Flor de Caña

Did you know?

Rum was born in the Caribbean in the 1650s on sugarcane plantations, however the exact island of origin is unknown. The first reference to rum though is from the island of Barbados. Plantation slaves discovered that molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process, could be fermented into alcohol.
 In those times, illness was believed to be Satan’s work, and the consumption of alcohol was believed to take illness away, thus its first moniker, “Kill Devil.” Sailors at that time mixed “Kill Devil” with the ship’s water in order to keep from becoming ill. Needless to say, many ships carried rum.
 So how did it become “rum”? The most probable origin is a shortened slang version of the words “rumbullion” or “rumbustion,” English terms for an “uproar.” This makes sense and brings to life visions of pirate bar fights in far-flung island hide-a-ways.

After rum’s development in the Caribbean, the drink’s popularity spread to the Colonies. The manufacture of rum became early Colonial New England’s largest and most prosperous industry. In some areas, rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in Europe for a period of time. Rum’s association with piracy began with British privateers trading the valuable commodity. As some of the privateers became pirates, their fondness for rum remained.

One last fun fact… George Washington insisted on having a barrel of rum at his inauguration in 1789.

So there it is… cheers to America.

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