Spirits

Rum

Rum is a spirit made by fermenting and distilling sugar cane products: molasses, cane syrup or fresh cane juice. In Great Britain it must be at least 37.5% ABV, may not be flavoured, and may take caramel only to adjust its colour; most bottles sit at 40%. Its styles, white, gold, aged, dark and overproof, differ by cask time and strength rather than by base.

Quick Facts

ABV40% ABVFrom the 37.5% legal minimum to 75% and more for overproof.

Legal categorySpiritAt least 37.5%, from sugar cane only, never flavoured

Our keeping timeIndefinitely unopened. Once opened, years if kept sealed and upright out of the light, though the aroma fades slowly.

Storage

Sealed, upright, cool and dark. No fridge needed.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Rum

Rum is defined by its raw material and its strength

GB spirit drink law sets out what may be sold as rum. It has to be made only by fermenting and distilling sugar cane products, either molasses and syrup from cane-sugar production or the cane's own juice, and distilled to under 96% so that it still tastes of rum. It must be bottled at 37.5% ABV or more, no other alcohol may be added, it may not be flavoured, and caramel is allowed only to adjust the colour.

That last pair of rules is why a spiced bottle cannot be sold as rum. Spices and flavourings take a product out of the rum category, and the spiced rum page covers how those bottles are labelled.

The styles differ by cask time, still and strength

None of the colour words on a rum label has a legal definition in Great Britain. They are conventions, and the table shows what each usually means.

Rum styles and what the name usually tells you

White

Usual base: Molasses
Cask time: None, or aged and filtered clear
Usual strength: 37.5 to 40%
Job in a drink: Sours and highballs

Gold

Usual base: Molasses
Cask time: About a year or more
Usual strength: 40%
Job in a drink: Body in the middle of a split base

Aged

Usual base: Molasses
Cask time: Several years
Usual strength: 40 to 46%
Job in a drink: Stirred drinks and punches

Dark or black

Usual base: Molasses
Cask time: Any; colour may be caramel
Usual strength: 40%
Job in a drink: Weight, floats and punches

Overproof

Usual base: Molasses
Cask time: Often none
Usual strength: 57 to 75.5%
Job in a drink: Small measures and floats

Rhum agricole

Usual base: Fresh cane juice
Cask time: None to many years
Usual strength: 40 to 50%
Job in a drink: Grassy sours and short drinks

Style	Usual base	Cask time	Usual strength	Job in a drink
White	Molasses	None, or aged and filtered clear	37.5 to 40%	Sours and highballs
Gold	Molasses	About a year or more	40%	Body in the middle of a split base
Aged	Molasses	Several years	40 to 46%	Stirred drinks and punches
Dark or black	Molasses	Any; colour may be caramel	40%	Weight, floats and punches
Overproof	Molasses	Often none	57 to 75.5%	Small measures and floats
Rhum agricole	Fresh cane juice	None to many years	40 to 50%	Grassy sours and short drinks

Each style has its own page: white, gold, aged, dark and overproof, with Jamaican, Demerara and rhum agricole for the places whose rums recipes name.

Molasses and cane juice taste different before any cask

Molasses, the dark syrup that remains after sugar is crystallised out of boiled cane juice, is the base of most rum, and it brings caramel and dried fruit. Fresh juice must be fermented almost as soon as the cane is cut, and gives a green, grassy spirit: rhum agricole on Martinique and its neighbours and cachaça in Brazil, which Brazilian law defines as a drink of its own.

With only cola beside it, the style decides the drink

Our Rum and Coke pours 50ml over ice and tops it with 150ml cola; it is the one recipe that leaves the style open. White makes it light and sharp; gold or aged rum sits well with the caramel in cola; a dark rum makes it heavier and sweeter. Pick the bottle for the drink you want rather than reaching for the darkest one.

Using it

Using Rum

Usage

Our Rum and Coke leaves the style open, and the choice of style changes the drink. Most recipes name a style instead, from the light rum of a sour to the heavy rums of a tiki build, so start from the style the recipe asks for.

Pro Tip

When a recipe says only rum, look at what else is in the glass. Lime and sugar want a light rum; bitters and a stirring spoon want an aged one; a long list of juices usually wants two rums, one light and one heavy.

Top Tips

Buy for the drinks you make most. A light white rum covers sours and highballs; an aged one covers stirred drinks and punches.
Read the country and the still before the colour. Colour can come from caramel, which the law allows for exactly that purpose.
Check the strength on the label. Standard rum sits at 37.5 to 40%, and a recipe written for one will run hot at 57% or more.
Store it with the cap tight, standing up, away from sunlight. Rum does not spoil, though its aroma fades over the years once a bottle is mostly air.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is rum made from?

Sugar cane. The law allows three starting points: molasses or syrup left from making cane sugar, or the fresh juice pressed from the cane. Most rum starts from molasses. Pressed juice gives the grassier rhum agricole of the French Caribbean, and Brazil's cachaça uses it too.

Is rum a spirit?

Yes. Rum is one of the spirit drink categories in GB law, alongside whisky, gin and vodka, with its own definition: distilled from sugar cane products, at least 37.5% ABV, unflavoured, with caramel allowed only for colour. A spiced or flavoured rum product falls outside that definition and is labelled differently.

What percentage does rum have to be?

At least 37.5% ABV to be sold as rum in Great Britain. Most bottles sit at 40%. Navy-style and overproof rums go much higher: our recipes take Jamaican overproof at 63%, and some Demerara bottlings reach 75.5%. There is no upper limit in the definition.

Where does rum come from?

Anywhere sugar cane grows or its molasses can be shipped. The styles most recipes name are Caribbean and South American: Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Martinique and Brazil. The country tells you more about a bottle than the colour does, because each place has its own stills and rules.

What is the difference between rum and rhum?

Rhum is the French spelling, used in Martinique, Guadeloupe and the other French Caribbean islands, where most rum is pressed-juice rum, sold as rhum agricole. Ron is the Spanish word, used in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The spelling hints at the style, not at a different drink.

What does rum taste like?

It depends on the style more than with most spirits. A light white rum tastes of clean cane sugar; an aged one of vanilla, dried fruit and oak; a Jamaican pot-still rum of overripe banana and pineapple; an agricole of fresh-cut grass. The base is always cane, and the rest comes from still and cask.

Does rum go off once opened?

No. At 37.5% or more no microbe can live in it; opened, it stays safe for years. What changes is the aroma: a bottle left mostly empty slowly loses its lighter scents to the air inside it. Keep it sealed, upright and away from sunlight.

Styles of rum

Make something

Made with Rum

Featured In These Cocktails

Rum and Coke

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 10 October 2026

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