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99-717: Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice . The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak . Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Philippines , where Tanduay Distillers , the largest producer of rum worldwide, has its headquarters. Rums are produced in various grades. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails , whereas "golden" and "dark" rums were typically consumed straight or neat , iced (" on

198-421: A by-product of the sugar refining process, could be fermented into alcohol, and then distilled. The earliest record, in a 1651 document from Barbados, mentions the island of Nevis in particular: "The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor." By the late 17th century rum had replaced French brandy as

297-463: A Greater Caribbean plantation complex. Historian Sean Kelley examines nineteenth-century "American slavers" because "the North American transatlantic slave trade before 1776 was, in essence, merely another branch of the carrying trade." During the seventeenth century, colonial charters and royal commissioners precluded earlier attempts to establish a New England carrying trade by, for example,

396-583: A concentration over 50%. Beer and wine , which are not distilled, typically have a maximum alcohol content of about 15% ABV, as most yeasts cannot metabolize when the concentration of alcohol is above this level; as a consequence, fermentation ceases at that point. The origin of liquor and its close relative liquid is the Latin verb liquere , meaning 'to be fluid'. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ), an early use of

495-486: A distillery three years later. The manufacture of rum became early colonial New England's largest and most prosperous industry. New England became a distilling center due to the technical, metalworking and cooperage skills and abundant lumber; the rum produced there was lighter, more like whiskey. Much of the rum was exported, and distillers in Newport of Rhode Island even made an extra strong rum specifically to be used as

594-488: A fuller-tasting rum. Fermentation products like 2-ethyl-3-methyl butyric acid and esters like ethyl butyrate and ethyl hexanoate give rise to the sweetness and fruitiness of rum. The fermented product is then distilled. As with all other aspects of rum production, no standard method is used for distillation. While some producers work in batches using pot stills , most rum production is done using column still distillation. Pot still output contains more congeners than

693-405: A given year in a country. In Europe, spirits (especially vodka) are more popular in the north and east of the continent. Distilled spirits contain ethyl alcohol , the same chemical that is present in beer and wine , and as such, spirit consumption has short-term psychological and physiological effects on the user. Different concentrations of alcohol in the human body have different effects on

792-558: A medium of economic exchange, used to help fund enterprises such as slavery via triangular trade , organized crime, and military insurgencies such as the American Revolution and the Australian Rum Rebellion . The origin of the word "rum" is unclear. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that it is related to "rumbullion", a beverage made from boiling sugar cane stalks, or possibly "rumbustion," which

891-489: A member of the royal family or, on certain occasions, the admiralty board in the UK, with similar restrictions in other Commonwealth navies. Recently, such occasions have included royal marriages or birthdays, or special anniversaries. In the days of daily rum rations, the order to "splice the mainbrace" meant double rations would be issued. A legend involving naval rum and Horatio Nelson says that following his victory and death at

990-414: A mixture that became known as grog . Many believe the term was coined in honour of the grogram cloak Admiral Vernon wore in rough weather. The Royal Navy continued to give its sailors a daily rum ration, known as a "tot", until the practice was abolished on 31 July 1970. Today, a tot (totty) of rum is still issued on special occasions, using an order to " splice the mainbrace ", which may only be given by

1089-409: A number of Latin works, and by the end of the thirteenth century, it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists. Its medicinal properties were studied by Arnald of Villanova (1240–1311 CE) and John of Rupescissa (c. 1310–1366), the latter of whom regarded it as a life-preserving substance able to prevent all diseases (the aqua vitae or "water of life", also called by John

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1188-531: A person. The effects of alcohol depend on the amount an individual has drunk, the percentage of alcohol in the spirits and the timespan over which the consumption took place. The short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), to stupor , unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory "blackouts"), and central nervous system depression at higher doses. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol , so once it

1287-436: A significant development for ships in the trade, the economic ties between Asia, Europe, Africa, and America clearly involved a web of relationships that spanned the globe. A 2017 study provides evidence for the hypothesis that the export of gunpowder to Africa increased the transatlantic slave trade: "A one percent increase in gunpowder set in motion a 5-year gun-slave cycle that increased slave exports by an average of 50%, and

1386-683: A slave currency. Rhode Island rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in Europe for a period of time. While New England triumphed in price and consistency, Europeans still viewed the best rums as coming from the Caribbean. Estimates of rum consumption in the American colonies before the American Revolutionary War had every man, woman, or child drinking an average of 3 imperial gallons (14  L ) of rum each year. In

