4 Questions?

[KINGSTON]

Where does most of the Molasses come from to make the majority of the Rum in the Caribbean and Central America? Most of the Islands are very small. I can’t imagine how much Sugar Cane / Molasses Bacardi uses!

Is their a Region or Country that is considered the Primer producer of Fine Rum? Like Nicaraguan Cigars are regarded as the Crиme de la Crиme right now in the Cigar Industry. Many people consider Cuban Cigars as the Best Made (more hype than Reality, in my opinion).

Do Rum Company brag about where their Sugar Cane is grown or who is supplying their Molasses? Like Cigar Company’s List where the Filler / Binder & Wrapper is grown. So you know what you are smoking. A cigar rolled in Honduras is considered a Honduran but, doesn’t necessary contain Honduran Tobacco.

Are their any Rum producers that Grow, Process and Produce Rum? The show CANE, made me think about this. One of the Fathers Sons wants to sell their cane fields. He mentions that most companies buy Molasses. 9 out of 10 cigar companies do not grow their own Tobacco. 8 out 10 do not even manufacture their own product.

[cigar-aficionado]

Isn't a lot of this down to personal taste as nobody can ever say who produces the best cigars or rum as that would only be their own opinion?
In my own experience I enjoy cigars from people like Fuente, Padron etc but would always head for a fine aged Havana first. IN the same way my own personal preference for rum would be the softer ones such as Cuban and Barbados where other people prefer the "nosier" rums from Jamaica etc. All a matter of taste and the very thing that makes rum and cigars such fun:D

[KINGSTON]

Opinions are what I’m looking for. These are questions that I get asked when I’m enjoying Rum with friends. I don’t know how to answer them. Every one seems to be very RUM educated on the site. So I guess I am trying to gauge every one’s perspective.

CA~ what is your favorite Cigar?

Kingston
Long Ashes and Tall Glasses!

[Rum Runner]

Kingston...Nice to have you aboard....If you take the time you'll find quite a bit about "AOC Martinque Rhum Agricole " on this site. This will give you a nice primer on Estate Produced and Bottled "AOC" RHUM. This Rhum is equivelent to "Puros" Cigars. I myself have run the gauntlet from light to heavy cigars..By chance do you have any Temple Hall Jamaicans to trade?

[cigar-aficionado]

Favourite Havana would be the Juan Lopez number 2 and my favourites in non Havana are Fuente Hemmingways, Ashton VSG and I have a nice collection of very old Jamaican puros from the 1970-1980 period that are smoking as smooth as silk at the moment:) Would love to pair the old Jamaicans with Jamaican rum but I always find it too sharp for me...I love stuff like HC 15, Ron Vigia, Pampero and Zacapa.

[Hank Koestner]

Welcome Kingston, and good to have you back CA. It is my understanding that molasses is a mixed bag. Some companies produce some of thier own, but much is purchased. In the case of rhum agricole, since thier is no molasses needed, most of the cane is grown on the French Islands that produce the rhum, although at times some may be purchased.
CA, I enjoy the edge on a Jamaican rum, but one way you can tone it down is to drink it with a little ice, and float a lime wedge . It really softens that edge you dont care for, but maintains the robust flavor.
It is tricky to pair Jamaican rums, as they can overwhelm a cigar. I find that Appleton Estate goes well with a full bodied spicy cigar, Such as La Flor Double Ligero.
I find that rhum agricoles pair a little easier than other rums, as some have a body and texture that can be compared to Cognac.
I had a La Flor Coronado last night, with Rhum JM Special Reserve. Very nice pairing, as each held its own and complemented the other.

[Edward Hamilton]

One many Caribbean islands there is no longer enough sugar cane being grown to make molasses for the local market. In the last few years Trinidad, St Kitts and Puerto Rico have closed their sugar factories, and no longer produce molasses.

Bacardi, with production in Mexico and Puerto Rico buys molasses from Mexican sugar mills for their Mexican plant and molasses from Central and South America for their Puerto Rican distillery.Central and South America are the biggest molasses exporters for the Caribbean rum market.

A few distillers like Appleton grow their own sugar cane but they are the exception. All of the molasses for El Dorado rums come from Guyana, a country that also exports molasses. Guatemala has a relatively large sugar industry and exports considerable molasses to other Caribbean countries.

Caribbean molasses based distillers prefer to buy their molasses from places with outdated sugar works, which yield molasses with a higher sugar content. Distillers are also looking for molasses with a low ash content, not ash from burning the cane, but a compound found in the finished product. Sulfur is another compound distillers want to avoid as it can be harder to remove from the raw spirit.

Most Caribbean distillers don't spend a lot of time talking about where they source their molasses. A few blenders, with overzealous marketers, claim the rich soil, sugar cane and tropical sun are responsible for the unique taste of their rum. Some of these blenders are buying and bottling rum made on islands that haven't grown cane in more than a decade.

In the US, Phil Prichard uses a very high grade molasses from Louisiana. Other American distillers use molasses from the US and Hawaii. To me the source of the raw ingredient is not nearly as important as the quality of the fermentation and distillation and the skill of the blender.

[cigar-aficionado]

Hank I don't know how you find any rum to pair with the double ligero smokes:eek: I have a box of the Chisel in double Ligero and they are soooo strong I have not found anything that they don't overwhelm...maybe I should try them with a Jamaican and see what happens:confused:

[Torpnubber]

I would imagine that with Brazil's reliance on ethanol from sugar cane and from the amount of cachaca produced, that Brazil would be a huge exporter of molasses. I'm sure this info is available somewhere.

By the way, as much as I love the JL #2, right now I'd much rather have several of the cigars produced by Jose "Pepin" Garcia. Tatuaje, Don Pepin Blue, San Cristobal and El Rey de Los Habanos, to name a few

[cigar-aficionado]

Sadly don't see too many of those over here so can't comment...I do like to try as many non Cubans as possible when on holidays though:D
The Juan Lopez has always been a good smoke for me over the last 10 years or so and tends to be my "go to" smoke.

[Edward Hamilton]

I would imagine that with Brazil's reliance on ethanol from sugar cane and from the amount of cachaca produced, that Brazil would be a huge exporter of molasses. I'm sure this info is available somewhere.


Since ethanol is made by fermenting sucrose and sugar cane juice contains more available sucrose than molasses, like cachaзa , most of the ethanol is made from sugar cane juice rather than molasses. There is also an energy savings since you don't have to heat, vacuum and process the juice to make sugar. Distillation from molasses also requires more energy to boil the low alcohol molasses wine. That being said, Brazil does export molasses.

[Hank Koestner]

I am going to put my further comments on rum and cigars over in that thread.;)