Tafia (possibly an alteration of ''

ratafia Ratafia is a broad term used for two types of sweet alcoholic beverages, a flavouring essence whose taste resembles bitter almonds, later to a ratafia flavoured biscuit, a biscuit to be eaten along with ratafia, and later still, to a cherry var ...

'', via aphesis) is a kind of rum made from

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

juice. It is typically unaged whereas rum is typically aged in wooden barrels to reduce the level of fusel. Most of the fusel is absorbed in the first two years. Premium rums are aged for a longer period, incidentally increasing the evaporation of ethanol.

Rum and tafia

The history of rum and tafia dates back to the 17th century. Both originated on vast sugar plantations in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

. In the colonial era, the rum trade became very lucrative and rum production was a major source of the demand for

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, who were needed to produce sugar cane. In 18th century Louisiana, sugar was grown more for households and local needs, not as an export crop, although it was used to make tafia for local consumption.

Clairin Clairin (, , ht, Kleren) is a distilled alcoholic spirit made from sugarcane produced in Haiti, that undergoes the same distillation process as rhum. There are between 500 and 600 micro-distilleries in Haiti, compared to fewer than 50 in total ...

is an analogous spirit produced in Haiti. Often, both tafia and rum were produced. Tafia is a kind of rum mostly for local consumption, as it is easier and cheaper to make. Rum took more time, effort, and resources to produce, but it was a more concentrated and stable product that could be shipped to distant markets. In the making of rum, the juice from sugarcane is boiled down to

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

. This syrup is briskly stirred until crystals form. When the crystal layer is removed, the remainder —

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

— is boiled again and water and yeast are added to the molasses and water mixture and allowed to

ferment Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

. The fermented mixture is then

distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the hea ...

. The distilled product is colorless until it is aged in wooden

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

s and other natural ingredients like

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of carameli ...

are added.

References

Rums {{distilled-drink-stub