Rum is one of the few spirits with a clear birthplace: the sugar islands of the Caribbean. Its story is tied to sugarcane, to the sea, and to a difficult chapter of history that is part of every honest account of the drink.
Born from molasses
In the 1600s, European colonies in the Caribbean grew sugarcane on a huge scale. Turning cane into sugar leaves behind a thick, dark by-product called molasses. Someone discovered that it could be fermented and distilled, and by the mid-1600s a strong spirit made this way was being sold in places such as Barbados. Early names were blunt, such as “kill-devil”.
The sugar industry of that era was built on the forced labour of enslaved Africans. Rum cannot be separated from that history, and any serious story of the drink should say so.
Rum and the sea
Rum quickly became a drink of ships and ports. The British Royal Navy gave sailors a daily rum ration for more than two centuries. Mixing it with water, and later with lime and sugar, gave us the word “grog”. The ration ended on 31 July 1970, a date still remembered in the navy as Black Tot Day.
Cuba, cocktails and Prohibition
By the late 1800s and early 1900s, Cuba had become a centre of rum making and of drinks such as the Daiquiri and the Mojito. During US Prohibition (1920 to 1933), many Americans travelled to Havana and other Caribbean ports to drink legally, which helped spread Caribbean cocktail culture.
Tiki and today
In the 1930s and after, tiki bars in the United States built an entire style around rum and tropical flavour. After a quiet period, craft bartenders rediscovered rum in the 2000s. Today it is made in dozens of countries, in styles from clear and light to dark, aged and spiced.
Read on for the main types of rum and how rum is made. Enjoy responsibly.