World Rum Regions Video
7 minute read
Rum-making spans 100+ countries in six continents. To group these into more manageable chunks is no easy task. It’s not to oversimplify things but to make things easier. So, we’ve given it a bash. In the context of rum, the Americas are too general. It’s best to break up into North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
The region of Europe is straightforward enough. Africa & Indian Ocean makes sense. Asia Pacific is the one region that may seem too big. But adding four more might be too much: South Asia, South East Asia, East Asia, and Oceania.
Producers in Asia Pacific are spread out and not as concentrated as in other regions. So, it makes sense to group them this way. We settled on seven regions: North America, Central America, South America, The Caribbean, Africa Indian Ocean, and Asia Pacific.
North America
Mexico, Bermuda, Canada & United States of America. The three main regions for rum making in Mexico are Michoacán, Oaxaca & Veracruz. There are about 20 rum producers in Mexico. Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has a climate for sugarcane growing. The yield conversion is not as good as in the Caribbean.
Michoacán has a rum cousin called Charanda meaning “red soil” after the local volcanic-rich soils. High altitude yields sweeter cane juice and a nuanced profile in the final spirit. Charanda is the only Mexican sugarcane distillate with an official protected denomination of origin (DO) since 2003. The industry centres on Uruapan.
Oaxaca’s two primary rum-producing regions are Sierra Mazateca and the Sierra Norte mountains. Artisanal high-mountain cane juice rum using mezcal methods in wild fermentation. Veracruz rum has played a significant role in shaping the identity of Mexican rum. And, although a young market, Mexican rum is gaining in popularity.
Bermuda is an island in the North Atlantic well-known for Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. It is famously used in a cocktail called Dark ‘N’ Stormy. Bermuda was a key stop in the rum-running trade in the prohibition era.
The United States has such a varied geography. But sugarcane is mainly produced in Louisiana, Texas & Florida with its organic soils. Hawaii is a place with active volcanoes and a climate that’s good for growing sugarcane. These are the key cane juice rum-producing regions within the US.
Because the land in New England wasn’t good for growing crops, they had to get molasses from the Caribbean. This is how American rum first started. As did many producers down the Eastern seaboard. New England colonies historically developed rum distilling. American wars and politics pushed rum out as being America’s original spirit.
California has many rum producers, which grew out of the ‘capital of craft’ boom era since the 2010s. The US has the world’s largest number of rum producers. Only about a sixth are rum-focused, many distillers make other spirits as well. America doesn’t have a defining rum style yet, it’s still relatively young and evolving.
Canada’s cold climate is not suited to sugarcane growing and it always looked to the sea to import molasses. The eastern provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador are soaked in the Jamaican rum style from trade. French-Canadian Quebec has a rich distilling heritage but is not able to make cane juice rum. Honey and Maple rum is a thing in Canada.
Canada’s rum history has much in common with New England’s coastal communities. US Prohibition spread Canada’s rum-running and supply along the world’s longest land border of US-Canada. Today, Canada’s rum craft distilling is spreading out to western provinces.
Central America
Central America has seven tropical countries that all produce rum; Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The region is made up of 75 volcanoes in the Central American Volcanic Arc. It also includes the Coco’s tectonic plate and Pacific winds over Panama. The Papagayo Jet is another climate feature in this region.
Sugarcane grows below the volcanoes in rich soils to supply rum distilleries. The air can be cooler than in the Caribbean, and less intense maturation losses at high altitudes. Some countries only have one distillery like Guatemala and Nicaragua but are world famous. Defined by laws and styles, like using virgin cane honey.
Belize has had rum heritage since the 1950s and now has sugarcane juice spirit farm-to-bottle single estate rum. Panama is a major hub for many brands and connects to South American producers. They have Spanish heritage distilling, some use raspadura (panela) a solid form of sugarcane juice to make rum.
South America
Rum and sugarcane centres in the tropical north and east of South America. The Amazon Rainforest, Andes mountains, Amazon River, deserts, and salt flats define this region. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela are the main producing countries.
Brazilian Cachaça is the main sugarcane spirit in Brazil. It’s not considered rum, but some producers are now selling Brazilian rum. Paraguay uses organic molasses from the oldest certified sugar mill. The water comes from the purest aquifer in the world.
Many countries, like Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru, have been influenced by Spanish heritage. Venezuela makes rum using the Solera system and Cuban Maestro Roneros. They use Spanish techniques for aging. Ecuador makes high-altitude cane honey rum.
