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Rum enthusiast here. While the rum market has been experiencing a small boom in recent years, especially at the high end, very few consumers think of rum as a f

Rum enthusiast here. While the rum market has been experiencing a small boom in recent years, especially at the high end, very few consumers think of rum as a fine, sipping drink. Low- to midrange mixing rums still account for the bulk of the market, and, barring a few trendy aberrations here and there, they probably will for years to come. Most people think of rum as a commodity, a mixing component. Scotch, on the other hand, has a long history as a standalone drink, and as an aspirational luxury good. What you're seeing in the Scotch boom isn't the sudden uplift of a formerly humble drink; it's the discovery and rediscovery of a noble drink by new markets. When and where rum has seen boutique, high-end mini-markets, they are usually driven by the marketing efforts of a firm or two, and they are usually impermanent. Even these usually promote rum as a mixing component -- which is a good way to remind people to consider rum as a vital component of the liquor cabinet, but not a great way to get them to appreciate it.

dageshi 12y ago
As far as I remember blended Scotch still makes up the majority of the Scotch market. So in principle I don't see them as being that different. What I do see is that you can buy good aged rum from good distillers at cheaper than the equivalent Scotch. Now it's all a matter of taste but when it comes down to it, would you rather have a cheaper good quality rum or an average/poor scotch for the same price? Scotch distillers are increasingly putting out non age statement bottlings of younger Scotch for prices that they once charged for 10 or 12 year matured Scotch, I think if they continue to do that those who've developed a taste for good spirit will look elsewhere and find Rum which is a very handy replacement.
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  Blended Scotch is far and away the majority of the market, but I'd imagine most people still drink their blended Scotch unmixed. On the rocks, maybe. But not mixed. (I could be wrong about that, and don't want to speak from any presumed authority here.)
riffraff 12y ago
I think premium rums are becoming more common, but part of the reason why they are considered cheap mixing components is the selfimposed: X years old scotch means "the youngest component is X", while X years old rum generally means "the oldest component is X".
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  In fairness, I think the main reason rum is considered a mixing component is because it's been that way for 200-something years. You'd have to go back to the Age of Sail to find an era when rum was widely considered a standalone drink. (And even then, it was often watered down or mixed with something.) The global rum market is dominated by a handful of huge beverage companies, all of whom have historically marketed their rum as a mixer. The two forces working to counter this image are the small-batch importers and the internet rum-aficionado community. In time, they may prove successful. I will say this much, at least: there has never been a wider selection of great rum so readily available in the United States in my lifetime. Anyone whose opinion of rum has been colored by the paint thinner that Bacardi puts out should consider a bottle of Diplomatico, or aged Flor de Cana. The prices and quality go up from there, but for my money, those are some very good and very approachable sipping rums.

dageshi 12y ago

As far as I remember blended Scotch still makes up the majority of the Scotch market. So in principle I don't see them as being that different. What I do see is that you can buy good aged rum from good distillers at cheaper than the equivalent Scotch. Now it's all a matter of taste but when it comes down to it, would you rather have a cheaper good quality rum or an average/poor scotch for the same price? Scotch distillers are increasingly putting out non age statement bottlings of younger Scotch for prices that they once charged for 10 or 12 year matured Scotch, I think if they continue to do that those who've developed a taste for good spirit will look elsewhere and find Rum which is a very handy replacement.

jonnathanson 12y ago
Blended Scotch is far and away the majority of the market, but I'd imagine most people still drink their blended Scotch unmixed. On the rocks, maybe. But not mixed. (I could be wrong about that, and don't want to speak from any presumed authority here.)

riffraff 12y ago

I think premium rums are becoming more common, but part of the reason why they are considered cheap mixing components is the selfimposed: X years old scotch means "the youngest component is X", while X years old rum generally means "the oldest component is X".

jonnathanson 12y ago
In fairness, I think the main reason rum is considered a mixing component is because it's been that way for 200-something years. You'd have to go back to the Age of Sail to find an era when rum was widely considered a standalone drink. (And even then, it was often watered down or mixed with something.) The global rum market is dominated by a handful of huge beverage companies, all of whom have historically marketed their rum as a mixer. The two forces working to counter this image are the small-batch importers and the internet rum-aficionado community. In time, they may prove successful. I will say this much, at least: there has never been a wider selection of great rum so readily available in the United States in my lifetime. Anyone whose opinion of rum has been colored by the paint thinner that Bacardi puts out should consider a bottle of Diplomatico, or aged Flor de Cana. The prices and quality go up from there, but for my money, those are some very good and very approachable sipping rums.