History of Rum

Rum is a drink that your father, grandfather and great grandfather and long before him all have been associated with. Rum is a drink that has been a household name for hundreds of years. This drink has been known throughout the world and been drank by kings from its beginning. The fact that rum has carried on down through the centuries is an amazing feat. Rum has overcome many issues and has still lingered just long enough to get a glimpse into the future of alcoholic beverages. The fact is that most will have had rum at least once in their lifetime; this is a huge statistics considering all the different types of drinks available today.

Rum is a drink that is made from molasses and sugarcane; it is then aged in barrels for long periods of time. The drink was originally made by the Malay people which goes back thousands for years. Marco Polo even recorded drinking a wine with sugar in it. Rum was also made in the Caribbean during the seventeenth century by slaves and the discovery of sugar cane. Though the rum is now a popular drink in its first stages it wasn’t highly recommended. From a diary in Barbados, "The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquer."

The old fashioned drink was founded again  in Santiago de Cuba during the year of 1862. The popularly known name of rum and coke is actually referred to as Cuba Libre in Cuba. Throughout history rum has sparked up quite a name for itself the drinkers of rum have always been outcast, rebels, and troublemakers. The pirates and buccaneers took the age old drink to the American Revolution during the seventeenth century. This drink has obviously brought out more bad than good in our ancestors. Rum has brought countries together and ended friendships at the same time; ranking right up next to sugar rum has played a large role in our societies history. The band between Europe, America, Africa and the Caribbean used rum as a great use of trade. Rum was the most important product involved in trade right up until the production of oil; this says a lot about our history.

The introduction of Rum by the Bacardi Corporation has made them millions if not billions; rum is the most popular drink still around today. The Bacardi family moved its home from Cuba to the Caribbean to gain a better trade market. The family was trying to keep all of their options of trade open, they didn’t want to sell just to Cuba, this was a smart move considering that the Americas is one of the top importers of Rum. Although rum has been popular all around the world it has been said that best rum you could ever have is in Cuba.

There have been many ups and downs in the business of rum. During the twentieth century when Cuba was being liberated there was a great transition in rum. When the eighteenth amendment took place Bacardi sold 60,000 USA shares in the market. Eventually, Bacardi closed down the company and sold out, 60,000 cases of rum to the stockholders. During the year of 1995 Bacardi moved from Cuba to Bahamas for many different reasons. They were trying to keep the business afloat during the past years the United States purchases of rum had went down from 53% to 7%. The reason for the move may have had to do with keeping business with the United States.

During the "dry" times there was such thing as rum runners. These were made up of individuals willing to make an extra buck sneaking in rum where it wasn’t allowed. Often the individuals were caught and punished but, the companies were making huge money by forcing in the rum to different countries. Rum has not always done the best job of staying out of trouble. The chief, Juan Pepin Bosch kept that bad reputation of rum alive when he bought a medium bomber to bomb an oil refinery in Cuba. He was also found to be behind plotting the assassination of Castro. 
Bacardi is known to be one of the first multinational companies. The fortune of Bacardi kept at Liechtenstein this is one of the most private and secure banks in the world; it is said to be found offshore in the Alps.

This is a very historical drink that has made its way through many countries and into many different homes. The history of rum dates back to thousands of years ago, when the village people experimented and enjoyed it. This drink will continue to age with time and will continue to be a classic drink from history.