5 fun facts for National Rum Day

This isn’t a bad way to enjoy rum. But it’s not the only way.
Credit: Thinkstock

National Rum Day is taking place this weekend on Aug. 16. To celebrate, we’ve collected some fun facts about rum, with help from Brugal Rum, that you may not know (and you can whip them out while you’re sipping rum this Saturday to impress your friends).

1. The people responsible for overseeing rum’s production are called Maestro Roneros, or Rum Master.

2. Although you’d think taste is the most important job for a Maestro Ronero, it’s actually smelling — or what they call “nosing” — the rum that guides their decision making when creating the rum.

3. Brugal Rum is protected by the DOP (Denomination of Protected Origin), similar to Champagne in France and Tequila in Mexico.

4. Fine rums are enjoyed by aficionados in both cocktails and sipped neat or on the rocks, just as you would with a fine whiskey.

5. Before being aged, rum starts out clear or “water white,” but aging in oak barrels adds color and flavor. Brugal Extra Dry is a cask-aged rum that is charcoal filtered to remove the brown color while maintaining the rich flavors imparted by the oak cask.

And below, find three recipes in case you feel like celebrating at home instead of out at a bar:

Dominican Buck
Credit: Alice Gao

Dominican Buck

Created by Danny Neff, Extra Fancy