Rum - unleash your inner swashbuckler

I don't know about you but every time I get drunk off rum I manage to convince myself that I'm a pirate...those Pirates of the Caribbean movies didn't help that at all. I'm told it's quite entertaining for those around me especially when I start digging holes for treasure. Everyone has their drunk stories so I know I'm not alone in these ridiculous antics, but it would be comforting to hear of fellow swashbucklers out there.

Rum has two main categories, we're excluding the ones for cooking because hey we're functioning alcoholics and who ever got drunk from rum flavored chocolates, and they are red and white. But you know what, we're alcoholics and if there's something we know it's our drinks so let's have a little self respect here, don't worry I picked up on the irony, and list off all the different types of rum.

There are dark rums that are made from molasses or caramelised sugar and they are aged longer than usual which gives them their stronger flavours.

Next on the list are flavoured rums. Pretty self explanatory but for those of us who are drunk, I'm assuming a good few of you, they are rums that are infused with fruit. Yes I know...crazy right fruit is good for something important not like it's current uses such as curing scurvy and malnutrition.

Light rums these ones are the white ones, yeah the sweet ones made for girls. They filter these drinks after aging and they are widely used for mixers. No respected alcoholic would be caught dead with a  mixer.

Gold rums are the mid point between light rum and dark rum...great, exciting stuff.

Moving on, overproof rums are the ones that put hair on your chest, these are much stronger than the typical rum, 40% ethanol, they can be as much as 80% ethanol!

Spiced rums are my personal favourite because they have a bit more flavour and kick to them. There's also the added benefit of people not giving you weird looks when you drink it straight...unlike with white rum.

The Caribbean and Latin America produce most of the worlds rum, again...pirates. Although despite these places currently being the hubs of rum production, rum was originally thought to have been produced first in the areas now known as India and China.

You can also mix rum with beer or water in order to form grog, I've never tried it and I had just learnt about it now while researching but I think that will be my next port of call! I fear that writing these short entries may be a determent to my health due to the goodies I find out about, but future me can always worry about that later.

Honestly rum is one of the better alcoholic beverages out there, it's up in my top three for sure.

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!"
Louis Stevenson

We're all pirates

-Bassam

References:
Info from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum
Picture from http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/y-argh-keep-calm-drink-rum-and-ye-be-a-pirate/