History of Rum

When thinking of what most Americans drink today, whiskey, more specifically bourbon, is most likely what comes to mind because bourbon is the national spirit of America. But, before whiskey and bourbon, rum was king.

The history of distillation is very convoluted and not exactly clear. Distillation of whiskey dates back to around 1785 or 1796 (depending on who you ask) and the first rum still in America was set up by Basil Hayden. 

Even though whiskey is as old as it is in America, rum is actually the oldest spirit produced in America, dating back to the early 1600s. The first recorded pot still in America was located on Staten Island around the 1640s. At this time, Staten Island was a Dutch colony known as New Amsterdam and rum became a huge part of the economy there. This allowed New England to be known as the rum capitol in the colonies around the late 1600s. From here rum distilleries spread to Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is estimated that there were about 63 rum distilleries in Massachusetts and about 31 in Rhode Island in the 1700s. 21 of those distilleries were just in the city of Newport. Back in the day, alcohol was consumed heavily not just because it gave a buzz, but because it was safer than water. Since most water was unsafe to drink many people drank things like beer and cider frequently. The difficulty with those products was  that they were hard to transport and not very shelf stable. This is where rum comes in. Rum was so helpful during the time period that it became a version currency. You can find many bills of sale with part of the purchasing power being in rum.

Rum became popular at this time because molasses was very readily available. Molasses is a by-product of the sugar making process. At the time no one had a use for molasses other than to distill it and with the growing need for sugar in the colonies, molasses came with it. As New England became the center of the triangular trade routes, molasses became even easier to get. This allowed for the popularity of rum to explode. The success of rum actually helped the economy in a few ways. Industries like coopering (barrel making), ship building, logging ,and iron works all grew exponentially with the help of rum’s popularity. 

Rum started to decrease in popularity during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). During this time the British controlled many of the Caribbean islands that made the necessary molasses. The British set up trade embargos with the colonies making molasses very scarce. And then in the early 19th century the US congress passed the Embargo Act that banned all trade with the British and French territories which made molasses even more difficult to get. It was then that rum just about died out in America. Eventually after World War Two, rum began to make a comeback. Around the 1950s and 1960s the national tiki craze began. Classic cocktails like the Pina Colada and the Mai Tai became popular which in turn started to make rum more popular. Bars like the Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s help proliferate the tiki cocktail and tiki bar boom. Over time, everyone knew what tiki was and had drank at least one Pina Colada by now. Today at Muddy River Distillery, we are keeping the tradition of rum making in America alive by creating the best rum you have ever had with only the best ingredients. Our diverse lineup of rum allows you to create a cocktail perfect for you and we are very proud of that!

Cheers!