“The popularity of rum is due to its accessibility’

“The popularity of rum is due to its accessibility’

Following In the footsteps of festivals for beer, gin and whiskey will find this Saturday for the first time a rumfestival place in the Netherlands. The drink is not at the top in the list of known spirits, but figures indicate that it goes well with the sale.

Rumkenners argue that the growing popularity due to the versatility of rum.

“The time has come for the rum,” says Gianni Debipersad, organizer of the festival, that the name Club Rum business. “I find it really weird that there are festivals, for example, whiskey, gin and wine are kept, but not for rum. It is a lovely product with a beautiful history.”

That is endorsed by rumadviseur Erik Voskamp of the portal “The popularity is slowly growing. There is more demand for kwaliteitsrum, not only in the liquor stores but also online. At tastings I organize serve, I also only have good rum. After the trials, everyone is in order. Of all the spirits is rum at the top of the smakenladder. Below you will find whiskey, gin, and at the bottom dangles of vodka. That is completely tasteless.”

“It is a beautiful product, for everyone there is a rum. You can see all sides with it on: you can also cook, use it as a disinfectant, and it is in the Dominican Republic even considered as a panacea. They prices mamajuana, a drink with rum as the base, there as a drug that almost everywhere.”


Debipersad tells that a large part of the classic cocktails based on rum, such as the mojito and the caipirinha, but that few people know that there is in this mixing rum. “Some people also realize that the Bacardi in their baco also rum.”

Debipersad notice, nevertheless, that rum, however, is known to be. “This is probably partly due to the fact whiskydrinkers rum have discovered, because whisky in recent years has become more expensive.”

Rum and whisky are similar in certain respects to each other, ” he explains. “The way of distilling and maturation is closely related to each other. The barrels in which the drink is aged for is tones to the flavor, such as vanilla and honey. That you come in both beverages.” However, you can have the taste of whisky and rum, not to compare, find the rumliefhebber. “The beauty of rum is that it has a large diversity, more than whisky. You have powerful variants, but also lighter, and kruidenrum or rumlikeur. You can see all sides.”

Voskamp sees rum even more popular than whisky. “It has a lot more flavor. Rum has the greatest fame in the world,” he explains. “Each country has its own method of preparation and also in regions the types of rum flavor vary considerably. A rum made in a mountain area tastes for example very different than a variation that is prepared in an area that is below sea level.”


“Rum is very accessible”, also sets Debipersad. “Some rumsoorten contain a zoetigheidje, and most species are perfectly suitable for that. Many people limit their rumconsumptie to drinking cocktails, but for others that is the starting point for the pure variant to discover. In the end it is actually not how you make your rum drink as long as you like and you know what you are drinking.”

Debipersad suspect that the drinking of the pure variant is increasing in popularity. “In rum are basically three styles can be distinguished: the Spanish, the French and the English. Many people start with the Spanish, because the rum is often somewhat is bijgezoet and so a little easier to drink.”

Also Voskamp notes that rum in increased degree purely drunk. “Because rum is so many different flavors, the beverage is also good to combine with all kinds of food. Just like with wine, you can rum matching with certain dishes. To connect with citrus-like rum well with fish such as salmon and fits a spicy variant well with a meat dish like carpaccio. Dark chocolate is also a good match for rum, which makes for a true taste sensation. The rum tastes totally different.”

“In countries like England and the United States is the rumsommelier, i.e. the rummelier, already an existing box. Wine drinkers should also consider rum can try. Some rum is even aged in a wine barrel, making it a light smaaktoon of wine inherits.”


Voskamp advises the novice rumdrinker to not to pay too much for a poor quality. “A rum of 20 euro does not mean that he was twenty years old. The downside of rum is that there are not always on the label is how old the drink is, how long it has been aged for. Something what is the case with whiskey. It differs also per country when something ‘rum’ can be called. In the Dominican Republic, for example, after a maturation of two years, but rum from Mexico only eight months to mature to the designation ‘rum’.”

Rum is not only drunk, it is also a common ingredient of many delicacies. “Traditionally it is widely used in pastries such as cakes,” says Debipersad. “And you can see it might be back in sauces or barbecuemarinades. Especially in the tropical countries, rum is often used as an ingredient, because the alcohol products good for longer.”

What can contribute to the popularity of rum, is that a lot of people the spirits associate with positive things. “If you ask: what do you think about in rum, then says things such as beautiful weather, music and dancing under the open sky. That may perhaps be beneficial to work for the increase in popularity of rum.”

The rumfestival Club Rum is Saturday in the Tobacco Theater in Amsterdam.

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