What is rum?

According to Annex I of European Regulation 2019/787, rum is a spirit drink made from molasses, from syrup from cane sugar production or from the juice of sugar cane itself.

That raw material must be fermented first. The fermented liquid is then distilled. Other raw materials are not permitted: what comes from grain, potato or beet may not be called rum.

The regulation does prescribe the raw material, but not the type of still. A distiller may work with a pot still or with a column. Both produce rum, as long as the raw material and the limits are right.

Rum must contain at least 37.5 percent alcohol when bottled, and the distillate may not exceed 96 percent alcohol.

That upper limit has a clear reason. Anyone who distils to almost 96 percent is left with neutral alcohol in which nothing of the raw material can be found any more. The regulation therefore requires the distillate to retain the recognisable characteristics of rum.

Above the lower limit there is plenty of room. There are rums at standard strength and rums bottled at cask strength. What percentage a bottle has, you read on the label.

No alcohol may be added to rum and aromas are not permitted, while caramel is permitted only to adjust the colour.

Sweetening is allowed, within a limit. The end product may not contain more than 20 grams of sweeteners per litre, expressed as invert sugar. That limit applies to all rum sold as rum in the EU.

Because sweetening is meant to round off the finish, this is a point enthusiasts watch for. How much sugar exactly is in a bottle does not have to be on the label. If you ask in the shop, we will find out what the distiller says about it.

No, the European rum category contains no minimum maturation, so rum may in principle be bottled unmatured.

Maturation in rum comes from two other angles: the producer’s choice and the rules of the country of origin. A number on the label therefore does not follow from the European definition.

In the shop, that mainly means for you: read the statement and ask about it. We are happy to explain what a distiller means by a year or an age, and it is also set out on our page about the age on a rum bottle.

The European Union keeps a register of protected geographical indications, and it also includes rum names such as Rhum de la Martinique and Ron de Guatemala.

Such a designation binds the name to a place and to a production file. The register is called eAmbrosia and is public, so you can look up which names have been registered.

The word agricole is also tied to that protection. The regulation allows that addition only with a protected designation of a French overseas department or of Madeira, for rum distilled from fresh cane juice, distilled to less than 90 percent, not sweetened and containing at least 225 grams of volatile substances per hectolitre of pure alcohol.