1485-425: A surgeon's mate, noted that there was not much for the men to do and drinking rum was very popular. In fact, Ensign Robert Johnstone, one of the officers, "thought proper to turn trader by selling (the) common rum to the soldiers & all others by whom he might gain a penny in this clandestine Manner." To conceal this theft, "he was observed to have filled up several Barrels of common rum with boiling water to make up

1584-518: A trend in the United States following the microbrewing and craft beer movement in the last decades of the 20th century. Liquor that contains 40% ABV (80 US proof ) will catch fire if heated to about 26 °C (79 °F) and if an ignition source is applied to it. This temperature is called its flash point . The flash point of pure alcohol is 16.6 °C (61.9 °F), less than average room temperature. The flammability of liquor

1683-648: A type of rum. Seco , from Panama, is also a spirit similar to rum, which is triple distilled, similar to some vodka . Mexico produces a number of brands of light and dark rum, as well as other less-expensive flavored and unflavored sugarcane-based liquors, such as aguardiente de caña and charanda . Aguardiente is also the name for unaged distilled cane spirit in some, primarily Spanish-speaking countries since their definition of rum includes at least two years of ageing in wood. A spirit known as aguardiente , distilled from molasses and often infused with anise , with additional sugarcane juice added after distillation,

1782-460: A unique style. For the most part, these styles can be grouped by the language traditionally spoken. Due to the overwhelming influence of Puerto Rican rum, most rum consumed in the United States is produced in the "Spanish-speaking" style. Cachaça is a spirit similar to rum that is produced in Brazil. Cachaca also comes from sugar cane. Some countries, including the United States, classify cachaça as

1881-421: Is also prohibited in some local jurisdictions). Some countries and sub-national jurisdictions limit or prohibit the sale of certain high-percentage alcohol, commonly known as neutral spirit . Due to its flammability (see below) alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content above 70% by volume are not permitted to be transported in aircraft. Microdistilling (also known as craft distilling) began to re-emerge as

1980-409: Is an alcoholic beverage that has been produced: Spirit drinks must contain at least 15% ABV (except in the case of egg liqueur such as Advocaat , which must contain a minimum of 14% ABV). Regulation makes a difference between "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin" and a "distillate of agricultural origin". Distillate of agricultural origin is defined as an alcoholic liquid that is the result of

2079-411: Is applied in the cooking technique flambé . The flash points of alcohol concentrations from 10% to 96% by weight are: Liquor can be served: The World Health Organization (WHO) measures and publishes alcohol consumption patterns in different countries. The WHO measures alcohol consumed by persons 15 years of age or older and reports it on the basis of liters of pure alcohol consumed per capita in

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2178-417: Is based on traditional styles that vary between locations and distillers. Sugarcane is traditionally collected by sugarcane machete cutters who cut the cane near to the ground, where the largest concentration of sugars is found, before lopping off the green tips. A good cutter can cut three tons of cane per day on average, but this is a small fraction of what a machine can cut, therefore mechanised harvesting

2277-602: Is in the bloodstream, it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body. Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. During abstinence , residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns are the greatest predictors of relapse . Drinking more than 1–2 drinks a day increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure , atrial fibrillation , and stroke . The risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking , which may result in violence or accidents. About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) are due to alcohol each year. Unlike wine and perhaps beer, there

2376-462: Is no evidence for a J-shaped health effect for the consumption of distilled alcohol. Long-term use can lead to an alcohol use disorder , an increased risk of developing physical dependence . cardiovascular disease and several types of cancer . Alcoholism , also known as "alcohol use disorder", is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in problems. Alcoholism reduces a person's life expectancy by around ten years and alcohol use

2475-456: Is now utilized. Sugarcane comprises around 63% to 73% water, 12% to 16% soluble sugar, 2% to 3% non-sugars, and 11% to 16% fiber. To extract the water and sugar juice, the harvested cane is cleaned, sliced into small lengths, and milled (pressed). Most rum is produced from molasses, which is made from sugarcane. A rum's quality is dependent on the quality and variety of the sugar cane that was used to create it. The sugar cane's quality depends on

2574-596: Is produced in Central America and northern South America. In West Africa, and particularly in Liberia, 'cane juice' (also known as Liberian rum or simply CJ within Liberia itself) is a cheap, strong spirit distilled from sugarcane, which can be as strong as 43% ABV (86 proof). A refined cane spirit has also been produced in South Africa since the 1950s, simply known as cane or "spook". Within Europe, in

