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Rum is the lubricant of social interaction
in the Caribbean; not much goes on that doesn't involve this
popular drink. For centuries it's been the same, from marauding
pirates threatening unsuspecting shores to African slaves
in need of relaxation to the patrons of hole-in-the-wall rum
shops nowadays.
Origins and history
Rum first surfaced outside the Caribbean in the 1600s as its
colonists bought up and distilled molasses to trade for slaves
in Africa - from here it was sent north to European markets.
At this point it was still a strong, foul-tasting liquor nicknamed
'kill devil' (its present moniker is an abbreviation
of 'rumbullion', used to describe the outrageous
behaviour of drunken drinkers of the stuff). It wasn't until
the 1860s that a Catalonian wine merchant named Facundo
Bacardí developed a method for making cheap
rum taste better through a process of charcoal filtering.
The Bacardí dynasty took root and spread across the
Caribbean and the rest of the world. Soon other estates followed
suit as the drink really took off. American troops invented
the Cuba Libre during the 1898 Spanish-American
war by mixing white rum with Coca Cola and a dash of lime.
The daiquiri appeared soon after, from a
bar in Havana, Cuba.
Brands and modern
manufacture
Bacardí is the superstar of alcoholic drinks
these days; its white label rum is the world's biggest selling
spirit. The Bacardí Building in Havana
has become a tourist attraction in its own right, decades
after the family left Cuba in 1961 when Castro seized power
and confiscated their property. The scars run deep however
and the company is an active member of the Miami anti-Castro
lobby, to the extent that the blockade law has been nicknamed
the Bacardí Bill.
Just because the brand dominates doesn't mean that it's the
best however - or that white is your only option. Rum is something
of an art form in the Caribbean, much akin to wine making
in France. Aged rum is darker, taking on
the colour of the barrel in which it ages for between three
to 21 years and has a mellower taste that makes it perfect
for sipping. Not all the darker hues are aged though - some
just have colour and flavour additives.
Cocktail Crazy
There are literally dozens of rum cocktails. Three favourites
are the daiquiri, the mojito and the pina colada.
Pina Colada
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Light Rum
- 5 oz Pineapple Juice
- 2 oz Coconut Cream
- 1 cup Crushed Ice
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend at high
speed. Pour into a collins glass and garnish with cherry or
pineapple.
Daiquiri
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Light Rum
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- 1 tsp Superfine Sugar
Give all the ingredients a shake in a shaker with ice and
strain into a cocktail glass. Add lemon twist as a garnish.
Mojito
Ingredients:
- Mint leaves
- ¼ oz lime juice
- 1 ¼ oz Light rum
- ½ oz lime juice
- 5 oz of Club Soda
To create the base of the cocktail mix up fresh mint leaves
and lime, cover with sugar and top it off with ice. Add light
rum and a dash of club soda. Stir well and garnish with a
wheel of lime and mint spring. Mojitos come in a variety of
forms, including frozen and apple.
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