Your frequently asked questions

Any question about the Pur Rum label? All answers are on this page. If, however, you do not find the answer you are looking for, do not hesitate to contact us using the contact form.

 • What is the definition of a rum?

According to European Regulation 110/2008 a rum is:

- A spirit obtained by the fermentation and distillation of molasses or cane juice

- with and ABV level of at least 37.5 °

- The rum must not be flavored

- Caramel can be added to the rum only to adapt the color.

In addition, the EU regulation also specifies that a rum can be sweetened only to "complete the final taste", but without defining a maximum amount of added sugar.

As a consequence, spirits that:

- contain flavoring agents

- contain sugar added to the extent of substantially altering the taste

are not considered as rums.

• Why create a label for rums?

Unlike Scotch whisky or Cognac for example, there are no unified rules at the international level for the production of rum. Some producing countries like the French overseas territories have set themselves very strict rules, while other countries do not have any regulation.

But in the territories of consumption, regulation exists that defines precisely which product falls into the rum category. This is the case in the EU with the regulation 110/2008 described above.

As a consequence, there are products which can be presented as rums in their country of origin and which are labeled as such, but which are not considered as rums in Europe because they contain additives or sugar added in important quantity.

The aim of the "Pur Rhum ©" label is to guarantee to the consumer that the labeled product is an authentic rum which complies with EU regulations, and to provide the proof of it.

• Who is the initiative of this label?

The label "Pur Rum ©" was created by François Sommer, also founder of L’Explorateur du Goût, an importation company created in 2016 and specialized in craft and natural spirits. For its selection of rums, the company chose right from the start to have its rum samples analyzed in the laboratory to check their content. The company found out that many samples contained vanillin flavoring agents, which can be used as a substitute for aging.

In 2018 François Sommer decided to formalize the approach and create the label "Pur Rum ©" to meet a double objective:

1 / Respond to the growing demand for natural products without additives. Professionals and rum lovers are regularly enquiring about the content of their rum bottles, and are seeking reassurance.

2 / offer transparency on the content of rums and their production by publishing the results of the analysis on a website.

• Why a label, are there no controls?

For many years, the DGCCRF (Nb, the French authorities' control body) has carried out inspections and identified numerous infringements with regard to European regulations. In May 2018, DGGCRF carried out a control campaign with 53 imported rums analyzed. 44% of them were identified as non-compliant with the regulation, particularly for the presence of additives sur as glycerol or vanillin.

But despite these controls it remains difficult for a consumer to differentiate a genuine rum from a product containing additives. In front of a supermarket shelf, at a wine shop, or on a bar or restaurant menu, all the products whether or not they comply with the regulation are generally grouped under the "rum".section.

The objective of the "Pur Rhum ©" label is to give the complying rums the opportunity to be identified as such by the consumer.

• What does the "Pur Rum ©" label cover?

The "Pur Rhum ©" label identifies rums that comply with European regulations and that are therefore as natural as possible from a taste point of view. The addition of flavors or a significant amount of sugar changes the taste of the product. A rum labeled "Pur Rhum ©" expresses the aromas truly resulting from the elaboration, distillation, and aging of rum.

The label "Pur Rum ©" guarantees that the product bearing the label does not contain added flavors, nor glycerol, and a quantity of added sugar not exceeding 20 g / l.

• What is the seriousness of this label?

Each product labeled "Pur Rum ©" has been analyzed by an independent laboratory, from a sealed bottle taken from stocks or in stores. The analysis covers 5 molecules:

• Added sugars (sacharose, fructose and glucose)

• Glycerol: an agent used to add "roundness" to a product

• Ethyl vanillin: a synthetic aroma with a flavoring power 2 to 4 times higher than natural vanillin

• Vanillin: a molecule brought by barrel aging, but which can also be added in the form of aroma

• Syringaldehyde: a molecule brought by barrel aging.

By comparing the vanillin and syringaldehyde measures it is possible to determine whether vanillin has been added or not (the normal ratio is about 1 to 2). For example if a rum contains 1 mg / l of vanillin and 2 / mg of syringaldehyde, vanillin can be considered as natural. If the product contains 2 mg / l of vanillin and 1 mg / l of syringaldehyde, it is certain that part of the vanillin has been added as flavouring agent.

Rums labeled "Pure Rum ©" contain no additives (ethyl vanillin, glycerol, or aroma of vanillin) and less than 20 g / l of added sugar. The results of the analysis are published on the website www.purrhum.fr

• Why this threshold of 12 g / l and why not zero?

The addition of sugar in rums is considered by regulation as a normal practice to "round off" the taste, a practice that also exists in other categories of spirits such as cognac, or champagnes.

On the other hand, there is no maximum regulatory threshold, although discussions are underway at European level, around a proposed threshold of 20 g / l.

For the label "Pur Rum ©" the decision was to mirror the champagne category by adopting a maximum level of 12 g / l, which is equivalent to the maximum amount of added sugar in a “Champagne Brut”. From the point of view of taste it is commonly accepted that below this level the rum (or champagne) is not "sweet", and allows to express the flavors of the product.

In addition, the sugar content measured in the laboratory is communicated on the "Pur Rum ©" website. This transparency allows him to choose a rum according to its sugar content, as it would be the case for a Champagne “Brut” or “Exta Brut”.

• Is there no residual sugar from rums?

No, all the sugar originally contained in cane juice or molasses is turned into alcohol throught fermentation and distillation. If sugar is detected in the rum on analysis, it is because it has been added.

• And the caramel?

At this stage the caramel has not been included in the analysis because it is allowed and does not affect the taste. Nevertheless an evaluation is underway to include caramel in the analysis protocol and allow the consumer to know if the rum contains it or not.

• Is "Pur Rum ©" an official label or just a marketing tool?

The Pur Rhum label is based on a serious approach that is the subject of a protocol of analysis, validated by a certification body (implementation Q3 2019).