As a Caribbean girl, you know I love a good rum. After experiencing a Botran Rum Tasting, however, I developed a new appreciation for the taste and the craft. With a rich, mystical heritage of supporting women, the entire process of making rum begins and ends with women.  Although their proprietary sugar cane is harvested by men, the sugar cane is ritualistically planted in the volcanic rich soil by women only.  In the end, the rum is expertly blended by master blenders, also all women. 

That’s not the only thing that sets Botran Rum apart. The Protected Designation of Origin for Ron de Guatemala encompasses everything from geography, soil, sugarcane variety, fermentation and distillation process, and even the climate required for the Solera aging system (rum and wood combination at a high altitude.)

Unlike most other rums that are fermented and distilled from molasses, Botran uses freshly pressed virgin sugar cane honey.  It doesn’t seem like a big deal until you actually see and taste the difference.

The molasses, which is a by-product of refining sugar,  is sticky and thick like tar — kind of tasted like it, too.  Even upon turning the cup upside-down, the sugary goop didn’t budge at all.

As you can see from the image below, virgin sugar cane honey glides smoothly on the edges of the cup and feels silky against the tongue.  Had I turned this cup upside-down, I’d still be licking this sweet nectar off my hands.

After the initial fermentation and distillation, the rum is aged at high altitude in a range of casks, including former American whiskey, sherry and port barrels using the Solera Ageing System.

While being a Caribbean girl makes me partial to drinking rum, I will admit, I didn’t know how to actually taste it.  Lucky for me (and for you), Botran Rum’s Global Ambassador, Isabel Medina showed us the ways! The following is a quick and basic tutorial to get your started on your Botran Rum Tasting adventures.

How to Taste Rum:

1) Interestingly, the best way to taste rum is in a wine glass. First, hold the glass by the stem or base, and extend the glass out in front of you in natural sunlight if possible, to allow you to appreciate the color. Light and white are the mildest.  If it’s a gold or amber, it’s safe to assume they have spent some time in some sort of barrel. If it’s dark, you can bet it’s been in a barrel- or cask-aged for a longer period of time. These tend to be more like taste a like whisky. Black rums are like the Guinnesses of the rum world.

• Pro-tip: If you take a look at the edge where the rum meets the glass, you may notice what appears to be a green ring.  The older the rum is, the darker this ring likely to be!  

2) Allow the rum to coat the edges by slowly twirling the glass. This allows you to observe the viscosity or the “legs” as it’s called in the wine industry.

• Pro-tip: The thicker the legs are, the more viscous the rum is.  If you prefer fuller bodied rums, look for thinner legs.

3) Take three sniffs — bottom, middle and top.

• Place your nose close to the bottom edge of the glass and take a whiff. If it’s an older, aged rum, you’ll be able to take in some of the finer, underlying notes/aromas. It’s usually crisp and clean. If it’s an unaged, strong rum, what you will smell is alcohol. Ouch!  
• Swirl it around a bit to release some more aromas. Put your nose deep in the middle of the glass to take in some of the subtler aromas.
• Sniffing the rum from the top of the glass offers a scent of the original notes. Can you smell the differences?

4) Sip! Take a quick sip just to get over the initial burn so you can more readily taste the flavor. The bite of the alcohol should not overpower the flavor and aromas. What do you taste? Sweetness? Bitterness? Spiciness? Acidity? Make a mental note. Take another sip and note the aftertaste. What flavors are expressed?

• Pro-tip: The aftertaste should leave you with the aromas, not alcohol.

5) To further taste the rum, add a quick splash of water. Take the sniff test again and see what other aromas you pick up.

• Pro-tip: Don’t forget to cleanse your palette with some bread and/or still water in between tastings.

Here’s a quick peek of our tasting, including a quick cocktail class:

What rum tasting, would be complete without some delicious cuisine. Larios on the Beach provided some excellent cuisine to sober up after all that delicious rum.

Happy Botran Rum Tasting!

 

About Botran® Rums
The Botran® family has been the creator of premium rums in Guatemala for more than six decades, with uncompromising dedication to quality. In 1939, five brothers from Burgos, Spain, settled in Guatemala and began using the one-of-a-kind Solera System aging process. With this method, the rums are aged in white oak barrels, new and charred, which previously held American Whiskey, agedSherry Wines and finally, are placed in Port barrels. This aging system works in harmony with the concentrated sugar cane juice extracted from sugar cane harvested from the family’s very own cane fields. It is Botran®’s use of this pure sugar extract as opposed to molasses that yields rums with bold, intricate flavors. The Botran® portfolio includes the Reserva, aged up to 15 years, the Solera 1893, aged up to 18 years, and the Botran® Reserva Blanca aged 3 years. Botran® Rums are synonymous with Mojitos and rum and Cokes, among other rum-inspired cocktails. However, it is the powerful flavors that encourage the rums to be enjoyed alone as a sipping rum, that set Botran® apart.