In Guyana, Kaieteur Falls is the world’s highest single-drop waterfall. The Demerara River is the longest in the country. It is also home to the largest rum distillery in South America. An icon in the rum world and the backbone to several Navy-style rums. Often, it’s referred to as The Caribbean due to its historical links. French Guiana leads with a French distilling heritage.
Europe
Europe, which wasn’t seen as a place for rum before, now has almost twice as many producers as the Caribbean. Just goes to show how much rum is changing. From Scotland to Sicily, artisanal rum is now spread across the continent.
London, Paris, and Amsterdam are the kingpins in rum from across the globe. But in each country, there’s a rising number of home-grown rum producers. In France and the UK, distillers are experimenting with rum, adding to their distilling rich heritage.
Germany, once the inspiration for Jamaican high ester rum, also has a growing rum scene. Spain has a rich history of rum. The Bacardi family and other Caribbean brands came from there. But also, The Canary Islands where sugarcane was first sent to the Americas.
On the mainland, Madrid and Jerez where Sherry ageing was pioneered and the Solera system used in Latin America. Portuguese Madeira is making its mark with cane juice rediscovering its long heritage in rum and cane cultivation. Italy, and Greece where sugarcane first to Europe are seeing producers.
Africa & The Indian Ocean
Africa is the world’s second-largest continent and has a vast area to cover. Also, the Indian Ocean islands. But, many producers are concentrated in a half dozen or so countries. The geography ranges dramatically from deserts, tropical jungles, mountains, savannahs, or plains. Sugarcane grows in the lush tropical Congo, East Africa, and South Africa.
West Africa was known as the cornerstone of slavery, where rum and supplies were exchanged for people to the Caribbean slave system. But today new rum producers are popping up across West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa. A new wave of young distillers passionate about restoring heritage in the region.
South Africa has the highest concentration of producers and has an ideal climate for cane juice rum. The islands of Madagascar, and Seychelles produce rum. The volcanic islands of Mauritius and Reunion have the deepest rum culture and are connected to French heritage rum making. With cane juice and molasses rum, these islands are developing older-aged rum.
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific is a vast region covering South East Asia, East Asia, South East Asia & Oceania. From India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, rum producers are spread out. Some with large-scale production with limited access to a burgeoning trend of craft rum brands in Goa. Similarly in Bali, Indonesia the craft rum scene is growing. Batavia Arrack, a local cane spirit originated on the Island of Java.
Thailand has a growing rum presence from established molasses rum brands near Bangkok to artisanal cane juice rum in Phuket. In Vietnam, French style cane juice rum is made, and is said to be the same latitude as the French Caribbean. Cambodia also has a rum distillery.
The Philippines has rum distilleries and a rum powerhouse grows sugarcane in the shadow volcanoes. Taiwan produces rum and is growing in interest. Japan makes local cane juice and molasses rum which centres on the subtropical Ogasawara Islands and Okinawa Island.
Australian rum is becoming a rum powerhouse, emerging from the craft distilling scene there. Sugarcane grows in Queensland where the oldest brands are. But New South Wales has the highest concentration of producers. However, there are producers all the way up the eastern Gold Coast and down to Tasmania. New Zealand is starting to see a rise in rum but doesn’t grow cane. So, it uses mainly molasses to make rum on both islands.
Now that we’ve managed to group 100+ rum producing countries into regions and 7 easy chunks; lets finish with a quick overview:
- North America: USA has the largest number of rum distilleries and producers. You can visit rum producers in most cities; from San Diego in California, Miami, New Orleans, and New York. But don’t forget New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona or Texas. Maui, Hawaii had the terrible wild fires and would benefit from support.
- Central America: Guatemala and Nicaragua are major producers. But Panama and Belize have more options to visit. There’s an opportunity to add a rum tour or visit a rum on vacation.
- South America: Venezuela, Guyana, and Paraguay are going to visit. But also check out artisanal producers in Ecuador and Brazil.
- The Caribbean: Home to iconic destinations of Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad. Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Puerto Rico have the most distilleries. However, there are also new, lesser-known producers that are worth finding.
- Africa Indian Ocean: Artisanal African rum producers are popping up from West Africa to South Africa. Mauritius and Réunion are dream destinations for rum lovers and on most people’s bucket lists.
- Asia Pacific: India, The Philippines, Australia, and Thailand are leading the rum rise. South East Asia is growing in craft rum. Japan’s tropical islands, Fiji and New Caledonia or Tahiti are more far-flung rum adventures.
This ends the tour. To deep dive further and discover all the regions visit our world rum map
To add a local cultural experience to your Banana Pancake Trail or Latin America tour, you’re in the right place. It’s time to explore the world of rum with a newfound map knowledge and a much wider lens!
Article sources: From internal research