2673-420: Is referred to by the name screech , while some low-grade West Indies rums are called tafia . Many historians now believe that rum-making found its way to the Caribbean islands along with sugarcane and its cultivation methods from Brazil. The traditional history of modern-style rum tells of its invention in the Caribbean, in the 17th century, by slaves on sugarcane plantations, who discovered that molasses ,

2772-577: Is spoken, the word ron is used. A ron añejo ("aged rum") is a premium spirit. Rhum is the term that typically distinguishes rum made from fresh sugar cane juice from rum made from molasses in French-speaking locales like Martinique. A rhum vieux ("old rum") is an aged French rum that meets several other requirements. Some of the many other names for rum are Nelson 's blood, kill-devil, demon water, pirate's drink, navy neater, and Barbados water. A version of rum from Newfoundland

2871-483: Is the third-leading cause of early death in the United States. Consumption of alcohol in any quantity can cause cancer . Alcohol causes breast cancer , colorectal cancer , esophageal cancer , liver cancer , and head-and-neck cancers . The more alcohol is consumed, the higher the cancer risk. A survey of high school students in Alstahaug, Nordland county, revealed that adolescents consume alcohol at rates above

2970-411: Is typically consumed for the psychoactive effects of alcohol. Liquor may be consumed on its own (i.e. " neat "), typically in amounts of around 50 millilitres (1.7 US fluid ounces) per served drink; or frequently mixed with other ingredients to form a cocktail . In an undiluted form, distilled beverages are often slightly sweet and bitter and typically impart a burning mouthfeel with an odor derived from

3069-473: Is used in modern Britain to specify spirits bottled at 57% ABV. In 1866 the Navy fixed the issued strength at 95.5 proof (defined as "4.5 under-Proof", equal to 54.6% ABV). While the ration was originally given neat or mixed with lime juice, the practice of watering down the rum began around 1740. To help minimize the effect of the alcohol on his sailors, Admiral Edward Vernon had the rum ration watered, producing

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3168-594: The quintessence of wine). In China, archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties. A still has been found at an archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei , dating to the 12th century. In India, the true distillation of alcohol was introduced from the Middle East and was in wide use in the Delhi Sultanate by

3267-604: The Atherton Trading Company and John Hull . But proposals by Peleg Sanford provided implementation frameworks for "Farms" and carriers. Linkages within the complex would also ebb and flow with the tides of war and hurricanes . Before 1780 , the Atlantic hurricane season contributed to New England and Greater Caribbean circumvention of mercantile trade restrictions. Newport carriers, for instance, provisioned Dutch, Danish, and especially French plantations in

3366-471: The Battle of Trafalgar , Nelson's body was preserved in a cask of rum to allow transportation back to England. Upon arrival, however, the cask was opened and found to be empty of rum. The [pickled] body was removed and, upon inspection, it was discovered that the sailors had drilled a hole in the bottom of the cask and drunk all the rum, hence the term "Nelson's blood" being used to describe rum. It also serves as

3465-590: The Jin (12th–13th centuries) and Southern Song (10th–13th centuries) dynasties according to archaeological evidence. Freeze distillation involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice. The freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use. The flammable nature of the exhalations of wine was already known to ancient natural philosophers such as Aristotle (384–322 BCE), Theophrastus ( c.  371  – c.  287 BCE ), and Pliny

3564-735: The War of 1812 . Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island , were major ports involved in the colonial triangular slave trade. Many significant Newport merchants and traders participated in the trade, working closely with merchants and traders in the Caribbean and Charleston, South Carolina . According to research provided by Emory University as well as Henry Louis Gates Jr. , an estimated 12.5 million slaves were transported from Africa to colonies in North and South America. The website Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database assembles data regarding past trafficking in slaves from Africa. It shows that

3663-433: The penal colony, established in 1788, faced severe food shortages, compounded by poor conditions for growing crops and the shortage of livestock. Eventually, it was realized that it might be cheaper for India , instead of Britain, to supply the settlement of Sydney . By 1817, two out of every three ships which left Sydney went to Java or India, and cargoes from Bengal fed and equipped the colony. Casks of Bengal Rum (which

3762-580: The voyages of Christopher Columbus , the Portuguese had been using a similar triangle to sail to the Canary Islands and the Azores , and it was then expanded outwards.) The countries that controlled the transatlantic slave market until the 18th century in terms of the number of enslaved people shipped were Great Britain, Portugal, and France. The most historically significant triangular trade

