (Regulations) for Rum

The Unabridged, English Language Martinique Rhum Agricole 2014 AOC

Rum Has No Rules – Neither Do Whiskey & Brandy

The Complete, Unabridged Cuban Rum Regulations

Going Brazilian – Cachaça’s Regulations Demystified & Translated

The Unabridged Jamaican Rum Geographical Indication – aka Jamaica’s rum rules

Rum Has No Rules is Lazy Journalism

Geographic Indication Fast Facts

Can the U.S. Recognize Rum Regulations?

Guadeloupe’s Rhum GI and How it Compares to Martinique’s AOC

Rum History

New Insights Into Wray & Nephew 17

Clarke’s Court and Grenada Distillers Ltd.

The Colonial Rum Classification – A Primer

Grenada Rum Cheat Sheet

The Age of Angostura – Part One

Demerara Distillers Ltd – Part One

Don Q Deep Dive

How the Financial Crisis of 2007 Reshaped the Rum World

The Curious Tale of a Pineapple Press and the West India Docks

Unraveling Plummer and Wedderburn Rums

Barbados Rum Cheat Sheet

Two Centuries in a Bottle: Drinking the Harewood House 1780 Rum

The Missing Minister of Rum

A New Batavia Arrack from By the Dutch – Not What You’d Expect

British Navy Rum History

Setting the Record Straight on British Navy Rum

Remembering Michael Fogg – Conservator of Rum’s Legacy

A (Non-)History of Jamaica in British Navy Rum

Splicing the Mainbrace Without Navy Rum?

British Navy Ron/Rhum/Rum?

The British Navy’s Rum Vatting System: An inside look

Pusser’s Rum Charles Tobias: On the Record (Part One)

British Navy Rum Before Vernon’s Grog

Pusser’s Rum Charles Tobias On the Record: Part Two

The 1969 Ministry of Defence Signal Ending the British Navy Rum Ration

Jamaican Rum

Jamaica Rum Marques Roundup

Jamaican Rum Distillery Cheat Sheet

Behind the Scenes at Appleton Estate with Master Blender Joy Spence

Innswood: The Jamaican Rum Distillery that Time Forgot

Inside Jamaica’s Clarendon Distillery: Home to Monymusk Rum and a Certain Captain

Ground Zero of Jamaican Funk: Going Deep at Hampden Estate

An exclusive visit to Jamaica’s historic Long Pond Rum Distillery

Worthy Park: A Jamaican Rum Distillery for the 21st Century

Long Pond Returns! Jamaica’s Historic Rum Distillery Resumes Operation

The Rum Nut’s Quick-Ref Guide to Visiting Jamaica

Jamaica’s Long Pond Rum Distillery Damaged by Fire

Guyana (Demerara) Rum

All Things Demerara Distillers Ltd — Master Distiller Shaun Caleb On the Record

DDL’s Komal Samaroo: On the Record

Demerara Distillers Ltd – Part Two

Demerara Distillers Ltd – Part One

Talking Rum with DDL’s Sharon Sue-Hang

WIRSPA Chairman Komal Samaroo: On the Record

Martinique / Guadeloupe (French Rhum)

The French Connection – A Cheat Sheet for French Caribbean Rhums and the AOC

Agricole Immersion at Rhum Clemént and Distillerie du Simon

Extreme Terroir at Martinique’s Rhum J.M

Agricole Without the AOC – Guadeloupe’s Rhum Damoiseau

The Unabridged, English Language Martinique Rhum Agricole 2014 AOC

Spiribam’s Benjamain Jones – Director’s Cut Interview

Cuban Rum

Cuban Rum Cheat Sheet

The Many Lives of Havana Club

Inside Havana Club’s Inner Sanctum: Ronera San José

The Complete, Unabridged Cuban Rum Regulations

The Missing Minister of Rum

Barbados Rum

Barbados Rum Cheat Sheet

Mount Gay – Cornerstone of Caribbean Rum

Saint Lucia Rum

Still Life: Saint Lucia Distillers

Spiribam’s Benjamain Jones – Director’s Cut Interview

Puerto Rican Rum

Don Q Deep Dive

Trinidad Rum

The Age of Angostura – Part One

Talking Rum with John Georges, Angostura’s Master Distiller

The Age of Angostura – Part Two

Grenada Rum

Grenada Rum Cheat Sheet

Renegade Rum Ascends

Grenada’s River Antoine Rum Distillery – Rum History Wonderland

Clarke’s Court and Grenada Distillers Ltd.

