Which is better - rum or whiskey: comparison, composition, rules of use

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Have any of you thought how many different drinks exist on planet Earth? Most probably not. Because it is almost impossible to make an accurate calculation. But on the other hand, statistics are known that 30% of the total are alcoholic beverages. They are distinguished by taste, alcohol content, as well as cooking technology. It is difficult to answer the question of which is better - rum or whiskey, vodka or brandy, because people have different tastes, and it all depends on the individual preferences of each.

What alcohol is made of

Alcohol is made from various raw materials - corn, potatoes, barley, millet, rye, etc. and is used to make strong alcoholic drinks. The climatic conditions of a particular country affect the cultivation of various crops, and hence their processing. Yes, it's good in Jamaica.sugarcane grows, from which an excellent pirate drink rum is obtained, and Scotland is famous for its barley crops, from which, in turn, whiskey is made. What is the difference between whiskey and rum, and which drink should you prefer?

Whisky or whiskey

Whisky is an alcoholic drink with a strength of 40 to 70%, which is made from various types of grains in the process of m alting, distillation and infusion in oak barrels. They translate the word whiskey (English) as “living water”. The color of whiskey directly depends on the raw materials used for processing. It comes in all shades of brown, from light amber to deep rich.

Cooking technology

To answer the question of which is better - rum or whiskey, first you need to understand the technology of preparation and the characteristics of each drink. So, the steps for making whiskey:

1. Preparation of grain. At the first stage, m alt is prepared from barley. To do this, the grain must be sorted out, dried, then wetted and allowed to germinate. This takes up to 10 days. Germinated barley is dried again.
2. Wort preparation. Dried grain (wort) is ground into flour (Grist) and diluted with hot water. The resulting mass is infused for 10-12 hours to form Wort - a sweet liquid mass.
3. Fermentation stage. Yeast is thrown into the chilled wort and left for two days to ferment. The temperature of the medium should not exceed 37 °C. The result is a low-alcohol drink of about 5% strength, reminiscent of beer.
4. Stagedistillation. The resulting liquid is distilled at least twice in distillation apparatus made of copper. After the first distillation, the so-called weak wine with a strength of up to 30% is born. And only after the second time they get an alcoholic drink up to 70% strength.
5. Excerpt. Semi-finished whiskey is poured into oak barrels. An additional sign of quality is bottling in sherry casks. Since there are not always enough of them, American bourbon barrels are also used. At this stage, whiskey acquires a characteristic color and flavor. Aged for at least 3 years.
6. The only thing left to do is to bottle it. Before this, the drink is filtered and diluted with purified water to bring the whiskey to the desired strength. Sometimes, after aging, the m alt drink is mixed with grain, resulting in whiskeys with different flavor notes. This completes the whiskey production process. Drink this drink chilled. To do this, add special stones for whiskey or ice.

There are three main varieties of whiskey depending on the territory in which it was produced: Scottish, Irish and American.

Scotch tape

Scotch whiskey, also known as scotch, differs from all other types in the presence of a smoke flavor. This is due to the fact that the Scots use the so-called smoked grain - m alt dried in the smoke from the combustion of peat, beech shavings and coal. The result is a unique shade and flavor.

Irish whiskey

Irish whiskey (whiskey)characterized by a milder and lighter taste and not so pronounced aroma. Thanks to the three-distillation law in Ireland (and double distillation is allowed in Scotland), the whiskey is cleaner, but less full-bodied.

American Bourbon

American whiskey - bourbon - is distinguished by the use of corn (at least 51%) and rye instead of barley m alt during distillation. The Americans greatly simplified the distillation process by removing the m alting step. The lack of quality that Irish whiskey has, the Americans have replaced with a richness of flavors and color saturation. A new cooking technology was developed, which involved firing oak barrels from the inside. After aging whiskey in such barrels, the drink was enriched with a beautiful golden hue and a sweetish aftertaste.

How rum is made

Rum is a strong alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation and distillation of residues from the production of sugar from sugar cane. The strength of the drink is up to 60%. Translated from English, rum means "excitement, noise."

Let's start comparing rum and whiskey with the technology of making a now pirated drink. As mentioned above, rum is made from sugar cane. The stem of the plant contains a product from which sugar is produced. Molasses and other products formed during the processing of cane are used to prepare an alcoholic drink. Cooking steps:

1. Fermentation. In sugar wasteyeast, a small amount of substance from the previous fermentation, and butyric acid bacteria are added. Infuse at the right temperature.
2. Distillation. It is difficult to understand the question of which is better - rum or whiskey, since both products today are high-quality strong alcoholic beverages. As in the case of whiskey, the mash is distilled at least twice. Only at this stage, a variety of spices and herbs (cinnamon, citrus, etc.) are added. The result is a unique drink with a special taste.



3. Excerpt. Rum at this stage is poured into barrels for further infusion. Depending on the brand of the manufacturer, barrels of different types of wood are chosen. To obtain white rum, it is aged in a metal bowl. The minimum aging period is 2 years.
4. After infusion, the rum is obtained with a strength of about 60%. Purified water is added to it to obtain 50% strength and bottled. But even here the blending process is used. Only they do not mix different varieties of rum (as with whiskey), but add various flavors to it - essential oils, acetic acid, sugar or water in certain proportions. Rum is drunk chilled, adding ice or whiskey stones to it.

For a long time, rum was considered a low quality drink, as it was consumed mainly by workers from cane plantations and poor people. But in the middle of the 19th century, the Royal Chamber of Spain announced a reward for the refinement of rum. The most distinguished Don Facundino Bacardi Masso, who later founded the trademark"Bacardi" for the production of high quality clarified rum.

Which is better - rum or whiskey?

As we can see, both alcoholic drinks have many similarities in preparation technology. If we talk about what is stronger, rum or whiskey, then one and the other drink have almost the same strength - from 40 to 80%, depending on the brand and method of aging. Drink them chilled. They use special glasses for rum and whiskey.

True, real gourmets prefer glasses with thin glass to warm the drink in their hands. Thus, they believe, you can better experience all the richness of taste.

Drinking rum or whiskey is a matter of taste for each individual gourmet or lover of elite drinks. The main thing in this matter is not to overdo it, but to stick to the golden mean. Moderation should be in everything.