Oggi, l'80 % del rum mondiale viene prodotto nei Caraibi. Tutti gli alcolici iniziano con una pianta e il rum inizia con una specie di erba chiamata canna da zucchero. Ma la canna da zucchero ha impiegato quasi 10.000 anni per arrivare ai Caraibi. E non è stato fino alla metà del 1800 quando ha iniziato ad avere un sapore decente. Fino ad allora è stato duro.
Ecco la breve storia. Sappiamo che la canna da zucchero è originaria dell'Asia meridionale e si ritiene che l'erba dolce sia stata addomesticata per la prima volta sull'isola della Nuova Guinea intorno all'8000 a.C. L'India è nota per aver estratto e cristallizzato per la prima volta la pianta zuccherina intorno al 350 d.C., e da lì mercanti di commercio lo portò in Africa e poi in Spagna.
Nel 1400 c'era un'enorme richiesta di "sale dolce" (zucchero) in Europa, quindi i portoghesi iniziarono a piantare canna da zucchero sull'isola di Madeira. Ben presto si resero conto che si trattava di un'attività estremamente laboriosa in tutti i processi di coltivazione, raccolta e produzione. Gli schiavi furono quindi importati. Nel 1493 Cristoforo Colombo tentò di portare piantine di canna da zucchero nei Caraibi, ma non sopravvissero al viaggio. Il conquistatore spagnolo Diego Velázquez era sulla nave con Colombo e si stabilì a Hispaniola (Repubblica Dominicana, Haiti e le piccole isole che li circondano) per essere al servizio del cavaliere e soldato spagnolo Nicolás Ovando y Cáceres, che un paio di anni dopo divenne governatore di le Indie.
Nel 1501 Pedro de Atienza fu il primo a importare con successo piantine di canna da zucchero a Hispaniola. Ha raccolto il suo primo raccolto quattro anni dopo. Nel 1511, a nome della Spagna, Diego Velázquez conquistò Cuba, portando con sé la canna da zucchero Hispaniola. Nel 1518, un decreto reale di Carlo V (sovrano degli spagnoli e del Sacro Romano Impero) autorizzava l'importazione di 2.000 schiavi a Hispaniola per lavorare i campi di canna da zucchero. E nel 1523, un altro decreto reale importò 1.500 schiavi a Hispaniola e 2.500 in altre isole caraibiche come Porto Rico e Giamaica. I portoghesi portarono la loro produzione in Brasile e verso la metà del 1500 c'erano quasi 3.000 zuccherifici. Gli olandesi iniziarono a prendere piantine di canna da zucchero da piantare su qualsiasi isola caraibica possibile. Le Barbados e le isole intorno alla Repubblica Dominicana furono tra le prime. Nel 1600, il rum nelle razioni giornaliere era comune per la Royal Navy.
Nel 1758, George Washington fece una campagna per la Virginia House of Burgess offrendo gratuitamente rum delle Barbados agli elettori e vinse. Nel 1700, le isole dei Caraibi stavano perdendo soldi per i loro raccolti di tabacco e cotone a causa dell'America che coltivava i propri, quindi il passaggio ai raccolti di canna da zucchero ha risolto questo problema. Iniziò così una produzione in serie di rum caraibico.
Nel 1810, il primo ospedale di Sydney, in Australia, fu finanziato da uomini d'affari locali in cambio di un contratto che autorizzava loro a importare 60.000 galloni di rum da vendere. L'ospedale si chiamava Rum Hospital. Inoltre, nel 1862, Don Facundo Bacardi iniziò a filtrare il suo rum cubano attraverso il carbone.
Modern Rums That Changed the Bar
Bartenders have helped push rum far beyond the familiar light, dark, spiced, and coconut bottles that once dominated American back bars. Producers began releasing rums with bigger personalities, traditional production methods, unusual infusions, and flavors designed for serious cocktails.
These five have become particularly influential behind modern bars.
2012 — Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum
Rum expert Ed Hamilton, founder of the influential Ministry of Rum, spent decades traveling throughout the Caribbean, visiting distilleries, researching rum production, importing spirits, and becoming one of the industry's most respected rum authorities.
Hamilton eventually began bottling rums under his own name, including Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum, a rich Guyanese rum created with cocktails in mind.
Instead of bottling it at the common 80 proof, Hamilton chose 86 proof (43% ABV) to preserve more of the rum's character. Its deep molasses, caramel, smoky, and dark-fruit flavors made it especially useful in tiki and tropical cocktails.
Hamilton wasn't trying to make rum trendy.
He was trying to give bartenders the rum they needed.
