The modern market for alcoholic beverages is represented by various types of alcoholic beverages. Judging by the reviews, many lovers of strong alcohol are interested in the history of the creation of rum. And no wonder, since the word rum, many have associations with sailors and pirates. Nevertheless, today it is widely used for the preparation of various glamorous cocktails or grog, used as a medicine, and also drunk, after adding hot water and seasoning with spices. You will learn about the history of the origin and production of rum from this article.
Acquaintance
Rum is considered a fairly sweet and tart alcoholic beverage, the basis for the production of which is distilled juice and molasses. They are extracted by making cane sugar. Further, this raw material base is fermented or distilled, and rum is obtained at the output. In other words, it is reed vodka.
About manufacturing
According to experts, there are several recipes for creating this alcoholic beverage. In each region, the manufacturer uses its own technology. For example, rum can be aged in oak barrels in which bourbon or sherry was previously stored.
In another distillery, alcohol is immediately bottled. It is possible that rum can be mixed with light and dark varieties. As a result of blending, a drink with a rather original and mild taste is obtained.
Be that as it may, only rum that is made exclusively from sugar cane is considered true. If the distillery used any other analogues, then the drink can not be called rum.
About manufacturing technology
This procedure consists of several stages. First of all, they collected the raw material base. Sugarcane grown on plantations was carefully sorted, unripe stems were weeded out, and then delivered to the plant.
Then, juice was extracted from them by pressing. The refining procedure followed: the juice was heated until it turned into a viscous syrup. Then he seasoned with special yeast. He wandered in copper vats. After distillation was provided. After distillation, rum had a strength of 80%. To make it meet the standard, the craftsmen reduced it to 40%. Then the distillate was aged in barrels for some time. There he acquired the appropriate taste and color. Then followed the blending procedure.
About the origin of the name
Scientists researching the history of the origin of rum claim that the word rumbullion, which translates as “brawl” and “big noise,” became the basis for the name of this alcoholic beverage. However, there is a second version, according to which rum was used by Dutch sailors from huge glasses - rummers. Some believe that the name comes from the word rum, which is translated from gypsy as “strong, strong”, or from the English slang term rum (strange, strange). In the mid-17th century, two alcoholic beverages, namely ramboozle and rumfustian, became very popular in England. It is from them, according to some researchers, that the name of the Roma came from. If we shorten the Latin words saccharum (sugar) or iterum (repeat again), then we also get “rum”. There is a version that the name arome served as the basis for the name, which means “aroma” in French.
The history of rum. How it all began?
According to experts, the juice extracted from sugarcane for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages was first used in ancient China and India. The history of Roma begins after the first Crusade to Asia, made by pilgrims in 1096-1270, when cane sugar was brought to Europe. At that time it was a very rare and rather expensive product. In the 14th century, Venice monopolized its production and sale. As sugarcane began to acquire great financial significance, several plantations were created in Portugal and Spain to grow it. Soon, reed processing plants were built in the Canary and Azores and Madeira. As a result, Lisbon became a sugar manufacturing center.
After the discovery of America, the geography of reed cultivation increased. To a large extent this was favored by the fairly developed Portuguese shipping. At that time, Mexico, Brazil and Peru were famous for their natural resources, namely gold and minerals. Caribbean countries have become a sugarcane growing center. At the end of the 15th century, the first shoots of this plant were brought to West Indies by Christopher Columbus. According to experts, for the first time he was landed on the island of Hispaniola. In 1512, the Spaniards began to develop plantations, and by 1520 cane was distributed in Brazil, Mexico, South America and Peru.
Production history
Many historians believe that rum first began to be made in Barbados. However, there are records that indicate that this alcohol was made in 1620. in Brazil. For example, in 1628 the Swedish warship Vasa was discovered, on which a tin flask with this alcoholic drink was found. Those who are interested in the history of rum, a drink familiar to the modern consumer, should know that this alcohol began to be produced in the Caribbean. Between 1630 and 1660 he went to America.
