Why was rum so important to the colonists?

Whiskey may claim the title of “America's spirit,” but rum was at the center of colonial American life (1607–1776). It acted as currency in lieu of paper money, was believed to have medicinal purposes and even fostered a budding cocktail culture.

How did rum play a role in the American Revolution?

Rum played an important role in the American Revolution because it was the only alcohol that the settlers would have. People turned to whisky and left rum because of the importation and taxing that came with it whereas whisky could be made there.

How popular was rum in the colonies?

During the colonial era, rum was the preferred alcoholic drink of American colonists. By one estimate, colonists consumed 3.7 gallons annually per head by the time of the American Revolution.

Why did colonists drink alcohol?

Early Americans neither needed nor waited for such excuses. Colonial Americans, at least many of them, believed alcohol could cure the sick, strengthen the weak, enliven the aged, and generally make the world a better place. They tippled, toasted, sipped, slurped, quaffed, and guzzled from dawn to dark.

How did colonists make rum?

This molasses was either used for table use or in the production of rum. To make molasses, sugarcane juice is fermented with yeast and water and then distilled in copper pot stills. The liquor was given the name rum in 1672, likely after the English slang word rumballion which meant clamor.

Rum: Its History and Connoisseurship

What was rum used for?

Elsewhere, rum is usually consumed in mixed drinks, with light rums preferred for such cocktails as the daiquiri and dark rums used in such tall drinks as the rum Collins. Rum is frequently used as a flavouring in dessert sauces and other dishes. It is also used to flavour tobacco.

What is the history of rum?

The first distillation of rum in the Caribbean took place on the sugarcane plantations there in the 17th century. Plantation slaves discovered that molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, could be fermented into alcohol.

How did rum and molasses impact the American Revolution?

The American colonists protested the act, claiming that the British West Indies alone could not produce enough molasses to meet the colonies' needs. Rum distilling was one of the leading industries in New England, and the act had the effect of raising the price of molasses there.

Where was rum made in the colonies?

Rum, the Most Valued Commodity

The first pot still in the New World was located on Staten Island in the Dutch colony known as New Amsterdam, circa 1640s. Rum distilling became a major industry in New England in the late 1600s, especially in the colonies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

When did rum come to America?

By the early 18th century, nearly all the rum exported from the West Indies went straight to North America: between 1726 and 1730, Barbados and Antigua alone shipped out over 900,000 gallons.

What was the rum trade?

The rum trade became part of a "triangular trade" between New England, the West Indies, and the African Gold Coast that maintained the prosperity of the northern colonies throughout the eighteenth century. In this triangular trade, molasses was sent to New England, rum to Africa, and slaves to the West Indies.

Did slaves invent rum?

Slaves also seined the boiling matter to collect the molasses—the syrupy byproduct from making sugar." Enslaved people may have even developed the rum-making process: "Molasses could be sold and used as a sweetener too, but the fermented molasses was enjoyed by the slaves and by poor whites.

How much did New Englanders enjoy rum?

At the peak of its popularity, colonials supposedly consumed more than 5 gallons of rum per person each year, paying mere shillings per gallon.

How did rum influence slavery?

Rum drinking offered a momentary escape from harsh labor regimens and the general anxieties of life on sugar estates. Rum, therefore, helped enslaved peoples temporarily transcend the physical bonds of slavery, which elevated its symbolic value in resistance ideologies.

What is the connection between spirits and slavery?

Spirits: How was the production of spirits connected to slavery? The African traders who sold slaves were paid in spirits (first in brandy, later in rum). Spirits: What role did spirits play on the high seas? Spirits were more compact and less likely to spoil than other alcoholic drinks.

Did colonists drink coffee?

Here are 5 facts to pique your curiosity about how this perky beverage played a role in the Revolution. Drinking coffee was viewed as a political statement in the colonies following the Boston Tea Party, with tea then being considered the beverage of the enemy.

Why was rum made in New England?

Almost all the rum was produced for domestic consumption, but a small amount was sold overseas — some to African slave traders in what was known as the triangle trade: merchants sent rum to West Africa in exchange for slaves to be sold in the Caribbean; there, sugar and molasses were bought and shipped to New England ...

How was rum made in the 18th century?

As a general rule, rum was distilled twice. The first time, the so called “low wine” was produced, with low alcohol content. This was then distilled again to make rum. In the course of the century the Stills became bigger and bigger, until they could contain thousands of liters.

Is rum made in America?

And these days, craft distilleries from Colorado to Florida are churning out some fantastic, complex and flavorful rums. The past few years has seen a boom in American made rum, all the way down to the sugarcane, typically grown stateside in Louisiana or Florida.

Why was molasses important to the 13 American colonies?

Why was molasses important to the thirteen American colonies? There was no tax on molasses, so it was cheap to import it. Britain was forced to buy molasses from the colonies. The colonists needed molasses to make rum, a valuable export.

Why did the colonists smuggle molasses?

Colonial businessmen bypassed this law by smuggling molasses from French and Spanish colonies at a cheaper price. The customary bribe to clear customs in New York and Massachusetts amounted to half a penny a gallon, this trade prospered for many years, yet the British authorities did not seriously enforce it.

Why was the Molasses Act important?

The purpose of the Molasses Act was to make more money for Great Britain by controlling trade among its colonies. This tax was meant to discourage the colonies from trading with the French West Indies for the molasses that they used to make their rum and force them to buy their molasses from Great Britain instead.

Why is rum popular?

Rum's greatest strength is its versatility and diversity, with expressions ranging from white rum and black rum, to dark rum, overproof rum, spiced and flavored rums and rhum agricole. Popular spiced and flavored rums are driving category growth, as are top-shelf super-premium aged rums.

Why did pirates drink rum?

Pirates drank it to prevent diseases such as scurvy, the flu, and to eliminate stress. Rum was inexpensive and it quickly became popular among sailors and in the pirate community. In fact, the seafaring explorers and conquerors soon began consuming it in industrial quantities.

Why is rum so good?

Considered one of the best spirits for the winter season, Rum is smooth and rich in texture and flavor. The flavored and sweet drink is all you need when you are suffering from a cold or cough. However, it also has some other significant health benefits of Rum that we will highlight shortly.