Rum

This article is about the liqour. For the Scottish island called Rum (or Rhum), see Rum, Scotland

Rum is a liquor made from sugar cane by-products such as molasses and sugar cane juice which are fermented and distilled. The distillate, a clear liquid, is aged in oak casks. Rum is chiefly produced in the Caribbean and along the Demerara river in South America, but also in Australia and India. It is famous for its association with piracy and the Royal Navy. There are dark rums, golden rums and white rums (actually clear in colour), and famous brands include:

• Bacardi
• Captain Morgan
• Cockspurs
• Cruzan
• Don Q
• Havana Club
• Mount Gay
• Myers's
• Pusser's
• Ron del Barrilito
• Mike's Blue Rum
• Bundaberg (Australian)

A mixture of rum and water (in varying proportions) is known as grog, after British Admiral Edward Vernon's grogram cloak, that he would wear in foul weather. This was issued as a daily ration to sailors in the Royal Navy. Officers, naturally, took their rum unwatered.

History

Rum developed on the sugarcane plantations of the Carribean. Plantation slaves were the first to discover that by-products of the sugar production process fermented into alcohol. Later, these alcoholic by-products were distilled to concentrate the alcohol and remove impurities, producing the first true rums. For a long period of time, rum was very crudely produced and consider the drink of poor people and sailors. Over time, and encouraged by the prize offered by the Spanish government, the rum making process was greatly refined. Two of the major figures in this development was the Cuban founder of the Bacardi company and Juan Serralles the founder of Serralles Distillers, Inc in Puerto Rico.

See also: List of Puerto Rican rums, Bay rum, Rum Rebellion (1808) in Australia, Category:Rums

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