3861-574: The 14th century. The works of Taddeo Alderotti (1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated fractional distillation through a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained. In 1437, "burned water" ( brandy ) was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany. It is legal to distill beverage alcohol as a hobby for personal use in some countries, including New Zealand and

3960-491: The 18th century, ever increasing demands for sugar, molasses, rum, and slaves led to a feedback loop that intensified the triangular trade. When France banned the production of rum in their New World possessions to end the domestic competition with brandy, New England distillers were then able to undercut producers in the British West Indies by buying cut-rate molasses from French sugar plantations. The outcry from

4059-567: The 1st century. Distilled water was described in the 2nd century AD by Alexander of Aphrodisias . Alchemists in Roman Egypt were using a distillation alembic or still device in the 3rd century. Distillation was known in the ancient Indian subcontinent , evident from baked clay retorts and receivers found at Taxila and Charsadda in Pakistan and Rang Mahal in India dating to

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4158-524: The Americas out-of-season. Slave ships thus often returned to their home port carrying whatever goods were readily available in the Americas but with a large part or all of their capacity with ballast. Cash crops were transported mainly by a separate fleet which only sailed from Europe to the Americas and back. In his books, Herbert S. Klein has argued that in many fields (cost of trade, ways of transport, mortality levels, earnings and benefits of trade for

4257-528: The British changed the daily ration of liquor given to seamen from French brandy to rum. Navy rum was originally a blend mixed from rums produced in the West Indies . It was initially supplied at a strength of 100 degrees (UK) proof, 57% alcohol by volume (ABV), as that was the only strength that could be tested (by the gunpowder test ) before the invention of the hydrometer . The term "Navy strength"

4356-543: The British rum industry led to the Molasses Act of 1733, which levied a prohibitive tax on molasses imported into the Thirteen Colonies from foreign countries or colonies. Rum at this time accounted for approximately 80% of New England's exports, and paying the duty would have put the distilleries out of business: as a result, both compliance with and enforcement of the act were minimal. Strict enforcement of

4455-577: The Caribbean islands, and the American South was used to buy more raw materials, restarting the cycle. The full triangle trip took a calendar year on average, according to historian Clifford Shipton. The first leg of the triangle was from a European port to one in West Africa (then known as the " Slave Coast "), in which ships carried supplies for sale and trade, such as copper , cloth , trinkets, slave beads , guns and ammunition . When

4554-497: The Czech Republic and Slovakia, a similar spirit made from sugar beet is known as Tuzemak . In Germany, a cheap substitute for genuine dark rum is called Rum-Verschnitt (literally: blended or "cut" rum). This drink is made of genuine dark rum (often high-ester rum from Jamaica), rectified spirit , and water. Very often, caramel coloring is used, too. The relative amount of genuine rum it contains can be quite low since

4653-464: The Elder (23/24–79 CE). This did not immediately lead to the isolation of alcohol, however, despite the development of more advanced distillation techniques in second- and third-century Roman Egypt . An important recognition, first found in one of the writings attributed to Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (ninth century CE), was that by adding salt to boiling wine, which increases the wine's relative volatility ,

4752-558: The European portion of the voyage. A classic example is the colonial molasses trade . Merchants purchased raw sugar (often in its liquid form, molasses) from plantations in the Caribbean and shipped it to New England and Europe, where it was sold to distillery companies that produced rum. Merchant capitalists used cash from the sale of sugar to purchase rum, furs, and lumber in New England which their crews shipped to Europe. With

4851-530: The Europeans and the "so-called triangular trade"), the non-scientific literature portrays a situation which the contemporary historiography refuted a long time ago. Finally, even if the "triangle trade" idea is essentially incorrect, the Atlantic slave trade was one of the more complex of international trades that existed in the modern period. (…) Thus, while an actual "triangle trade" may not have existed as

4950-759: The Gin category but any gin cannot be considered as London gin). Spirit drinks that are not produced within the EU, such as tequila or baijiu , are not listed in the 44 categories. Early evidence of distillation comes from Akkadian tablets dated c.  1200 BC describing perfumery operations, providing textual evidence that an early, primitive form of distillation was known to the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia . Early evidence of distillation also comes from alchemists working in Alexandria , Roman Egypt , in