Interviews

The Gargano Files

Spiribam’s Benjamain Jones – Director’s Cut Interview

WIRSPA Chairman Komal Samaroo: On the Record

The Montanya Files: Wonking Out with Karen Hoskin

Alexandre Gabriel – On the Record

Talking Rum with DDL’s Sharon Sue-Hang

DDL’s Komal Samaroo: On the Record

Talking Rum with John Georges, Angostura’s Master Distiller

Rum Renegade Mark Reynier: On the Record

All Things Demerara Distillers Ltd — Master Distiller Shaun Caleb On the Record

Pusser’s Rum Charles Tobias: On the Record (Part One)

Pusser’s Rum Charles Tobias On the Record: Part Two

Other Rummy Topics

The Curious Tale of a Pineapple Press and the West India Docks

Unraveling Plummer and Wedderburn Rums

Two Centuries in a Bottle: Drinking the Harewood House 1780 Rum

California Rum Festival 2018 In Pictures

Plantation Honors Legendary Rum Collector, Recreates Historic Jamaican Rum, Announces Rum Research Facility

American Rum Done Right: Privateer’s Maggie Campbell Sets the Bar

Ron Dos Maderas – Behind the Scenes and Straight from the Cask

Mystery Isle or Distillery? Unveiling Lost Spirits’ new Los Angeles Location

The origins of rum at St. Nicholas Abbey in Barbados

Of Goliaths and Dragons – Lost Spirits’ Salinas Distillery

Ruminations Column (Bevvy)

• All Ruminations posts are here
• Rum Misconception #1: Rum Is Sweet
• Rum Misconception #2: All White Rum Is the Same
• Rum Misconception #3: Darker Rum Is Better
• Rum Misconception #4: Older Rum Is Better
• Rum Misconception #5: Rum Has No Rules
• The Global Grass Roots Efforts to Rehabilitate Rum’s Reputation
• The Best Rums Under $30 for the Aspiring Rum Enthusiast
• Choosing the Best Rum for Old-Fashioneds
• In Praise of Blended Rums
• Why Do Rum Makers Filter Their Rums?
• Rhum Agricole vs. Cachaça: Clearing Up the Canefusion
• Rum-ify the Classic Sidecar Cocktail
• Rum, Rhum, Ron: What’s the Difference – Part 1?
• Rum, Rhum, Ron: What’s the Difference – Part 2?
• Cask Finished Rums: Great Idea or Gimmick?
• What Exactly is Navy Rum?
• On the Record With Rum Legend Luca Gargano – Part 1
• Rum Expert Luca Gargano on Truth in Labeling and Tropical Aging
• Talking Rum With Spiribam’s Benjamin Jones
• Plantation’s Alexandre Gabriel on Rum’s Past and Future
• Guyana Makes Liquid Gold at Demerara Distillers
• Angostura Rums Are Nothing to Be Bitter About
• A Renegade Rum Maker Rises in Grenada
• Navy Rum and the Black Tot, 50 Years Later

PUNCH Magazine

• The Dutch Masters Behind the World’s Funkiest Rums
• Has “Solera” Become a Dirty Word in Rum?
• How Foursquare Became the Pappy of Rum
• Resurrecting Tiki’s Lost Rums

Event Write-ups

• Velier U.S. Launch 2018
• UK RumFest 2017
• California Rum Festival 2017
• Rummy Overload at Tales of the Cocktail 2017
• Tales of the Cocktail 2016 Rum Coverage
• Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof Launch Party
• California Rum Fest 2016
• Tales of the Cocktail 2015 Rum Coverage
• California Rum Fest 2015

New U.S. Rum Releases

Every few months I scan the U.S. government web site to see what label approvals have been granted recently. This link gets you to all those posts.

An Off The Beaten Path History of Rum