Dark Rum vs Gold Rum

[PassionForTravel]

I've looked around for and answer to this.

What makes dark rum dark. Is it added caramel color or is there something else going on, something with the way it's made?

For me it seems to have a richer flavor than lighter rums, so I think there must be something else going on besides just the caramel color.

Ian

[The Black Tot]

Dark rum had a rough childhood, and just can't be happy and positive all the time like the other rums.

[Hassouni]

I've looked around for and answer to this.

What makes dark rum dark. Is it added caramel color or is there something else going on, something with the way it's made?

For me it seems to have a richer flavor than lighter rums, so I think there must be something else going on besides just the caramel color.

Ian

Often sugar....

Even rum aged for 10 years isn't much darker than straw-colored, unless it's aged in newly-charred, sherried, or other nonstandard barrels (Doorly's 5 year and XO are darker than Seale's 10, and he doesn't add any coloring)

[Capn Jimbo]

Short answer (for moi):


Caramel color, and more caramel color (aka E-150A, spirits coloring, look it up). A great example are the Preachers Jamaican Gold and Dark rums - his "dark" version is no more or no less than the addition of powerful burnt caramel coloring to his light or "gold" version.

It is important to know that caramel coloring (E150A) is NOT a food product and is NOT sweet at all. In fact it is very, very bitter - but fortunately only mere drops of it are needed to darkly color an otherwise light spirit.

You would be amazed to see uncolored single malts up to 12 years old that present - naturally - as a light straw color. The color is added to dupe the consumer into believing the rum is somehow older or richer. It's a common and completely misleading marketing ploy.

[Blade Rummer]

Although no doubt caramel coloring is used today, I wonder if that is the only culprit? It would seem to me that the production of dark/navy rums would predate the use of artificial coloring agents? If so there must of been something else contributing to the color of the spirit back in the day (assuming that navy rum were always as dark as they are today).

I have heard that demerara rums would sometimes be colored with molasses after barrel aging and before blending/bottling. I wonder it that's not also the case with the navy rum? Considering naval rums included Guyanese rums in the blend, it's not a stretch imo.

[Hassouni]

caramel is pretty old...

[Blade Rummer]

I understand that "caramel" is pretty old, however "caramel coloring" is not exactly the same thing as caramel. From my understanding, it's a complete oxidation of the sugars in a controlled industrial process (which is why, unlike caramel, it imparts no sweetness, only color). To be fair, I haven't found exactly when it was first used, so I have no idea if it has always been used in rum.

What I was wondering was that if dark rums predate the use of coloring agents, where did the color come from originally?

[Capn Jimbo]

Caramel coloring is VERY old...


...and was used even in the very early days to deceive sailors that their rum was better than it really was. As an example one Dutch company, DDW, first started making caramel coloring in 1865...

http://www.ddwcolor.com/history-of-grow ... nnovation/

It is also true that some distillers cheat and used heavily carmelized sugar (not coloring) that retains a bit of concentrated sweetness; however, it is not nearly as effective as E150a. Sorry - uncolored spirits are far lighter than we have been falsely led to believe, and thus appear richer and older than they are, especially when other unlabeled additives and flavorings are secretly added.

[Hassouni]

Caramel coloring is VERY old...


...and was used even in the very early days to deceive sailors that their rum was better than it really was. As an example one Dutch company, DDW, first started making caramel coloring in 1865...

http://www.ddwcolor.com/history-of-grow ... nnovation/

It is also true that some distillers cheat and used heavily carmelized sugar (not coloring) that retains a bit of concentrated sweetness; however, it is not nearly as effective as E150a. Sorry - uncolored spirits are far lighter than we have been falsely led to believe, and thus appear richer and older than they are, especially when other unlabeled additives and flavorings are secretly added.

Let's make an exception for uncolored spirits aged in freshly charred, new barrels. Bourbons and most ryes on the market are FAR darker at less than half the age of most Scotch whiskies on the market (compare any BIB -i.e. 4 year old-bourbon with any run of the mill 10-12 year old Scotch). The same goes for spirits aged in sherry barrels. Doorly's XO is quite dark, and we know that no coloring is added.

That said, I don't think it's possible to get Black Seal or Myer's darkness without some sort of colorant.

[Dai]

Caramel coloring is VERY old...


...and was used even in the very early days to deceive sailors that their rum was better than it really was. As an example one Dutch company, DDW, first started making caramel coloring in 1865...

http://www.ddwcolor.com/history-of-grow ... nnovation/

It is also true that some distillers cheat and used heavily carmelized sugar (not coloring) that retains a bit of concentrated sweetness; however, it is not nearly as effective as E150a. Sorry - uncolored spirits are far lighter than we have been falsely led to believe, and thus appear richer and older than they are, especially when other unlabeled additives and flavorings are secretly added.

Let's make an exception for uncolored spirits aged in freshly charred, new barrels. Bourbons and most ryes on the market are FAR darker at less than half the age of most Scotch whiskies on the market (compare any BIB -i.e. 4 year old-bourbon with any run of the mill 10-12 year old Scotch). The same goes for spirits aged in sherry barrels. Doorly's XO is quite dark, and we know that no coloring is added.

That said, I don't think it's possible to get Black Seal or Myer's darkness without some sort of colorant.

I'm sure Jarimi said the colour can be got from some burned sugar cane being added to the barrel.