5049-529: The Greater Caribbean, periodically more than lackluster British sites, to recompense for hurricane reductions in exports and imports. Periodic trials and executions of notorious smugglers diminshed royal peacetime embargoes, particularly in response to illegal carrying as well as General Assembly endorsement of Aquidneck as a haven for pirates. These pirates began to disperse from Newport between Queen Anne's War and 1723 mass executions, establishing

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5148-584: The King as commander-in-chief, as occurred on 29 June 2010, when previous monarch Queen Elizabeth II gave the order to the Royal Canadian Navy as part of the celebration of their 100th anniversary. Rum became an important trade good in the early period of the colony of New South Wales . The value of rum was based upon the lack of coinage among the population of the colony, and due to the drink's ability to allow its consumer to temporarily forget about

5247-535: The Leakage." Ensign Johnstone had no trouble selling this diluted rum. The popularity of rum continued after the American Revolution; George Washington insisting on a barrel of Barbados rum at his 1789 inauguration. Rum started to play an important role in the political system; candidates attempted to influence the outcome of an election through their generosity with rum. The people would attend

5346-640: The Molasses Act's successor, the Sugar Act , in 1764 may have helped cause the American Revolution . In the slave trade, rum was also used as a medium of exchange . For example, the slave Venture Smith (whose history was later published) had been purchased in Africa, for four gallons of rum plus a piece of calico . In "The Doctor's Secret Journal", an account of the happenings at Fort Michilimackinac in northern Michigan from 1769 to 1772 by Daniel Morison,

5445-577: The Netherlands. In many others including the United States , it is illegal to distill beverage alcohol without a license, and the licensing process is too arduous for hobbyist-scale production. In some parts of the U.S., it is also illegal to sell a still without a license. Nonetheless, all states allow unlicensed individuals to make their own beer , and some also allow unlicensed individuals to make their own wine (although making beer and wine

5544-566: The New England Triangular trade was first suggested, inconclusively, in an 1866 book by George H. Moore, was picked up in 1872 by historian George C. Mason, and reached full consideration from a lecture in 1887 by American businessman and historian William B. Weeden. In the context of an incohesive operation rather than a sequential circuit, expansive eastern seaboard "Farms" had, in earnest after 1690, sustained southern New England proprietorship, land banks, and currency within

5643-399: The United States defines rum, rum liqueur, and flavored rum. In Australia, rum is divided into dark or red rum (underproof known as UP, overproof known as OP, and triple distilled) and white rum. Despite these differences in standards and nomenclature, the following divisions are provided to help show the wide variety of rums produced. Within the Caribbean, each island or production area has

5742-462: The West Indies the main export cargoes were sugar, rum, and molasses; from Virginia , tobacco and hemp . The ship then returned to Europe to complete the triangle. The triangle route was not generally followed by individual ships. Slave ships were built to carry large numbers of people, rather than cargo, and variations in the duration of the Atlantic crossing meant that they often arrived in

5841-476: The additional term "drink") refers to liquor that should not contain added sugar and is usually 35–40% alcohol by volume (ABV). Fruit brandy , for example, is also known as 'fruit spirit'. Liquor bottled with added sugar and flavorings, such as Grand Marnier , amaretto , and American schnapps , are known instead as liqueurs . Liquor generally has an alcohol concentration higher than 30% when bottled, and before being diluted for bottling, it typically has

5940-701: The alcohol and the production and aging processes; the exact flavor varies between different varieties of liquor and the different impurities they impart. Rapid consumption of a large amount of liquor can cause severe alcohol intoxication or alcohol poisoning , which can be fatal either due to acute biochemical damage to vital organs (e.g. alcoholic hepatitis and pancreatitis ), or due to trauma (e.g. falls or motor vehicle accidents ) caused by alcohol-induced delirium . Consistent consumption of liquor over time correlates with higher mortality and other harmful health effects, even when compared to other alcoholic beverages. The term "spirit" (singular and used without

6039-451: The basis for the term tapping the admiral being used to describe surreptitiously sucking liquor from a cask through a straw. The details of the story are disputed, as many historians claim the cask contained French brandy , whilst others claim instead the term originated from a toast to Admiral Nelson. Variations of the story, involving different notable corpses, have been in circulation for many years. The official record states merely that

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6138-404: The body was placed in "refined spirits" and does not go into further detail. The Royal New Zealand Navy was the last naval force to give sailors a free daily tot of rum. The Royal Canadian Navy still gives a rum ration on special occasions; the rum is usually provided out of the commanding officer's fund and is 150 proof (75%). The order to "splice the mainbrace" (i.e. take rum) can be given by

