All About Rum

Rum is and always will be associated with the sea and pirates and every thing nautical. The reason for that is that it is a history of the is steeped in the trade of sugar the West Indies and the British navy as well. The word rum is attributed to a West Country word "rumbullion" meaning hard spirits or drinking .Also this is the image of the Cornish coast and smuggles getting rum ashore and pirates' settings sail to treasure islands.

Well it comes from distilling molasses a brown stick substance you get from boiling down the first pressing of sugar cane . Now most of the sugar cane came from the west Indies . The island that were grate for growing sugar cane , sugar was a very expense product and much sort after. The Spanish were the first to land and try growing cane . The British not one to be left behind by any rival in the colonial stakes at the time went after them and a little triad war started seeing who could command the whole economy . Now us Brits also had a foot hold in New England and they maid the rum but for that you needed molasses. To get that you sent a ship of rum back to England . Sold your rum then set sail to Africa got a consignment of slaves . Set sail back to the West Indies sold your slaves bought your malaise's . Then go back home and make some more rum . The whole cycle of triad was not as romantic as what is now seen to be in a romantic rose tinted way . But that was the facts of the matter . Rum was not the main reason for the whole sorry business but it was a contributing factor to it never the less

The fact also that the British navy that was fast becoming the biggest and the best in the world at the time . So in the 18th century it was that ordinary sailors would have a ration of rum every day . Initially a sailor was allowed to have half a pint of rum a day water down . The reason for this was that water was not always easy to get hold of and it made the water ration go feather . Also I survived very well in the hot and humid conditions of being in distant waters.

There is some dispute over this now but it is said that Nelson was placed in a barrel of rum after his death in the battle of Trafalgar . This helped preserve his body on the way back to England and his funeral . Also this is the reason for one of the most gruesome saying that I have ever herd to with drinking . That is tapping the admiral . It is alleged that some of the rum was drank on the way back that nelson was in and that was then a new way of saying you was having a craft drink . The tradition of drinking rum in the navy actually only stopped din 1970 as the rum ration was abolished . A sad thing to see gone but no doubt it still lives on some were some how .

As for rum its self lots of people think of it just as a dark rum . But you have three main types of rum . Dark rum , a lovely ruby red in colure and full of flavor .Some rum's you can get have been aged in barrels as well adding a depth of flavor that id fantastical rich. Then you get your golden or spiced rum . Lighter in colure and some have a little more of a cinnamon taste to them. Not as deep in the flavor range as dark rum but still very nice . Then you have your white rum, Bacardi being ht e main brand that comes to mind . This is just the pure spirit rum with out any aging or time spent letting it mature in any way .