Caribbean people like to think of themselves as experts on the spirit, for good historical reasons. Many would be surprised at the fact that what is defined as rum is by no means unambiguous.

For instance, although in most Latin American and Caribbean countries a base of cane sugar is essential to the definition of rum, there is at least one where "rum" can be a spirit based on plain distilled alcohol.

Or take the matter of the alcoholic strength that rum can be sold at. This is defined as 38-54 per cent by volume at 20 degrees centigrade in Brazil. In Chile and Venezuela the minimum is 40 per cent, while in Colombia it is 50 per cent.

Age requirements of rum under national regulations also differ. The minimum is eight months in Mexico, one year in the Dominican Republic and two years in Venezuela and Peru. After one year in Barbados it qualifies as Matured rum; after two years in Mexico it is anejo -- a term widely used in Hispanic countries to refer to a rum of superior quality, like Old or Reserve Rum in the Anglophone countries.

To complicate matters the types of rum recognised by national regulations is by no means uniform.

In Argentina there is White, Gold, Light and Extra Light. In Barbados there is White, Overproof and Matured; in Brazil rum is Light, Heavy or Aged; in Mexico it is Aged, Reserve or Flavoured; and in Peru it is either Amber or White.

In the United States there is Rum, Rum Liqueur and Flavoured Rum. In the view of the West Indies Rum and Spirit Producers Association (WIRSPA) such wide differences in rum definitions and categories could act as a serious non-tariff barrier for the product when the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) comes into force.

Market access would be restricted, seriously reducing the benefits from trade liberalisation.

In the worst case, failure to agree on a common definition would open the way for impostor spirits masquerading as rum to make their appearance, like the infamous Rum Verschnitt now recognised in the EU, a spirit which Caribbean rum connoisseurs consider unworthy of the name.

WIRSPA is proposing the adoption of a simple, common definition of rum to be used in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It points to precedents in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Canada-Chile FTA, which adopted agreed definitions of Tequila, Canadian Whisky, Bourbon, Tennessee Whisky and Pisco.

The definition proposed by WIRSPA was discussed at last week's meeting at the ACS.

Essentially, it would preserve the character of rum as a uniquely sugar-cane based product, exclude non-sugar cane based products from qualifying as rum, and preserve the sovereign right of countries that are parties to the FTAA to impose additional requirements on their domestic rums.

The meeting, held under the aegis of the ACS Trade Committee, was hailed by WIRSPA as a great success. More exhaustive information will be collected on national rum standards and definitions, and countries are to hold internal consultations with their respective industries to discuss the WIRSPA proposal.