Firstly, Rum in South Africa is not allowed to be produced from Sugar or Sugar byproducts. Rum is supposed to be exclusively produced from the fermentation of Molasses, Sugar Cane Juice or Sugar Cane Syrup (concentrated Juice), and distilled to such a level that the raw material can be tasted. If the fermentation from the same raw material is distilled to a level (alcohol percentage) where the raw material cannot be tasted (in other words it is a vodka) then we call it Cane. PS – by this definition Cachacha should also be classified as Rum in South Africa.

Secondly, we are not allowed to infuse any flavors into Rum in South Africa. The moment you do that you are not allowed to call the product Rum, and it becomes a Spirit Aperitif – hence you get Captain Morgan Spiced Rum outside of South Africa, but Captain Morgan Spiced Gold in South Africa.

Lastly – although Tapanga’s Rum is a Rhum Agricole style product, it is actually called Rhum Africole, as the distinction Rhum Agricole is geographically protected and limited to French speaking locals.

Thank you very much for this article though – it is about time that South African consumers are made more aware of the growing international trend towards Rums. It has been the fastest growing Craft Spirit Category for the last two years (although Gin is still the largest in terms of Sales Volume).