2012–2013 — Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black
Hamilton also turned his attention to Jamaica's unmistakable flavors with Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black.
Produced at Jamaica's Worthy Park Estate, it is a blend of extra-light, light, and heavy pot-still rums distilled from fermented molasses. Unlike what you'll sometimes read online, the rum is not barrel-aged; its dark appearance comes from cane-sugar caramel added after distillation. It is bottled at 46.5% ABV (93 proof).
What makes it memorable is that classic Jamaican character—ripe and overripe banana, tropical fruit, spice, and plenty of what rum people affectionately call funk.
It became especially popular with tiki bartenders because a relatively small amount can add a big Jamaican personality to a cocktail.
Basically, this rum doesn't enter a cocktail quietly.
2014 — Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
Originally called Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum, this collaboration between Maison Ferrand's Alexandre Gabriel and cocktail historian David Wondrich helped completely change the reputation of pineapple rum.
Instead of simply adding artificial pineapple flavoring to rum, Stiggins' Fancy uses actual Victoria pineapples. Pineapple rind is infused into rum and redistilled, while the sweet fruit is infused separately into dark rum. The components are then blended.
The name comes from Reverend Stiggins, the hypocritical temperance preacher in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers who happened to enjoy pineapple rum.
Bartenders embraced Stiggins' Fancy for Daiquiris, Mai Tais, tiki drinks, original cocktails, and even shots. It became one of those bottles that began appearing on serious cocktail back bars everywhere.
It remains a bartender favorite and continues winning major spirits awards.
Good to know: Plantation Rum changed its name to Planteray Rum in 2024, so you'll see older recipes and bottles using the Plantation name.
Apparently pineapple rum just needed a couple hundred years and some really good bartenders to improve its reputation.
2018 — Probitas White Blended Rum
Probitas—sold as Veritas in some countries—helped demonstrate that “white rum” didn't have to mean light, neutral, and nearly flavorless.
It combines rums from two legendary Caribbean producers: Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados and Hampden Estate in Jamaica.
The result gives bartenders the best of two rum worlds: the balance and structure of Barbados combined with some of Jamaica's wonderfully funky pot-still character.
Probitas quickly became particularly popular for one of the simplest—and least forgiving—rum cocktails of all:
The Daiquiri.
Rum. Lime. Sugar.
Nowhere for a mediocre rum to hide.
2024 — Planteray Cut & Dry Coconut Rum
After helping elevate pineapple rum with Stiggins' Fancy, Planteray turned its attention to another category that hadn't always received much respect from serious bartenders:
Coconut rum.
Planteray reportedly spent years developing Cut & Dry, eventually creating a rum using real Barbadian coconuts and Barbadian rum.
Rather than tasting like coconut candy or suntan lotion, Cut & Dry emphasizes actual coconut character alongside chocolate, spice, and rum flavors. The approach quickly earned recognition, including major awards in the flavored-rum category.
In other words:
Coconut rum grew up.
Hard-to-Get Rums
Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum | Guyana
One of the legendary ingredients of tiki bartending, this 151-proof Demerara rum appears in classic recipes such as the Zombie and 151 Swizzle. Over the years, Lemon Hart 151 has repeatedly disappeared from the U.S. market, changed importers, returned, and remained frustratingly difficult to find in some states.
Good to know: When Lemon Hart 151 became difficult to obtain, rum expert Ed Hamilton developed Hamilton 151 Overproof as a Demerara-style alternative for bartenders making classic tiki recipes.
If you see Lemon Hart 151 sitting on a liquor-store shelf, this may be one of those times when “I'll get it later” is a bad plan.
Hamilton Saint Lucia Pot Still | Saint Lucia
Now this is a genuinely hard-to-get Hamilton.
Ed Hamilton released a small series of Saint Lucia pot-still rums from individual vintages and barrels, including 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-year expressions. The rums were produced by Saint Lucia Distillers and became cult bottles among serious rum drinkers. Hamilton's bottling agreement ended, so the releases were discontinued; remaining bottles have become increasingly difficult to find.
Good to know: If you stumble across an old bottle today, you're essentially finding new-old-stock rum. One retailer still lists its 2005 eight-year bottling but describes it as “very limited availability and gone for good once sold out.”
Ed Hamilton strikes again.
Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection | Barbados
Master distiller Richard Seale periodically releases limited bottlings under Foursquare's Exceptional Cask Selection (ECS) series. These aren't one permanent rum; each release is a unique expression involving different ages, barrels, blends, and maturation techniques.
They're specifically produced as limited releases, and desirable editions can disappear quickly. Foursquare describes each ECS as a one-of-a-kind release available only for a limited time.
