MARTIN ADOLFSSON/GALLERY STOCKF
IRST, THE TERM “craf t”
came for whiskey. And
we bought so much that
shortages hit and prices
skyrocketed. So, on to
mezcal. To the Italian
bitters called amaro. To
gin, which distillers can
produce relatively quickly since
no aging is required. And vodka,
which is distilled to not really taste
like anything at all.
It seems every other liquor
got that artisanal, small-batch,
let’s-get-slightly-weird treatmentknown as craft distilling. Except,
until recently, rum. But in the
past 15 years, craft rum distillers
blossomed, from fewer than 10 in
the U.S. in 2006 to more than 200
in 2019.
Rum has rarely held a prestige
spot on bar shelves and liquor cab-
inets. It’s usually the sweet—often
overbearingly so—well mixer
for when you want a beach vibe.
So why is it prime for the craft
treatment now? According to Ed
Hamilton, a rum expert, bottler,
and importer who evangelizes
about rum at ministryofrum.com,
the rum renaissance has arrived
because it can be made anywhere
in the world (unlike regional
liquors like bourbon or Scotch).
That’s led a band of tinkering dis-
tillers to push the boundary on
what rum can and should taste
like. Their tool of choice? The pot
still—an often-trickier, smaller-
batch cousin to the more tradi-
tionally used column still. Here’s
how they differ, and what you
should look for if you want your
rum to get weird.COLUMN STILL / The most com-
mon distilling method involves
the column, or continuous, still.
It allows you to produce a lot more
booze because distilling becomes
a function of height, not time. Fer-
mented sugarcane juice, yeast, and
water enter the top and move down
through perforated plates. Steam
creates vapors that condense at
each stage, some of which are
removed. The different alcohol
components are separated as they
move through the column at differ-
ing heights. When you want larger
production—and consistent quality
control—a column still is the way to
go. Think Captain Morgan, or any of
the mass-produced rum you’re plan-
ning to throw into next weekend’s
brimming bowl of tropical punch.Craft Rum’s
Getting
Weird.
Thank the
Pot Still
Drinks
// B Y R O S S MCCAMMON //7
22 September 2019