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Before you make your next Daiquiri, make sure you’re using the right rum.

One morning last month, in the rainforest of southern Belize, I started my day by harvesting two different types of organic sugar cane with a machete — not my typical start to a Tuesday, but a truly revealing one.

Initially, they were difficult to tell apart. Both were taller than me and had woody exteriors that reminded me of bamboo. But once we hacked into them, cut off a six-inch piece, and started chewing, their differences became stunningly evident: The black cane had a sweeter, more caramel-like personality with traces of blackberries and plums. The red cane, conversely, was less potent but had a marginally longer finish, with hints of honeydew. It was a stark lesson in the complexity of the world of rum at every phase of its production.

I was in Belize to learn more about Copalli Rum, a relatively young brand that is growing its footprint in the United States, and has had a tremendously positive impact on Southern Belize already. They’ve preserved more than 13,000 acres of rainforest there, grow their cane organically, operate a zero-impact distillery for their agricole-style rums, and invest heavily in programs for the local community. What surprised me was just how bright a light my time there threw not just on the raw materials that go into top-quality rum, but also on how barrel aging affects the finished product.

Later that day, I sat down with the Copalli team to taste not just their excellent white rum, but also a selection of barrel-aged samples of various ages, to explore how wood impacts the final liquid. It was a fascinating experience, and embodied much of what sets white rum and dark rum apart…as well as why that sort of either-or language is often inadequate to fully describe the impact that aging has on the spirit.

“Aging adds amazing complexity to rum, but timing is everything,” explained master distiller Eligio Rivas Fromherz. “As with other spirits, there is seasonality and artistry to aging. Aging adds and enhances rum’s natural flavor notes, taking on characteristics of the wood: The oakiness, caramels, vanillas, and of course color. Over time, the wood has less impact, and the rum starts developing an enhanced sweetness of its own.”

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But rum, similar to whiskey, doesn’t age in a predictable progression. As Rivas Fromherz explained, often you’ll encounter high points and low points in the aging process where the balance exerted by the aging either fits your taste perfectly or, in contrary, presents an unpleasant sharpness. What’s more crucial than the age of the rum is the timing the master distiller uses in the process. Considering the timing and technique of moving rum from the barrels at the exact instance where the balance between the base rum, barrel flavors, and a gentle sweetness hits peak is integral.

Through a tasting that I personally experienced, I found out the substantial differences that lie between the white rum and the two-, three-, four-, and five-year samples. I observed, the interaction between the spirit and the wood didn’t seem to be taking place at a uniform pace. Deciding when to put an end to the barrel aging involves a skilled hand and continuous tasting from the master distiller, this also accentuates the external conditions that impact aging rum.

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