If ever there was a pirate spirit, it's rum - not because rum is so closely tied to maritime history or because popular culture has aligned it with villainous pirate goons, but because rum, as a category of spirits, is downright resistant to rules. The styles of rum vary depending on where the rum comes from, if and how it's aged, and how it's distilled. The single thread connecting all rums is the base material: sugarcane.

The Spanish word for "rum" is ron, which is what it is called in Puerto Rico and other Spanish-speaking islands. In French, it is rhum, and this is the name for rums made from fresh sugarcane distillate in former French colonies in the Caribbean, as well as Guadeloupe and Martinique, which remain French overseas départements. On islands formerly under British rule, where rum is made from molasses, the English word rum is used.

Rum comes in many styles, and you can smell and taste the differences. But how do those different styles of rum interact with other ingredients in cocktails? The Daiquiri is the perfect starting point for exploring this. Here's an experiment that displays the unique nature of three different rums. Assemble the ingredients and equipment for the Daiquiri recipe below, but make it with three different rums, all else exactly equal. Ideally, you would shake them at the same time; if that isn't possible, make them all in close succession so they'll have a similar temperature and frothy texture when you taste them side by side.