502-320-6419 - The American Distilling Institute

RUM
The
Once
and
Future
King
by Nancy Fraley
ADI Director of Research,
Independent Sensory Consultant,
and Editor of White Mule Press
14 w w w . d i s t i l l i n g . c o m
MARAuDINg PIRAtES and salty nautical adventures
on the high seas, the horrors of slavery and triangular
trade - these are some of the all-too-common modern
day associations with the spirit of rum. But long before rum was relegated
to the sandy cultural shelf-space of warm tropical breezes and
tiki bars, it reigned as the king of spirits in America.
© PackShot - Fotolia.com
© igor klimov, kStudija - Fotolia.com
Through rebellion and war with England,
rum lost its brief shining moment as monarch
in colonial Camelot, and the crown was slowly
usurped by whiskey. Although the category of
rum in general began staging a long comeback
with the romance of Prohibition-era Havana
nightclubs and mid-century umbrella drinks,
it has only been in the past ten or so years that
craft distillers have looked to claim it again as
the American Spirit.
Rum came to prominence in the North
American colonies as the British Islands began
exporting it in return for New England lumber
and cod. It did not take long before the American
colonists developed a real thirst for rum,
and savvy Yankee businessmen began shipping
molasses from the Caribbean and started dis