Rum is a fantastic drink, one that has served as the stuff of legends for pirates of every walk of life. Rum also appears in everything from dinners to desserts, with rum balls being one of our particular favorites. Of course, as the great Lewis Grizzard said, it also is an amazing mixer, and one of the only ones capable of improving Coca-Cola.
History of Rum Day
So we all know that pirates like rum and that rum is an alcoholic beverage but many of us are less than clear on what, exactly, makes rum RUM. Let’s start with the basics, shall we? Rum is a distilled alcohol, specifically distilled from byproducts of sugarcane. Some varieties are made from molasses, others from sugarcane juice but all rum, when its finished being distilled, is clear. The color you see in rum is from additives or seasonings, and are not in any way a bad thing.
Rum first was created in the Caribbean after it was discovered that molasses could be fermented into alcohol. Ironically, it was the slaves who made this discovery, but it was the Colonials who discovered how to distil it into true rum. So important did rum become in the years to follow that it played a major role in the political system of the colonies. How? By being offered as a bribe to those the candidates wished to curry favor with.
The people thus coerced were no fools, however. They would attend multiple hustings to determine which of their patrons might provide them with the largest quantity of rum. Thus it can be fairly said that rum was of such note that it literally decided elections.
How to celebrate Rum Day
Yo ho ho matey! The best way to celebrate Rum Day is to indulge in this most ignoble and distinguished of drinks. A contradiction? Not at all! Rum has long had a reputation for being the devil’s drink by dint of the ease of production, the delicious flavor, and the powerful kick it carried. Rum Day is your opportunity to sample as many varieties as you like and decide which one will be coming aboard your vessel for the next pillage.
