As the Christmas season approaches, some of us look forward to our first sighting of the red Starbucks takeout cups – this can be the first sign that the holiday season is here. For some, it’s the first time eggnog is available for sale in the grocery store.
Many people enjoy rum mixed with eggnog during the winter holidays, while others drink rum year-round in daiquiris, mojitos or bellinis. Probably the most popular way to drink rum is the simplest: with your favourite cola and maybe a slice of lime. Officially, this highball is called a Cuba Libre, but most people just call it “rum ‘n’ coke.”
Technically, rum is a distilled beverage made from sugar cane by-products such as molasses and sugar cane juice. It is first fermented, then distilled and aged in barrels. Shades range from light to golden to dark and some rums are also infused with spices or fruit flavours. Most of the world’s rum production takes place in the tropics, close to where sugar cane grows, especially in the Caribbean and South America, but it is also produced in Australia, Fiji and India, as well as other places around the world.
Rum has a colourful heritage going back four centuries. Its history is interwoven with the early days of oceanic exploration and the rise and fall of the world’s great naval powers.
While fermented drinks made from sugar cane juice date back to antiquity in places like China and India, the first distillation of rum occurred on Caribbean sugar cane plantations in the 17th century. No one is quite sure where the name “rum” originated, but the most popular theories point at the Latin word for sugar, saccharum, or the French word arôme, which means aroma.
Rum played a significant role in the development of Colonial North America. In the 1600s and 1700s, raw sugar cane was shipped north from the Caribbean to the New England coast, where it was distilled into rum and then shipped across the Atlantic to England and Europe.
The most colourful historical stories about rum are connected to its role in maritime history. Early privateers and pirates enjoyed smuggling, stealing and drinking it to excess. But the spirit’s most interesting and long-lasting nautical connection is with Britain’s Royal Navy.
In 1655, after capturing the island of Jamaica, the British fleet changed the daily ration of liquor given to seamen from French brandy to rum. At first, sailors received a half-pint of undiluted rum each day, but when some started saving their daily rations for several days so they could go on a binge, the Navy began watering it down. And since fresh water kept on board ships became rank after weeks and months at sea, lime juice was added to disguise the water’s foul flavour. This lucky accident resulted in sailors being much healthier than before, since the daily dose of vitamin C in the citrus juice helped ward off scurvy and other diseases. Hence the nickname “limey,” still used to this day to describe Brits.
The tradition of British sailors receiving their daily “tot” of rum lasted for more than 300 years, well into the 20th century. Over time, it became a rather elaborate daily ceremony on board British ships, but it was finally abolished on July 31, 1970, known as Black Tot Day among Royal Navy veterans and historians.
Here in Canada, the best known connection to rum has to be Newfoundland Screech, a strong-tasting version of rum that was distilled from the sweet sediment that built up in barrels used for transporting both molasses and rum. It led to the tradition of “screeching in” newcomers to Newfoundland, a custom which involves drinking a shot glass filled with Screech, kissing a codfish on the mouth and reciting the phrase, “long may your big jib draw.”
Many different types of rum are available in BC Liquor Stores, including official Screech. Perhaps you want to attempt a West Coast screeching - only, wouldn’t that involve kissing a salmon? Something to ponder over a glass of rum and eggnog.
The bartenders of YEW restaurant + bar have off ered these yummy rum recipes with a view to the season. Now you can mix these original cocktails at home. Rum’s spice and warmth can be a wonderful welcoming gift to your holiday guests.
Mistletoe [1]
Links:
[1] http://www.matters-of-taste.com/recipe/drink/mistletoe
[2] http://www.matters-of-taste.com/recipe/drink/yew-eggnog
[3] http://www.matters-of-taste.com/recipe/drink/old-fashioned-apple