6237-512: The carrying trade as income "competency." Bidders included competitive carriers in secondary seaports such as Providence as well. Despite the antebellum rise of "Greater Northeast" industrial agriculture, the southern New England "Farms" and the carrying trade in Caribbean sugar , molasses , rice, coffee, indigo, mahogany, and pre-1740 " seasoned slaves ", began to dissipate by the Election of 1800 and largely collapsed into agrarian ruins by

6336-693: The colony until the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810. In India, rum was not traditionally produced as the production processes used to make jaggery from sugarcane do not produce molasses as a by-product. Rum was not produced in India commercially until the introduction of cane sugar production processes which did. The production of spirits along with the core commodity of sugar allowed for these plantations to have high economic returns. Production expanded rapidly to meet both domestic and export markets (however exports to Great Britain were restricted by protectionist policies). Rum production continued after

6435-615: The confiscations of "whatsoever Barbados liquors, commonly called rum, kill the devil and the like". A short time later in May 1657, the General Court of Massachusetts also decided to make illegal the sale of strong liquor "whether knowne by the name of rumme, strong water, wine, brandy, etc". In current usage, the name used for a rum is often based on its place of origin. For rums from places mostly in Latin America where Spanish

6534-438: The distillation, after alcoholic fermentation, of agricultural products which does not have the properties of ethyl alcohol and which retain the aroma and taste of the raw materials used. Annex 1 to the regulation lists 44 categories of spirit drinks and their legal requirements. Some spirit drinks can fall into more than one category. Specific production requirements distinguish one category from another (London gin falls into

6633-589: The early centuries of the Common Era . Frank Raymond Allchin says these terracotta distill tubes were "made to imitate bamboo". These " Gandhara stills" were capable of producing only very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat. Distillation in China could have begun during the Eastern Han dynasty (1st–2nd centuries), but the distillation of beverages began in

6732-528: The end of the colonial era. Today, most spirits produced in India labeled as whisky, vodka, and gin are made with a neutral rum derived base. Old Monk is the primary brand of dark rum consumed in contemporary India. Commercial rum production was introduced into Taiwan along with commercial sugar production during the Japanese colonial period . Rum production continued under the Republic of China, however, it

6831-558: The exchange alcohol of choice in the triangle trade . Canoemen and guards on the African side of the trade, who had previously been paid in brandy, were now paid in rum. After the development of rum in the Caribbean, the drink's popularity spread to Colonial North America . To support the demand for the drink, the first rum distillery in the Thirteen Colonies was set up in 1664 on Staten Island . Boston, Massachusetts , had

6930-668: The fermentation process. While some rum producers allow wild yeasts to perform the fermentation, most use specific strains of yeast to help provide a consistent taste and predictable fermentation time. Dunder , the yeast-rich foam from previous fermentations, is the traditional yeast source in Jamaica . "The yeast employed will determine the final taste and aroma profile," says Jamaican master blender Joy Spence . Distillers that make lighter rums, such as Bacardi , prefer to use faster-working yeasts. The use of slower-working yeasts causes more esters to accumulate during fermentation, allowing for

7029-529: The flammability of the resulting vapors may be enhanced. The distillation of wine is attested in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī (c. 801–873 CE) and to al-Fārābī (c. 872–950), and in the 28th book of al-Zahrāwī 's (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013) Kitāb al-Taṣrīf (later translated into Latin as Liber servatoris ). In the twelfth century, recipes for the production of aqua ardens ("burning water", i.e., alcohol) by distilling wine with salt started to appear in

7128-496: The hustings to see which candidate appeared more generous. The candidate was expected to drink with the people to show he was independent and truly a republican. Eventually, the restrictions on sugar imports from the British West Indies , combined with the development of American whiskeys , led to a decline in the drink's popularity in North America. Rum's association with piracy began with English privateers ' trading in

7227-510: The impact continued to grow over time." New England also made rum from Caribbean sugar and molasses , which it shipped to Africa as well as within the New World . Yet, the "triangle trade" as considered in relation to New England was a piecemeal operation. No New England traders are known to have completed a sequential circuit of the full triangle, which took a calendar year on average, according to historian Clifford Shipton. The concept of

