When not writing about rum, I moonlight as a horror author and I’m proud to say my debut horror novella AT THE DESK OF DUSK is now out in the world. Set in a grim dark wild west universe called The Frontier, AT THE DEAD OF DUSK follows the story of an infamous witch hunter called Clay McNab as he transports a young woman across the land to find her father.
Creating The Frontier has been a full challenge and of course rum plays an important part in the world. Read on to find out how rum is produced in The Frontier, how it stacks up to whisky and why it should be enjoyed!
Alcohol consumption is a favourite pastime on The Frontier and a spirit that’s drunk in great quantities is rum. The production of rum is overseen by a number of distilleries across the land, who share equipment and techniques with each other.
Loosely referred to as The Rum Road, this network of distillers is all about highlighting the enjoyment of rum and having a good time while doing it.
Rum production on The Frontier
Rum is considered to be a working class kind of drink on The Frontier, while whisky is perceived as being a divine drink that the rich can imbibe and the poor have the privilege of tasting.
The vast majority of rum is produced in Deepstead Province, due to the abundance of sugarcane and semi-tropical conditions that make for an ideal distillation environment.
The distillers of Deepstead have their own unique styles, creating rum that’s gold, dark and white. Laid-back and easy going on the surface, these distillers are workhorses when it comes to creating high-quality booze.
For rum that’s produced outside of Deepstead, sugarcane is imported to other regions and the styles of a distillery will vary as well.
What is The Rum Road?
The Rum Road is the unofficial name for the culture of sharing that goes on across all rum distilleries across The Frontier. While there is no official governing body to set out industry standards, each distillery will have its own way of doing things and is open to sharing techniques and equipment.
This openness is at odds with The Whisky Syndicate, which believes in every distillery being responsible for guarding its secrets and preserving regionality.
A rivalry exists between The Whisky Syndicate and rum producers. Some whisky makers see the rum makers of Deepstead as laissez-faire and indolent, while the rum producers refer to them jokingly as whisky warriors because of the pompousness and pretension that can be involved in whisky production.
The Rum Ration 
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