Tasting

A Rum-Verschnitt usually smells of caramel with a soft, mellow rum note. Behind it can lie a dry, slightly spirity impression that comes from the neutral spirit. Anyone who puts their nose to the glass quickly notices that the aromas appear calmer than in a pot-still rum.

Two addresses in Flensburg invite comparison. The Johannsen rum house at Marienstraße 6 bottles, by its own account, nearly a dozen varieties of its own production and offers tours that lead from the cultivation of sugar cane through to the finished spirit. The Braasch wine and rum house on Rote Straße also features its own Rum Manufactory Museum.

A nosing glass works best, or failing that, a small tulip-shaped glass in which the aromas can gather. Room temperature is fine; chilling numbs the finer notes. A drop of water can open up some rums, though with a 40 percent Verschnitt it achieves little, since the spirit is already diluted.

A revealing comparison emerges when two glasses stand side by side: a Verschnitt and a pure rum, say from Jamaica. The difference lies in the finish. The rum carries its molasses and fruit notes longer, while the Verschnitt fades faster and leaves the mouth drier.

On the label, it's worth checking the legal name. If it reads "Rum-Verschnitt" and "Spirituose," everything is in order, and the rum content is at least five percent of the alcohol. Pure rum simply carries the designation "Rum" and needs no qualifier.