Since 1664, rum has been produced on the island of Staten Island. Then the British built the first plant for the production of this alcoholic beverage. In 1667, a similar enterprise was founded in Boston. Soon, rum began to bring income to the British colonies, due to which it was used as a currency. Its popularity has grown so much that it became the impetus for the creation of a trade agreement, known as the “Tripartite Trade”, according to which trade was established for slaves, molasses and rum. There are many different stories about rum.
According to some experts, this drink made America. The fact is that in 1764 the Sugar Law entered into force, which in turn suspended the Tripartite Trade. The trade agreement itself was very beneficial and, according to experts, was the impetus for a revolution in America. On the other hand, rum production has declined due to war and the growing popularity of whiskey.
Rum in shipping
This alcohol was very popular thanks to sailors and pirates. Rum began to be identified with sailors from 1655. At that time, Jamaica was captured by the British. Going on a long voyage, this alcohol was taken in very large reserves. The fact is that fresh water, if improperly stored, can go bad, and rum was used as an effective means for disinfecting it. In addition, the Caribbean drink was replaced by the brandy that was popular at that time. Since beer could end quickly and water deteriorate, sailors drank rum every day. There were many ways to use. First, they drank rum in its pure form, then lemon juice was added to alcohol. At the request of the Admiral of the Fleet of Britain, Edward Vernon, in 1740, rum began to be bred with water. The fact is that the officer had doubts about the fighting efficiency of the personnel after drinking pure alcohol. Since the admiral constantly walked in a raincoat from a fae, which was also called grogram cloak, there is a version that he became the founder of the grog's warming drink.
In fact, this is the usual mixture of water and rum. Those who are interested in the history of Roma will be interested to know that until 1970 he was listed in the daily diet of any sailor. In late July of that year, alcohol was abolished.
Rum as currency
Researchers in the history of rum argue that because of their increased popularity, they did not even pay salaries to laborers because of their increased popularity, not with money, but with bottles of this alcoholic drink in Australia. This practice lasted until 1800. When the government of the country forbade doing so, the workers began to rebel.
Bacardi
A rather interesting story of the Bacardi rum. According to one version, rum was invented by slaves on plantations. It was they who noticed that under the influence of the scorching sun in reed juice, fermentation processes begin. The result is a drink with a high strength. It is with this discovery that the history of the Roma begins. At that time, the manufacturing technology was rather primitive, and did not provide for distillations and cubes. As a result of the fermentation of the juice, the drink turned out to be of poor quality, namely rather rough, with a dark tint, and besides, it was very heavily smoked with alcohol.
Not surprisingly, until the second half of the 19th century, oily rum, unlike pure and aristocratic European drinks, was associated with sailors and the poor. In 1843, Don Facundo Masso Bacardi came to Santiago de Cua. Having received a tender from the government in order to improve alcohol production, he began active experimentation. He applied various distillation technologies, used carbon filters and special yeast. The result was a rum that was much lighter and had a milder taste. In 1862, the world famous company Bacardi was founded, with the products of which the modern consumer is familiar.
XIX century
According to experts, at this time winemaking faded into the background. The production of strong alcoholic beverages has entered the vanguard. Trading amateur bitter tinctures and weak wines was not profitable. Therefore, in the years when the Prohibition Act was in force, a large quantity of rum was imported into America by bootleggers.
About production styles
In the Caribbean, on every island or production area, craftsmen adhere to their unique style of making this liquor. Depending on the language traditional for the region, these styles are grouped. The Spanish-speaking diaspora produces light rum, which is characterized by a mild taste. Ron comes in Cuban and Puerto Rican technology. The English Rum, produced by the English-speaking diaspora, is slightly darker with a brighter flavor and aroma. A typical representative of this product is Jamaican alcohol. Make it in Guyana. The production technology of the French Rhum does not involve the use of molasses and molasses. The base for liquor in Guadeloupe, Marie Galant, Martinique and the West Indies was only sugarcane juice. A similar technology is used in Brazil for the manufacture of Brazilian rum or kashasa, which belongs to a separate group of alcohol.
About cane vodka treatment
At one time, rum was often called the "death of the devil." The reason for this name lies in the healing properties of alcohol. With its help, flu, colds and indigestion were treated quite successfully. Also, rum was used as an effective remedy for scurvy and baldness.