 products of the sugar industry like molasses. The Caribbean and Latin America produce much of the world's rum. Light rums are the base for cocktails like the minty mojito. Amber rums are medium-bodied and aged for flavor. They're often drunk straight, as is dark rum, the strongest tasting of all. This fine amber rum is the product of a long and complex process that begins with the harvest of mature sugar cane plants. The cut cane goes to a sugar mill where they wash it, then crush it to extract its sweet juice. They boil it down. This produces a kind of molasses that then goes on to a centrifuge machine that draws out excess moisture. Rub making really begins here in these distillation towers. This is where firmet made from molasses distills into raw rum. To make firmet, molasses mixed with water and yeast heats an open tanks for about 30 hours. This converts sugar into alcohol. Here's a sample straight from one of these tanks. Notice that foamy top layer? That's fermentation and action. Before distilling the contents of the tank, technicians first test a sample. In this glass still, steam heats the firmet and releases alcohol vapors that condense at the top of the column. As they travel down the still spiral, the vapors cool and condense even more. The liquid that collects in the beaker is 80% alcohol. It's the same process inside the distillation towers on a much larger scale. The firmet must reach 176 degrees Fahrenheit to distill into raw rum. Then it's stored in these 13,000 gallon containers until they test it for quality. These gas powered boilers provide the steam heat for the distillation towers. Workers monitor the distilling towers day and night. This facility can produce more than 10,000 gallons of raw rum a day. All stored in these gigantic silos. From there, the raw rum goes into charred oak barrels. It's mixed with water and left to age anywhere from one to 12 years. The charred wood produces esters that give the rum color flavor and aroma. The longer it ages, the more intense the flavor. Technicians perform tests on the sample at the distilleries laboratory, closely monitoring the aging process. First, using a hydrometer, they measure the amount of alcohol in the samples to make sure it's in the standard 50% range. Next, they smell each sample to make sure the aromas are in balance. They keep a journal of all their observations. Quality control is the key to producing a consistent, flavorful product. Once it is aged, the rum is bottled. It's a fully automated process. First, they sterilize new bottles in a sodium carbonate solution. Then a conveyor moves them to a filling station that can process 150 bottles a minute. Rotating wheels deliver the bottles to a lever system that raises them up to the nozzles on pneumatic pumps. They fill up with rum, more than 72,000 of them each day. Next, aluminum bottle caps come down a chute right onto the bottle tops. A piston valve pushes down on the caps and tightly seals each bottle. Next stop, labeling. First, a spinning roller applies glue to panels set on a rotating wheel. The panels pass a dispenser and a label glues onto them. Another rotating wheel grabs the labels from the panel and transfers them onto the bottles. Sponges press them neatly into place. As the bottles convey out of the labeling station, brushes smooth out each label. Finally, the bottles lower into boxes 12 at a time. Disgip to customers all over the world. Tiffany L...