Falling down the rum rabbit hole is an exciting, balls to the wall kind of experience. There’s so much to discover and learn, from the different styles, to the designations between words like ‘rhum’ and ‘ron.’ But this is also a double edge sword because just where in the hell are you meant to start learning?
Fortunately, there’s an answer provided on the Rumcast, a podcast dedicated to spreading the gospel of rum. In a recent episode, co-hosts Will Hoekenga and John Gulla created a list of handy rum resources to look into.
Websites
- Paladar Latin Kitchen’s Rum 101– This page offers a great overview on the basics of rum, featuring tasting wheels and distinctions between the Spanish, British and French styles of rum.
- Cocktail Wonk’s Collected Works On Rum– Written by rum evangelist and cocktail expert Matt Pietrek, Cocktail Wonk is a valuable source of drinking information. His collection of rum articles is comprehensive, showcasing all the distillers he’s visited, the history of specific styles, local culture and so on. It’s the perfect deep dive rum resource.
- The Lone Caner– If you’re looking for a true rum storyteller then Lance Surujbally is your man. His musings on The Lone Caner have a poetic, human quality that sets him apart from other rum reviewers. The website also has a great category system that lets you navigate between rums from all over the world.
- Rum Revelations– Rum Revelations is another comprehensive review site that has great design elements.
Books
- Rumcurious by Fred Minnick– Rumcurious is recommended as a suitable book for people who’re at the beginning of their rum journey. Minnick takes the reader on a tour of the distillation process, offers tasting notes and different cocktail recipes.
- And A Bottle Of Rum by Wayne Curtis– The buzzword for an expert these days is thought leader and Wayne Curtis is definitely a thought leader when it comes to rum. His book is packed with anecdotes, historical rum facts and pirate stories galore.
- Smuggler’s Cove by Martin and Rebecca Cate– Smuggler’s Cove looks at rum through the lens of tiki culture, featuring original cocktail recipes and insight into the tiki bar renaissance.
- Potions Of The Caribbean by Jeff Berry –Also known as Beachbum Berry, the author is one of the original, modern historians of the rum world. The book contains 77 vintage Caribbean drink recipes, celebrating over five hundred years of West Indian culture.
To listen to the full Rumcast resources episode, check out it out here.
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