IT'S ALL ABOUT RUM

Before we can talk about Tiki Bar history, let’s take a closer look at the essence of Tiki Bar cocktails, rum. Fog cutters, zombies, daiquiris and mojitos all start with this New World alcohol.

Sugarcane came to the New World with Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. By the mid-1600s, sugar production and sugarcane were the most profitable industry in the Caribbean (not counting piracy or the slave trade). Sugarcane was crushed and the juice boiled into a sweet liquid. Next it was placed in clay pots which allowed molasses to seep through and collect on the outside as the sugar crystallized on the inside. Sugar was the commodity that everyone wanted. No one seem to have much use for the molasses. It was fed to slaves and livestock and that was about it until some of those slaves realized they could ferment the sticky liquid. It was called “rumbullion” which is probably where we get its name today.

It didn’t take long before someone figured out that this fermented sugarcane juice could be distilled creating a high alcohol (75%-80%), easily transported and valuable commodity. Barbados became the center of this new industry. The first recorded description of rum came from an official report from Barbados dated 1651. It described the new beverage as, “a hot, hellish and terrible liquor”. Locals began to call it “kill-devil”. Historians are not sure if the name implied that the liquor was strong enough to kill the devil or it was the devil and it killed the drinker. There appears to be evidence to support both explanations.

The second half of the 17^th century saw an outbreak of rum consumption all across the New World. Dutch, Spanish, French and English colonies all began producing their own rum. In 1655, 900,000 gallons of rum was produced in Barbados alone.

By the early 1700s, American colonists seem to be losing their taste or homebrewed beer and hard cider and it was replaced by rum. One observer even referred to the colonies as the “Republic of Rum” because the liquor seemed to be everywhere. It was cheap and became part of everyday life. Rum was drunk at breakfast to “shake off morning chills and launch the day in proper form”. Lunch often featured rum, salt fish and crackers. From farmers to shipbuilders, rum was seen as a way to make a long day shorter. Doctors prescribed it to “restore life”. The average American was drinking five shots of rum a day. Whether you were in New England or the southern colonies rum was considered the ideal beverage. In the cold north, it was a way to warm one’s insides. In the hot and humid south, it was said that rum “aided in perspiration and cooling”. They drank rum after dinner to aid digestion and had another shot to finish off the day.

Perhaps the first rum cocktail was the Flip. Imagine walking in your favorite tavern and seeing a tankard filled three quarters of the way with beer, sweetened with a little molasses or dried pumpkin before a generous portion (5 ounces) of rum was added. Next a loggerhead, an iron rod slightly bulged at one end, was heated till red hot in a fire and plunged into your drink. It was held there until the foaming and sputtering ceased.

In 1725, the first campaign against drinking rum was lunched. The goal was to convince people to switch back to drinking beer and hard cider. Needless to say the effort failed.

Rum did play a role in one of the darkest chapters of American history. It was a key element in the Triangle Trade where molasses from the Caribbean was shipped to America, turned into rum and sent to Africa to purchase slaves who were brought in bondage to America.

In the early 1800s it was quite common for American politicians to bring a barrel of rum to campaign rallies. It was a way to show generosity and the ability to drink with the common man.

As the 1800s rolled on whiskey became more popular than rum in America. Rum did bounce back as soldiers fighting in Cuba during the Spanish-America War discovered the Cuba Libre (rum and coke). It was a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders.

While most rum is aged in charred oak barrels giving it a dark, amber or golden color, the Cubans began producing a silver or white rum. It was perfect for cocktails and before long bartenders in Havana were creating new rum drinks including the Mojito.

Today rum is the world’s second most popular distilled spirit after vodka and ahead of whiskey, gin and tequila. Around the globe we drank 388 million gallons of rum last year.

Remember to RSVP for next Saturday's (9/19) HEAD Trip. We need to make a reservation at the Tonga Room soon!