National Rum Day

 Nine times out of 10, the cocktails you have in bars and nightclubs contain rum whisky. August 16 celebrates National Rum Day in the US. We're jumping on board the party, giving you a quick bit of info about the popular beverage.

History of rum

The history of rum is the history of sugar. Sugar is a sweet crystalline carbohydrate that occurs naturally in a variety of plants - one of which is cane sugar - grown in Indonesia. The cultivation of sugar cane spread through to other parts of Asia, India and North Africa, before the Spanish and Portuguese cottoned on to the idea of making drinks with the product. Today's biggest sugar cane / rum producers are the islands located in the Caribbean. They were first brought to the islands by Christopher Columbus in 1493. The Caribbean basin had a perfect climate for growing sugar cane. Sugar cane production quickly spread around the area as too did bars. Europeans planted sugar mills where harvested cane was crushed and juice was extracted. The sticky residue was left to ferment and in the 16th century, the fermented mixture started to be distilled into a spirit. The French gave it the title we know today as rum.

Use of rum

Initially, rum was used to cure aches and pains of those living in the tropics. Cane plantation owners also sold it, at discounted prices to naval ships that were on the Caribbean in order to encourage their presence in local waters and discourage the attentions of marauding pirates.

Types of rum

Silver rum

White rum

Dark rum

Aged rum

Flavoured rum

Which ever one you're drinking at your favourite bar or nightclub, how ever you're drinking it, be sure you celebrate on August 16.

Happy National Rum Day!