Dark Vs White Rum: What's The Difference?

Rum is a common liquor often associated with tiki cocktails and pirates. The latter is thanks to popular fictionalized characters like Captain Jack Sparrow and real historical figures like Captain Morgan (yes, that Captain Morgan really existed). Many of our favorite delicious cocktails are made with white rum, dark rum, and frequently both together in boozy harmony. You'll traditionally find white rum in drinks like mojitos, daiquiris, and piña coladas. Dark rum is typically found in cocktails like the dark and stormy, jungle bird, or a rum old fashioned. Then there's the rum-based cocktails that employ both light and dark rum together like hurricanes, mai tais, and rum punch.

Although both white and dark rum are made from sugarcane, they can possess vastly different flavor profiles and nuances. So, what exactly makes white and dark rum so different? The answer comes down to aging. Simply put, dark rum is white rum that has been aged in wooden barrels. That's why dark rum can have a variety of woody, herbal, and even smoky notes like a mezcal, and white rum tends to have a more nuanced, sweet flavor. Regardless, rum is one of the most flavorful, diverse, and versatile spirits around. Understanding the different kinds of rum and how to use them properly unlocks a whole new world of cocktails for you to enjoy.

Rum is made through the fermentation of the juices extracted from sugar cane, which is a type of grass grown primarily in Brazil but flourishes through out the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. After sugar cane is harvested, it essentially gets juiced until the sweet, sugary liquid is fully collected. Some rums can be made from this liquid, but most rum uses either cane syrup or molasses. All rum undergoes a fermentation process, as this is how the alcohol is produced. Then, distillation concentrates and separates the alcohol from any impurities. All rum is clear when it is first distilled. After distillation, white rum usually gets thoroughly filtered to further remove impurities. Some white rums are even barrel-aged just like a dark rum but are then filtered to remove the coloring while maintaining the more complex flavors.

White rum, sometimes called silver or light rum, is typically known for its sweet and mild flavor. Most mild white rums make a wonderful backdrop for fruity cocktails and mixed drinks. It's also common to see white rum sold in artificial flavors like raspberry, mango, coconut, and just about any others you could imagine. White rum gained popularity with Americans during the Prohibition era when tourists would vacation in the Caribbean and enjoy the thriving rum production, and we don't see it losing traction any time soon.

Dark rum is made using the same basic distillation and fermentation process as white rum, but it is also barrel-aged to help develop a variety of layered flavors. Just like white rum, dark rum has a huge range of possible flavors and methods of production, but it is typically made using the molasses from the sugar cane. The aging process in wood barrels develops that particular rum's characterizing flavors and a golden hue. Barrel-aging can coax out a whole spectrum of interesting flavors like vanilla and caramel or even charred wood and rubber. Remain alert when shopping for dark rum, though, as some brands will add artificial colors and flavorings to simulate authentic dark rum.

A high-quality dark rum can be sipped on its own or with a splash of water thanks to the bold and complex flavors. But, like white rum, it pairs well and brings depth to a huge array of cocktails from a fun and fruity rum swizzle to the swanky El Presidente. Overall, rum is an incredibly diverse liquor that can be produced and altered in many interesting ways. Perhaps the common idea that light and dark rum are two entirely different entities is one that we should collectively shed. Categorizing rums by their flavor is a much more productive way to approach mixology with rum.