History suggests that the first account of this type of rum comes from the island of Nevis with a 1651 document from Barbados stating, “the chief fuddling they make in the islands is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and is made of sugarcanes distilled, a hot, hellish and terrible liquor.”įrom there, rum took the world by storm. Modern rum came to fruition when plantation slaves discovered the by-product of the sugarcane refining process could be fermented into alcohol. The first distillation of rum in the Caribbean took place on sugarcane plantations in the 17th century. The production of sugarcane increased as explores discovered islands with the perfect growing climate. At this time, the fermented spirit was being used for medicinal purposes. Its main ingredient, sugarcane, was first known to be fermented as early as 350 BC in India. Rum is arguably one of the earliest known spirits due to its simple production process. It can be aged from one year to multiple decades, achieving different flavors and visual characteristics with each year it is aged. In its entirety, this spirit can range in alcohol by volume (ABV) from 20% to 75.5%. Beyond that, each type of rum hosts its own attributes, distillation and aging process, flavors and styles. However, it may be easier to ask: what isn’t rum? Rum is one of the most versatile spirits and comes in various shapes and forms with its singular consistency being that all are made from sugarcane. The official definition of rum as qualified by the United States Government Federal Standards states, “’Rum’ is an alcoholic distillate from the fermented juice of sugarcane, sugarcane syrup, sugarcane molasses and other sugarcane by-products, produced at no less than 190 proof in such manner that distillate possess the taste, aroma and characteristic generally attributed to rum, and bottles at no less than 80 proof and includes mixture solely of such distillates.”
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