a species of brandy or vinous spirits, di- stilled from sugar-canes.

Rum, according to Dr Shaw, differs from simple sugar-spirit, in that it contains more of the natural fla- vour or essential oil of the sugar-cane; a great deal of raw juice and parts of the cane itself being often fer- mented in the liquor or solution of which the rum is prepared. The mucilaginous or oily flavour of rum is often supposed to proceed from the large quantity of fat used in boiling the sugar; which far, indeed, if so, will usually give a tinkling flavour to the spirit, in our distillations of the sugar liquor, or wash, from our re- fining sugar-houses; but this is nothing of kin to the flavour of the rum, which is really the effect of the natural flavour of the cane.

The method of making rum is this: When a suffi- cient stock of the materials are got together, they add water to them, and ferment them in the common meth- od, though the fermentation is always carried on very slowly at first; because at the beginning of the season for making rum in the islands, they want yeast, or some other ferment to make it work; but by de- grees, after this, they procure a sufficient quantity of the ferment, which rises up as a head to the liquor in the operation; and thus they are able afterwards to ferment and make their rum with a great deal of ex- pedition, and in large quantities.

When the wash is fully fermented, or to a due de- gree of acidity, the distillation is carried on in the common way, and the spirit is made up proof; though sometimes it is reduced to a much greater strength, nearly approaching to that of alcohol or spirit of wine; and it is then called double-distilled rum. It might be easy to rectify the spirit, and bring it to much greater purity than we usually find it to be of; for it brings over in the distillation a very large quantity of the oil; and this is often disagreeable, that the rum must be suffered to lie by a long time to mellow be- fore it can be used; whereas, if well rectified, it would grow mellow much sooner, and would have a much less potent flavour.

The best slate to keep rum in, both for exportation and other uses, is doubtless that of alcohol, or recti- fied spirit. In this manner it would be transported in one half the bulk it usually is, and might be let down to the common proof-strength with water when neces- sary; for the common use of making punch, it would likewise serve much better in the state of alcohol; as the taste would be cleaner, and the strength might al- ways be regulated to a much greater exactness than in the ordinary way.

The only use to which it would not so well serve in this state, would be the common practice of Rum adulteration among our distillers; for when they want to mix a large portion of cheaper spirit with the rum, their business is to have it of the proof- strength, and as full of the flavouring oil as they can, that it may drown the flavour of the spirits they mix with it, and extend its own. If the business of recti- fying rum was more nicely managed, it seems a very practicable scheme to throw out so much of the oil, as to have it in the fine light state of a clear spirit, but lightly impregnated with it; in this case it would very nearly resemble arac, as is proved by the mixing a very small quantity of it with a talcet's spirit, in which case the whole bears a very near resemblance to arac in flavour.

Rum is usually very much adulterated in Britain; some are so bare-faced as to do it with malt-spirit; but when it is done with molasses spirit, the tales of both are so nearly allied, that it is not easily discov- ered. The best method of judging of it is by setting fire to a little of it; and, when it has burnt away all the inflammable part, examining the phlegm both by the taste and smell.