When he sailed from Jamaica he found that the rum had the natural advantage of remaining sweet in the cask for very much longer than water or beer. This unique cocktail bar pays homage to the history of the merchant trade in all its glory and is best-known for a collection of rare and vintage rums. Spanish-controlled distillers in Cuba, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico typically produced smooth rums called añejo. Rum’s history is certainly tainted with an awful part of our own global history but the ingenuity and persistence of those early distillers is not to be lost. Firmly grounded in history with detailed backstories, honorific titled rums, and founders set on doing things the hard way, many of these distilleries are producing their spirits with New England agricultural products and returning any byproducts, like mash, back to local farmers to complete an economic and environmental cycle older than our own nation. When I wrote “Rum: A Global History,” there were things that had to be left out, some for space considerations, some because they were interesting stories or images but not vital to the book. Many illegal bars purchased spirits that the seller called rum, but which were actually poison liquor, likely made in somebody’s basement, bathtub, or in the woods under cover of night.
Straight rum is a popular drink in rum-producing countries. So Whiskey and other grain-based spirits become more common and the height of rum’s popularity begins a slow decline as the new kid in town becomes all the rage. The history of rum had the potential for being very short–it initially was not well received. The family set up facilities in Puerto Rico (where it’s now headquartered), Mexico, Brazil, the Bahamas, and the Canary Islands, earning far more than would have been possible under Castro’s regime had he allowed them to stay.” In 2008, “the US government subsidized the world’s largest spirits company, Diageo, to open the Captain Morgan distillery on the United States Virgin Islands. Rum’s association with piracy began with British privateers trading on the valuable commodity.
Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Rum’s history is certainly tainted with an awful part of our own global history but the ingenuity and persistence of those early distillers is not to be lost. Stay tuned for our upcoming video on New England Rums and our next article where we’ll cover the different styles of rum and give some recommendations for craft rums that we just love. Diageo will receive nearly $3 billion over thirty years, including a $165 million distillery and payments to keep the cost of molasses low.". Ironically, the tall sweet grass that Columbus took to the Caribbean in 1493, and the sugar and rum made from that sugar-cane, was ultimately worth more than all the lustrous metal taken from the Caribbean basin. It includes both the light-bodied rums, typified by those of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and the heavier and fuller-flavoured rums of Jamaica. They strained the juice and placed it in boiling pots until the sugar was crystallized. You'll be the smartest, savviest tippler around. In less than 10 years the sugar barons of Barbados became some of the richest in the world, with a prospering sugar and rum export industry. This type, produced mainly in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, employs cultured yeast in fermentation, and distillation is accomplished in modern, continuous-operation patent stills. Setting aside the overproof rums, rums from the Caribbean and Latin America can be broken into three major categories; each with traces back to colonial powers. All rights reserved. The Malay people are reputed to have been making a fermented sugarcane spirit, called Brum, for thousands of years. And it was part of the origin story of modern mixology, dating back to early rum punches and grogs. The more slave traders and slaves who wanted rum, the more sugar production was needed in order to produce molasses. While there’s no denying that the Caribbean is the home of rum, you’ll find plenty of tastings and tours around the capital. Present day. 8 Reasons Why More People Are Going Concierge, Top 5 Places for Pre-Dinner Drinks in London. A slow cooker can can take your comfort food to the next level. Such rums are usually produced from molasses enriched with the skimmings, or dunder, remaining in the boilers used for sugar production. The drunkenness was, later, reduced by the drinking of tea and cocoa, however, it was still a threat to naval efficiency so in 1850 the rum ration was fixed at an eighth of a pint, until it was abolished in 1970. Batavia arak is a pungent rum produced on the Indonesian island of Java. Join us for your free resources plus a monthly email chock full of our latest marketing tips, ideas, and opportunities for craft alcohol makers. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Rum became a global commodity, tying Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Caribbean in a complex web of commerce, involving the slave trade. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. As New Englanders perfected their craft of rum distillation, making it some of the most affordable alcohol on the market, they began to seek more sales outlets.
They started to try to make alcohol from anything that grew there…pumpkins, apples, twigs, you name it. VAT No. The production of dry, light-bodied rums began in the late 19th century. Hints of spices can be detected, along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. While the African slavers accepted many forms of payment to supply slaves to the European colonists the most highly sought after payment was alcohol. Vernon suggested the addition of limes and sugar to make the drink more palatable, which led to grog mixed with limejuice being known as ‘limey’. Brandy was one of the early spirits to step up and fill the need for lower volume with a higher punch, but as the trade routes allowed for increased supply of sugar a new spirit became a fast-favorite of slave traders, slaves and explorers alike.
Sugarcane cultivation was possible here, and the Portuguese could produce sugar without Arab control." They are primarily produced in Jamaica, Barbados, and Demerara in Guyana. Fortunately, the distillation process for rum rapidly improved, therefore prolonging its popularity. It was a tough revelation and to make matters worse there was also a beer shortage in England.
The heavy, dark, and full-bodied rums are the oldest type and have strong molasses flavour. Eventually shortened to Rum we have our modern name for this spirited drink. We’ve assembled a list of 50 of the world’s most reliable, inexpensive wines – bottles that offer amazing quality for their price year in and year out. Rum has always tended to favour and flavour rebellion, from the pirates of the seventeenth century to the American Revolution.