7326-553: The lack of creature comforts available in the new colony. The value of rum was such that convict settlers could be induced to work the lands owned by officers of the New South Wales Corps. Due to rum's popularity among the settlers, the colony gained a reputation for drunkenness, though their alcohol consumption was less than levels commonly consumed in England at the time. Australia was so far away from Britain that

7425-546: The legal minimum is only 5%. In Austria , a similar rum called Inländerrum or domestic rum is available. However, Austrian Inländerrum is always a spiced rum, such as the brand Stroh ; German Rum-Verschnitt , in contrast, is never spiced or flavored. The grades and variations used to describe rum depend on the location where rum was produced. Despite these variations, the following terms are frequently used to describe various types of rum: Unlike some other spirits, rum has no defined production methods. Instead, rum production

7524-526: The main trading nations of Western Europe, it was much easier to sail westwards after first going south of 30° N latitude and reaching the so-called " trade winds ", thus arriving in the Caribbean rather than going straight west to the North American mainland . Returning from North America, it was easiest to follow the Gulf Stream in a northeasterly direction using the westerlies . (Even before

7623-472: The national average, with home-made liquor being prevalent and easily accessible, highlighting an urgent need for preventive measures. Triangle trade The Atlantic slave trade used a system of three-way transatlantic exchanges – known historically as the triangular trade – which operated between Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries. European workers outfitted Slave ships , and they shipped manufactured European goods owned by

7722-401: The output from column stills, so produces fuller-tasting rums. Liquor Liquor ( / ˈ l ɪ k ər / LIK -ər ) or distilled beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains , fruits , vegetables , or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation . Other terms for liquor include spirit , spirituous liquor or hard liquor . While

7821-458: The plantation owners and crews shipped them to North American colonies (later the US), where the merchants sold the remaining supplies of European manufactured goods and slaves, as well as sugar and molasses from plantations to local buyers, and then purchased North American commodities to sell in Europe, including tobacco, sugar, cotton, rum, rice, lumber, and animal pelts. This trade, in trade volume,

7920-428: The profits from the European sales, merchants purchased Europe's manufactured goods, including tools and weapons and on the next leg, shipped those manufactured goods, along with the American sugar and rum, to West Africa where they bartered the goods for slaves seized by local potentates. Crews then transported the slaves to the Caribbean and sold them to sugar plantation owners. The cash from the sale of slaves in Brazil,

8019-608: The rocks "), or used for cooking, but are now commonly consumed with mixers. Premium rums are made to be consumed either straight or iced. Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies as well as the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland , in Canada. It has associations with the Royal Navy (where it was mixed with water or beer to make grog ) and piracy (where it was consumed as bumbo ). Rum has served as

8118-665: The seaport as the dominant carrying hub, with Providence coming in a distant second. British carriers continued to provision plantations outside the boundaries of empire. Wartime embargoes that reduced overseas trade would, in turn, spur speculative ventures as well as land and estuary auctions of Narragansett tribal reserves, under legislature (public) jurisdiction, by private trusts, a specific type of fiduciary relationship for subsidizing expense accounts, purveying regular annuities, or both. Bidders at vendue were frequently interior "composite" yeomen and fishermen, who (according to certain historians) misconceived of revenue derived from

8217-553: The second leg, ships made the journey of the Middle Passage from Africa to the New World . Many slaves died of disease in the crowded holds of the slave ships. Once the ship reached the New World, enslaved survivors were sold in the Caribbean or the American colonies. The ships were then prepared to get them thoroughly cleaned, drained, and loaded with export goods for a return voyage, the third leg, to their home port, from

8316-529: The ship arrived, its cargo would be sold or bartered for slaves. Ports that exported these enslaved people from Africa include Ouidah , Lagos , Aného (Little Popo), Grand-Popo , Agoué , Jakin , Porto-Novo , and Badagry . These ports traded slaves who were supplied from African communities, tribes and kingdoms, including the Alladah and Ouidah , which were later taken over by the Dahomey kingdom. On

8415-399: The soil type and climate that it was grown in. Within the Caribbean, much of this molasses is from Brazil. A notable exception is the French-speaking islands, where sugarcane juice is the preferred base ingredient. In Brazil itself, the distilled alcoholic drink derived from cane juice is distinguished from rum and called cachaça . Yeast and water are added to the base ingredient to start

8514-481: The spirit. The differences in definitions include issues such as spirit proof , minimum ageing, and even naming standards. Mexico requires rum be aged a minimum of eight months; the Dominican Republic, Panama and Venezuela require two years. Naming standards also vary. Argentina defines rums as white, gold, light, and extra light. Grenada and Barbados use the terms white, overproof, and matured, while

