Whether you’re stateside, toasting on a faraway beach or simply seeking a reason to enjoy the dwindling summer Sundays, the holiday certainly validates an excuse to imbibe on the sugarcane-based spirit. However, the holiday also presents an occasion to learn something new about the libation—after all, rum dates back to 1650—there’s centuries of history and little-known facts that everyone from the rum skeptic to the most savvy rum-lover may appreciate.
“Rum is the first distilled drink in the new world to be released to the market, therefore it is older than any other type of spirit drink in America,” shares Otto Flores, global brand ambassador for Ron Barceló.
In fact, sugarcane, the crop from which rum is produced, dates back as far as 8000 BC, tells Geoff Robinson, global brand ambassador, Santa Teresa 1796. Beyond historic, the libation is international, varies greatly based on production technique and terroir, and exists as more than a cocktail spirit—have you sipped an aged rum neat before?
This National Rum Day, raise your glass to learning something new about the spirit; here are 11 interesting tidbits about rum from experts around the globe—plus eight ways to serve it.
Rum isn’t exclusive to the Caribbean
“When we think of rum, we tend to think of the Caribbean, but it is in fact one of the world’s most international spirits. While it’s true that 80 percent of the world’s rum is produced in the Caribbean, there are distilleries all over the world.” — Geoff Robinson, global brand ambassador, Santa Teresa 1796
“In 1902, a single postage stamp changed the future of rum production in Nicaragua as its image of a smoking volcano, it is said, helped convince American lawmakers to choose Panama as the location for their canal, sidestepping Nicaragua and allowing rum production to flourish.” — Mauricio Solorzano, global ambassador, Flor de Caña
“One year of aging in the San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic region (where Ron Barceló ages its rums) climate corresponds to four years of aging in mild region climates.” — Otto Flores, global brand ambassador, Ron Barceló
“Sugarcane, the crop from which rum is produced, was actually domesticated in New Guinea as far back as 8000 BC, and there is evidence to suggest that a sugarcane spirit was produced in India from sometime around 300 AD. Sugarcane was first imported to the Caribbean much later, in the mid-16th century, and rum production exploded, making the Caribbean both the practical and spiritual home for rum production.” — Geoff Robinson, global Brand ambassador, Santa Teresa 1796
Rum is versatile
“The diversity of the rum category is incredible. It holds up well on its own. It marries with a cigar, a coffee, a difficult day or a celebration equally well. You have rums that can make every drinker happy; the baiju or shōchū drinkers will find something, the whiskey aficionado will as well. The range of who will love the category once they remove the difficulty of their college rum experience is vast.” — Kyle Reutner, general manager, KōHana
