How to sip your rum

So many of the rums profiled in this blog are recommended to be consumed neat, chilled, or over ice.
This may seem like a bit of common sense, but there are a few tips that can help you.

1. Take your best shot glass

“Grappa glasses are really good,” MacKay says, but notes that “anything that funnels the aromas to the nose is a good bet.”

2. Get warmer

MacKay suggests serving rums neat and at room temperature, “because that’s where you’re going to get the most flavour and the most aroma out of them.” Unlike at a wine tasting, she says, it’s okay to hold the glass in your hands in order to warm the rum up ever so slightly.

3. Approach with (nasal) caution

“Take it slowly. Don’t breathe it in like you would wine because that will blow your nose to smithereens,” MacKay warns. “You want to kind of creep up on it slowly – even one nostril at a time – from a distance. Let the beverage seduce you with its fragrance and aromas, then kind of back away from it for a minute before you take a closer sniff. That will produce the best effect, because strong alcohol will render your nose incapable of discerning anything.”

4. Down the hatch

“Take a tiny little sip first,” MacKay suggests, “just to get your mouth used to it and let it roll around every section of your tongue. Remember, there is no spitting in spirits. Part of the excitement of a really good spirit is what comes afterwards, once you exhale – you’ll get a whole treat of things that come up into your palate on that breath.”

5. Welcome dissent

“Everybody’s tastebuds are different,” she notes. “All of the lovely vanilla tones and cocoa flavours and the honey and the tannins that you get from a barrel will be there in different proportions for different people.”