Oronoco rum is our featured rum until the next edition of Rum Bums. We are hoping to do this after every Rum Bums meeting so that we can focus on a single rum and learn from it as we try it out more and more. Read below and hopefully it will all make sense.
There are so many different types of rum out there you'd have a hard time counting them. And once you are done counting them all, you'll probably have to start over because by that time there may be a few more on the market. The majority of rums are silver (or clear) rums followed by gold rums. There's also overproof, aged, flavored and dark rums. But we'll leave that talk for a different post.
Silver rums are almost never sipping rums. Back home in Puerto Rico the old school way of taking on a silver rum is as a shot with just the right amount of fresh squeezed lime juice. At least that's how they do it in the countryside. Go to a Christmas party featuring a pig roasting on a spit and you'll see what I mean. It is an adventure unlike any other and part of that adventure is the mass consumption of rum. Mixing is probably the most famous way to drink a silver rum though. The thing is, silvers usually don't really have much flavor and tend to be somewhat harsh on the palate when drank on their own. Hence the routine of trying to tone them down with a mixer. However, there are a few exceptions out there that although simple and silvery, they stand alone pretty well on their own.
And thus the reason for this post. Oronoco rum from Brazil is one of those exceptions. This is one silver rum that stands apart from most silvers. Some say it is the way the sugar cane is grown (on hills of the Brazilian forest) Others attribute the great flavor to the aging process. Amendoim (Brazilian oak) casks nurture the liquid until it is ready to be born. It is very smooth and soft on the palate and will go down without so much as a fight from your taste buds. Now, when people talk about Brazil the spirit that comes up in conversation is cachaça. I heard someone once say that Scotch and Whiskey are like cousins in the world of spirits. If I was to apply the same analogy here then cachaça and rum are like fraternal twin brothers. They are alike in so many ways but sometimes hard to tell apart AND in the end they are technically not the same. I must admit that cachaça is relatively new to me and I have not been able to find many people who agree on what makes it cachaça instead of rum. But the few things that most people tend to agree on is that cachaça can only be distilled up to 54% ABV, can only be made in Brazil and it can only be distilled from sugar cane juice. Contrast that to rum which can be made from either sugar cane or molasses, can be distilled pretty much anywhere in the world and has no strict universal distilling laws and you get the whole family picture.
In the US a spirit that has been distilled from sugar cane must be labeled as rum so cachaça is actually labeled as Brazilian rum out here. But Oronoco ultimately does not fall into the relabeled category. Yes, it is made from sugar cane instead of molasses but before it is finished, it is blended with some aged Venezuelan rum and then aged in casks some more. The finished product is just delightful. Seriously, try it out by itself first and then add it to one of your regular rum drinks. The difference is very noticeable. So far we have found that Oronoco is usually better mixed in simple drinks with just two or three ingredients and featuring the rum as the only liquor. But of course, we are constantly trying out new drinks and are hoping to stumble upon some new gems that will blend well with Oronoco.
For now, try it out in an old school daiquiri or a madras and see what we mean. If you lack the "skills" :) to do this at home (or are just more inclined to have someone do it for you instead) come to La Isla and try them out at our bar. If you are into creating new drinks, please do share some knowledge. We would love to feature other drinks as well. And of course, if you just have an idea, maybe you can let us know so that we can try it out during our next edition of Rum Bums. Make sure to share it all right here on the comments section of the blog.
Wherever your next rum excursion finds you, please be well
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