National Rum Day

We celebrate National Rum Day on August 16 in the US. The origin of the word rum is unclear. The name may have derived from rumbullion meaning "a great tumult or uproar". Some claim that the name is from the large drinking glasses used by Dutch seamen known as rum rummers. Other options include contractions of the words saccharum, latin for sugar, or arôme, French for aroma.

In current usage, the name used for rum is often based on the rum's place of origin. For rums from Spanish-speaking locales the word ron is used. A ron añejo indicates a rum that has been aged and is often used for premium products. Rhum is the term used for rums from French-speaking locales, while rhum vieux is an aged French rum.

Go ahead and sip a bit of rum all day long. Or start today and make your own spiced rum.

    1 (750-mL) bottle light Rum
    1 Vanilla bean
    3-inch slice Orange peel, white pith removed
    1 Cinnamon stick
    2 Allspice berries
    4 Cloves
    6 Black peppercorns
    pinch ground nutmeg
    1 slice fresh ginger, about the size of a quarter

Add all the ingredients to a wide-mouthed, airtight container and seal. Let stand for about two days and taste. Strain the spices out and re-bottle the liquid.
Note - some lower-quality commercial products tend to overplay the vanilla—cut back on that and the other flavors emerge nicely.

Rum

It was originally called rumbullion. Richard Ligon in 1651 said, “Rumbullion alias Kill-Devill . . . is made of suggar cane distilled, a hott, hellish and terrible liquor . . . will overpower the senses with a single whiff.” 

The world rumbullion formerly existed as either Royal Navy jargon for “an uproar” or Creole slang for “stem stew” It was shortened to rum years later, but its reviews did not get any better. In 1654 a General Court Order was issued in Connecticut to seize and destroy “whatsoever Barbados liquors, commonly called rum, Kill Devill, or the like.” Demon rum was first coined by Timothy Arthur in his 1854 temperance play “Ten Nights in a Barroom,” and it wasn't long before the phrase came to describe all forms of evil alcohol.