What ingredients should I use for my rum mix?

Which one to use? Should the rum be sweetened before or after maceration? Sugar is an important ingredient in making rum blends. It softens the palate and promotes the release of flavors. Choosing the right sugar is therefore essential.
Due to the origin of rum, cane sugar is the traditional ingredient used in making arranged rum. For sweetening after maceration, the ideal is to opt for a syrup, which dissolves more quickly and more evenly. Incorporating unusual ingredients gives a certain originality to your arranged rum. Honey offers a superb alternative for sweetening arranged rums, and adds a particular flavor. Agave or maple syrups can also be used as a source of sugar.
Finally, Stevia provides an aroma close to licorice.

Fruits are the main ingredient in rum, giving it character and originality.

Fresh fruits
Fresh fruit is the most commonly used fruit in rum blends. It should be ripe and at the peak of its aroma. Be careful, however: the fruit should not be damaged or rotten, otherwise you risk tasting the rum blend with a taste of rotten fruit.

Canned fruits
Canned fruit has the advantage of ensuring that each product is of roughly the same quality. The difference in taste varies from fruit to fruit, and you're likely to get something completely different. See the difference between fresh and canned pineapple.
As their sugar content is higher, we advise you to take this into account when preparing your recipe.

Frozen fruits
Frozen fruit, on the other hand, has a similar aroma to fresh fruit. Just make sure the fruit is thawed and has lost its water content before adding it to the rum.
Frozen fruit is less attractive than fresh fruit during maceration, but it allows it to be available all year round and avoids having to import it from the other side of the world!

Candied fruits
A rum made with candied fruit has a different taste and appearance than a rum made with the same fruit, fresh. Its sugar content is higher, so it's important to adjust the amount of sugar added to the mixture.

Dried or freeze-dried fruits
Dried or freeze-dried fruits are the other major category of fruit found in arranged rums. Dried or freeze-dried fruits macerate much more quickly than fresh fruits.
Note that freeze-dried fruits offer a better alternative thanks to their strong taste.

Cooked fruits
Cooked fruit offers a different taste from fresh fruit but has the advantage of enhancing the taste of the food.
Be careful, however, with the fats used during cooking: they will be difficult to remove later.