Rum production starts with the fermentation of a sugar base, yeast and water. Most Rum's use molasses as their sugar base, which is a syrupy by-product from the processing of sugar from sugar cane or sugar beet. The exception to this is the use of sugar cane juice by the French colonial islands of the Caribbean.

After a period of 24 - 48 hours, the process of fermentation is complete, with the resulting "moult" or "dead wash" liquid being passed on to the distillation phase. The moult will have an alcohol content of 4 to 6 proof. Distilliation will occur in either a column still or a pot still depending on the distillery and the quantities required. Regardless of the process the resultant spirit is drawn from the stills once it has reached the required level of quality and alcoholic content.

The clear distilled spirit is then aged in either a wooden cask or a steel tank, from as little as 1 year to as many as 30 years. Rum that is aged in steel tanks will remain colourless, as opposed to those aged in oak barrels that will become dark in colour. Known as the "angels share" it is common for rum producers to lose up to 10% of their Rum during this aging process, due to the tropical heat.