| The brief history of Rum |
| Skrivet av Derya Aktas |
| 2010-10-23 20:11 |
Rum is one of the world’s best-selling alcohol brands, and we have heard a lot about it but what is the history behind it? Foto: ©Mount Gay Rum When you hear Rum, you probably connect it to the well-known drinks such as Havana Beach, Cuba Libre and Fidel Castro. If you break the drinks down to the roots, they actually give you a hint of where Rum originated from. Guess once. No, Cuba is not the sole answer. The Caribbean is actually the epicenter of world Rum production, but the road to Rum’s famousness was long and difficult and filled with conflicts and success. As you might know, rum attracted most favorably the buccaneers and pirates of the 17th century, it also continued onward after the American Revolution till present day. The sugar and rum successful business tied the Caribbean, America, Europe and Africa which in turn created globalized trade and credit of alcohol. Bacardi which is the founder who pioneered a great amount of distinctive rums, became very coveted after this and the Bacardi Corporation has become one of the world’s first transnational’s. Soon Fidel Castro took power, and the Bacardi family moved from Cuba to the Bahamas, allowing it to get British imperial trade preferences. Meanwhile Bacardi opened a distillery in Puerto Rico to allow penetration to the American market. The management is now living in Florida whilst monopolizing the local markets in the Caribbean and the rest of the world with its uniqueness and passion. During the prohibition era in America, Americans went to Cuba to refresh their thirsts with rum. After the American occupation of Cuba, Bacardi rose prominently during the 20th century, and built its market position during prohibition. Barcardi built its market position during Prohibition, edging out the old New England rum. When the Eighteenth Amendment took force and the dry years of the company began. But that didn’t last for long… I’m leaving you with a cliff-hanger now, but if you feel that you want to find out more, I suggest you go in to www.bacardi.com where you will find a lot of useful information about the uprising of the Bacardi Corporation and the heritage of rum. Remember that the history of the uprising of Bacardi and Rum are intertwined, and that the Caribbean is consisting of around 7,000 islands, from which every major island group produces its own distinct Rum style. So, to get a full knowledge of the history of Rum you should include all these factors to have a complete puzzle in front of you. If you after of reading this article feel tired of Vodka and have the sudden urge for some Rum in Stockholm, I suggest you go to La Habana. It is literally like climbing into a warm vibrant Rum kingdom. Not even will you then drink some Rum, but you will also know the brief history behind it. If you prefer staying at home, go in to the urbanlife recipe section and search for Rum, and you will find perfect recipes for Rum cocktails. Why not make a Caribbean night out of it? Always drink responsibly. Derya Aktas Bibliography  Derya Aktas is born 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden. She has since early age been very interested in writing and been in touch of her creative side. She paints and draws sporadically in her free time. Creativeness feeds her soul and is what inspires her with everything she does. She has also studied in English since pre-school and is why she preferably tends to write in English even though she knows Swedish perfectly fine. She is also very interested in different cultures and ethnicities. |