Rum books

[cazolman]

Any good books about rum available? I would love to find something similar in quality to Chuck Cowdery's book Bourbon, Straight. I am a rum newbie and just looking for something that covers the history (especially in America), manufacturing process and maybe some basic tasting suggestions.

[HighInTheMtns]

I'm not an expert but I think the guy who runs ministryofrum.com has written more than one.

[squire]

Jim is correct and there is a lot of good information on the site as well.

[tanstaafl2]

Jim is correct and there is a lot of good information on the site as well.

I don't think Ed Hamilton has written one recently and according to his own website they are now out of print. His book "The Complete Guide to Rum" is considered a siginificant resource by many but is now somewhat out of date given it was written 15 years ago.

Rum is probably a tougher subject to write about than Bourbon, American Whiskey or even Scotch or Irish whiskey given how many countries it comes from (not just the Caribbean by any means but that region alone is complicated enough), there are no real rules for making rum and the fact that like most spirits the only real constant is change.

This site might be helpful (I am not familiar with it). Seem to be few recent books about rum on Amazon. "Rum" by Dave Broom might make a decent starting place but it has been out 10 years as well.

[squire]

The blogs and other sites linked on Hamilton's web location contain a wealth of current information.

[sailor22]

Hamilton is a cheerleader first. He does some good work on the history part but suffers s convenient lack of curiosity regarding how current stuff is made and flavored. Unfortunately there isn't anyone who has a wide following on the Rum side who is willing to be even a little skeptical of marketing claims. The correlation to Bourbon would be if Mr. Cowdery pretended to believe everything that was printed on the back of bottles.

[squire]

Never said I was an ardent fan, he just happens to run the only game in town. Takes a bit of digging around but there's a lot of information there.

[squire]

The correlation to Bourbon would be if Mr. Cowdery pretended to believe everything that was printed on the back of bottles.

You saying I can't trust the labels now? Aw man.