8613-467: The sugar that was used to brew rum, which in turn was traded for more slaves. In this circuit the sea lane west from Africa to the West Indies (and later, also to Brazil ) was known as the Middle Passage ; its cargo consisted of abducted or recently purchased African people . During the Age of Sail , the particular routes were also shaped by the powerful influence of winds and currents . For example, from

8712-522: The term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the United Kingdom . Some examples of liquors include vodka , rum , gin and tequila . Liquors are often aged in barrels , such as for the production of brandy and whiskey , or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors , such as absinthe . Like other alcoholic drinks, liquor

8811-561: The trading companies to West Africa to get slaves, which they shipped to the Americas, in particular, to Brazil and the Caribbean Islands. First, in West Africa, merchants sold or bartered European manufactured goods to local slavers in exchange for slaves. Then crews transported the slaves, and remaining European manufactured goods, to the Americas where ship merchants sold the slaves and European manufactured goods to plantation owners. Merchants then purchased sugar and molasses from

8910-414: The valuable commodity. Some of the privateers became pirates and buccaneers, with a continuing fondness for rum; the association between the two was only strengthened by literary works such as Robert Louis Stevenson 's Treasure Island . The association of rum with the Royal Navy began in 1655 when a Royal Navy fleet captured the island of Jamaica . With the availability of domestically produced rum,

9009-498: The word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage (or even non-alcoholic products of distillation or various other liquids). The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume . As liquors contain significantly more alcohol ( ethanol ) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder". In North America ,

9108-632: The word in the English language, meaning simply "a liquid", can be dated to 1225. The first use documented in the OED defined as "a liquid for drinking" occurred in the 14th century. Its use as a term for "an intoxicating alcoholic drink" appeared in the 16th century. In accordance with the regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 17, 2019, a spirit drink

9207-439: Was a slang word for "uproar" or "tumult"; a noisy uncontrollable exuberance, though the origin of those words and the nature of the relationship are unclear. Both words surfaced in English about the same time as rum did (1651 for "rumbullion", and before 1654 "rum"). There have been various other theories: Regardless of the original source, the name was already in common use by 1654, when the General Court of Connecticut ordered

9306-547: Was intimately involved in the only military takeover of an Australian government, known as the Rum Rebellion . When William Bligh became governor of the colony, he attempted to remedy the perceived problem of drunkenness by outlawing the use of rum as a medium of exchange. In response to Bligh's attempt to regulate the use of rum, in 1808, the New South Wales Corps marched with fixed bayonets to Government House and placed Bligh under arrest. The mutineers continued to control

9405-470: Was neglected by Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation which held the national liquor monopoly. The industry diversified after privatization and the de-monopolization of the Taiwanese alcoholic beverage industry. Dividing rum into meaningful groupings is complicated because no single standard exists for what constitutes rum. Instead, rum is defined by the varying rules and laws of the nations producing

9504-418: Was primarily with South America, where most slaves were sold, but a classic example taught in 20th century studies is the colonial molasses trade , which involved the circuitous trading of slaves , sugar (often in liquid form, as molasses ), and rum between West Africa , the West Indies and the northern colonies of British North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. In this triangular trade slaves grew

9603-420: Was referred to as a "golden triangle", the slave ship would sail back to Europe to begin the cycle again. The enslaved Africans were primarily purchased for the purpose of working on plantations to work producing valuable cash crops (such as sugar , cotton , and tobacco ) which were in high demand in Europe. Slave traders from European colonies would occasionally travel to Africa themselves, eliminating

9702-548: Was reputed to be stronger than Jamaican Rum, and not so sweet) were brought back in the depths of nearly every ship from India. The cargoes were floated ashore clandestinely before the ships docked, by the Royal Marines regiment which controlled the sales. It was against the direct orders of the governors, who had ordered the searching of every docking ship. British merchants in India grew wealthy by sending ships to Sydney "laden half with rice and half with bad spirits". Rum

9801-514: Was the transatlantic slave trade which operated among Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries. Slave ships would leave European ports (such as Bristol and Nantes ) and sail to African ports loaded with goods manufactured in Europe. There, the slave traders would purchase enslaved Africans by exchanging the goods, then sail to the Americas via the Middle Passage to sell their enslaved cargo in European colonies . In what

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