As with many spirits, how lengthy a rum ages is a significant factor within the tasting expertise. Particularly when ingesting rum by itself, it issues whether or not it is darkish or mild, largely decided by the getting older course of. Clear rums, generally known as mild, silver, or white, undergo little if any getting older after distillation, whereas golden and darker rums sometimes age in charred oak barrels to succeed in more and more deeper and bolder taste ranges.

It is just about universally agreed that mild rums excel in these well-known cocktails we love, together with mojitos and daiquiris, whereas darker rums actually shine on their very own. Horn, as a hands-on skilled mixologist, concurs, noting how the getting older course of mellows the sharpness typically current in white rums. Aged rum is finest for sipping neat, she explains, “because it spends time in oak that provides depth of taste, sweetness, complexity, and general deliciousness!” 

Horn additionally digs deeper into the deserves of ingesting these darker rums neat, which means at room temperature with no ice, in comparison with on the rocks, with ice cubes. At this stage of rum tasting, it comes right down to the type of the rum and its traits. For instance, Horn notes that Jamaican rum is “identified for being massive, daring, and infrequently funky, in addition to larger in proof,” making it finest loved on the rocks. However, Nicaraguan rum is taken into account a extra delicate spirit, ideally suited for sipping neat.