RUM (according to Skeat, a corruption of Malay brum or bram; the adjective " rum," i.e. " queer," being a distinct word, in Gipsy rem)

This article appears in Volume V23, Page 825 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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RUM (according to Skeat, a corruption of Malay brum or bram; the adjective " rum," i.e. " queer," being a distinct word, in Gipsy rem) , a potable spirit' distilled chiefly from fermented cane-

sugar

SUGAR

. It is mainly the produce of the West Indian Islands, notably Jamaica, and of Demerara. There are two' kinds of Jamaica rum, namely, " common " or " clean " rum, and " flavoured " or " German " rum. The latter is used almost entirely for purposes of blending with lighter types of spirit. Compared with other potable spirits such as

whisky

WHISKY, or WHISKEY

and

brandy

BRANDY

, the Jamaica rums are distinguished by their very high proportion of secondary products, particularly of the compound esters. Among the latter butyric " ether " (

ethyl

ETHYL

butyrate) predominates. The Demerara rums are of a lighter

character

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

. Rum has a deep brown colour imparted by caramel or by storage in sherry casks, or, most generally, by both. " Tafia " is an inferior quality of rum produced in the French colonies. " Negro " rum, which is the lowest quality of all, and into the

wash

WASH, THE

for which the debris of the

sugar

SUGAR

-cane enters, is consumed locally by the coloured workers. The spirit prepared from beet-sugar molasses cannot be regarded as rum, for, unless it is highly rectified, it possesses a disagreeable odour and

taste

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

. Fictitious rum is, however, sometimes prepared from highly rectified beet spirit and rum " essence "a mixture of artificial esters (

ethyl

ETHYL

butyrate, &c.). birch bark oil and so on. Highly rectifiedbeet spirit is also occasionally used for blending with genuine rum, particularly with the " flavoured " or " German " rum. The latter name originated in the fact that this kind of rum was exported very largely to Germany for the purpose of blending. The general composition of various kinds of rum is manifest from the annexed table. The

consumption

CONSUMPTION (Lat. consumere)

of rum in the United Kingdom has fallen off considerably of

late

LATE

years, con-currently with the general tendency of the public towards lighter and " drier " alcoholic beverages (see SPIRITS).

End of Article: RUM (according to Skeat, a corruption of Malay brum or bram; the adjective " rum," i.e. " queer," being a distinct word, in Gipsy rem)

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