LCBO Food & Drink Early Summer 2022

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

Each rum-producing country has different labelling terms, and in the warm climates where it’s made, rum matures quite quickly— 10 years makes a young Scotch, but a very mature rum! A number on the bottle is typically a statement of how many years the rum rested in barrels, indicating the youngest spirit in the blend. Vieux or añejo are also label terms, indicating a barrel aged rum. Solera rums mingle and mature in a complex multi-step ageing process, so the number on the label often describes the oldest or average age.

Sip Summer Away

These next two smooth operators are sweetened to round out the blends of carefully matured rum. In hot, humid climates like St. Lucia’s, a spirit like Chairman’s Reserve Finest Saint Lucia Original Rum ( LCBO 519132, $41.15 ) matures rapidly, gaining dried fruit, raisin and cigar-spice character. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum ( LCBO 366633, $59.95 ) from Venezuela matures for up to 12 years, gaining milk chocolate and toffee lushness, with a hint of black licorice.

Time for some myth-busting: although rum is made from sugar cane, not every rum is sweet. All rum is dry after distillation but sweetness is added to some before bottling, to round out the flavours. The rums featured here—both flavourful dry (unsweetened) rums as well as smooth (sweetened) sipping ones—are great for enjoying straight up or over ice. Because Jamaica and Barbados don’t allow sweetening, their rums are benchmarks for dry-style aged rum. Bourbon drinkers can slide over to charred oak-barrel-aged Mount Gay Black Barrel Double Cask Blend ( LCBO 17465, $60.20 ), with toffee and vanilla tastes juiced by tropical fruit. Appleton Estate 8 Year Old Reserve (LCBO 14354, $39.95) has spicy and nutty aromas, with lime and orange zest plus pepper on the palate.

Char, spice, sugar and fruit notes in these Orange & Rum–glazed Back Ribs with Blistered Chilies (p. 167) riff on the layers of flavour in our favourite aged sipping rums. To calm fiery palates (and satisfy vegetarians), serve with hearty Warm Bulgur & Chickpea Salad with Grilled Peppers & Avocado Dressing (p. 168) as a side or a main.

DID YOU KNOW. . .

EVERYTHING NICE Rum can be made from fresh-squeezed cane juice, cane syrup (also called cane honey), molasses or other sugar-cane products. Rhum agricole (from Martinique and Guadeloupe) or clairin (from Haiti) are cane-juice rums. Brands like Ron Zacapa and Diplomático incorporate sugar-cane syrup, while El Dorado and other rums from the Demerara region of Guyana use that area’s famous brown sugar.

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