Navy Style Rums

[theMcGee]

How are Navy Style rums produced as opposed to light/white rums? And what gives them their full/heavy body???

[Edward Hamilton]

The original British Navy rum was a blend of rums from several Caribbean islands including Guyana and Jamaica which still produce some of the heaviest rums from the Caribbean. The British Admiralty was so concerned with the welfare of the sailors that they were given a daily ration of dry bread, generally-rancid meat, tobacco, tainted water and rum. Considering the quality of their other rations, I have no reason to believe that sailors were being provided with the finest aged rum, although at least some of the rum rationed to British sailors was blended in England and dispensed through official Navy pursers and since this process took some time the rum was aged in barrels.

Today there are several blends of rums which carry the name Navy rum. Most of these are heavy style rums which are a combination of pot and continuous column stills and all are colored with copious amounts of caramel. Fortunately, most of these rums are aged or they would be undrinkable. Molasses-based pot still rum, or rum from a continuous column which hasn't been distilled to a high proof, is very tough stuff to swallow until it has been aged.

All of the light white rums, of which Puerto Rican rums are a good example, have been distilled in multiple column continuous stills and then aged and carbon-filtered to remove the color gained from the aging process.