Older releases such as Criterion, Dominus, Empery, Nobiliary, Redoutable, and others have become collector bottles.
Good to know: Rum people sometimes jokingly call Foursquare the “Pappy of Rum” because enthusiasts chase certain releases much like bourbon collectors chase Pappy Van Winkle.
Translation: If a rum nerd spots one on the shelf, don't stand between them and the bottle.
Il rum ha molti nomi come: acqua di Barbados, acqua di demone, grog, kill-devil, sangue di Nelson, rhumbooze, rumbowling, rumbullion, rumbustion e unire il tutore principale.
Il 15 gennaio 1919, presso la US Industrial Alcohol Company di Boston, Massachusetts, un carro armato di ghisa che conteneva 400.000 galloni di melassa si ruppe, creando uno tsunami appiccicoso alto sedici piedi attraverso la stazione ferroviaria atlantica, sollevando un treno fuori dai binari , ferendo centocinquanta persone, uccidendo dodici cavalli e ventuno persone, finché alla fine si riposò come un lago di melassa nel North End Park.
Agosto è il mese nazionale del rum.
Bacardi ha la più grande distilleria di rum del mondo, situata a San Juan, Porto Rico. Se visiti in nave da crociera, salta la costosa escursione per visitare la distilleria. Invece, basta pagare venticinque centesimi per prendere il traghetto. Puoi vedere la distilleria dove attraccano le navi da crociera.
La maggior parte del rum viene prodotta nei Caraibi e quasi tutte le isole producono rum.
Il rum overproof Wray & Nephew della Giamaica è il rum a più alta gradazione del mondo con il 63 percento .
Nel 1943, il personaggio dei cartoni animati Disney Paperino bevve cachaça, e nello stesso film teatrale, Saludos Amigos (in spagnolo "Saluti, amici") la Disney introdusse un nuovo personaggio brasiliano di nome José Carioca.
Il rum più costoso è una bottiglia del 1940 di J. Wray & Nephew. Ha un valore di $ 54.000.
The team at Porco Lounge and Tiki Room created the world's largest Daiquiri on November 11 at the_cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Favoloso spettacolo alimentare a Cleveland. Partendo con l'obiettivo di preparare un cocktail da 100 galloni, i baristi hanno mescolato rum , sciroppo semplice , succo di lime e ghiaccio in lotti da 12 quarti e poi versato il tutto in un'enorme botte decorata per assomigliare a a Tiki mug.
1942 Attraverso il Pacifico
Humphrey Bogart ordina due Planter's Punch.
1944 Avere e non avere
Lauren Bacall beve un Daiquiri.
Clarence l'angelo ordina un pugno al rum fiammeggiante.
1950 Il padre della sposa
I cocktail ordinati sono Rum & Coke, Tom Collins e Frozen Daiquiri.
1955 Ragazzi e bambole
Marlon Brando convince Jean Simmons a bere diversi Dulce de Leches a Cuba.
Simmons: Che cosa hai ordinato?
Brando: Dulce de Leche. Dulce è la parola spagnola per "dolce". De significa "di" e leche significa "latte". Dolce di latte.
Simmons: Non lo servono semplicemente?
Brando: Beh, solo la mattina. Ha a che fare con il caldo. Di notte, ci mettono una specie di conservante.
Simmons: Interessante. Cosa usano?
Brando: Bacardi.
Simmons: Non c'è dell'alcol?
Brando: Beh, quel tanto che basta per evitare che il latte diventi acido.
Quando Simmons è al suo secondo drink, dice: “È così delizioso. Quell'aroma Bacardi fa sicuramente la differenza. Sai, questo sarebbe un modo meraviglioso per far bere il latte ai bambini".
1959 Il nostro uomo all'Avana
Alec Guinness e gli amici bevono Daiquiris.
1960 L'appartamento
Shirley MacLaine chiede un Daiquiri e Hope Holiday chiede un Rum Collins.
1961 Colazione da Tiffany
Audrey Hepburn beve un Planter's Punch.
1963 Vieni a suonare il clacson
Frank Sinatra ordina un Rum & Coca-Cola.
1965 Thunderball
Sean Connery ordina un Rum Collins.
1969 Ciao, Dolly!
Barbra Streisand cita un Rum-Toddy.
1974 Il Padrino: Parte II
John Cazale ordina un Daiquiri alla banana.
1996 Da vicino e personale
Michelle Pfeiffer ha un Banana Daiquiri.
1997 Apri gli occhi
Fele Martinez e Penelope Cruz bevono Rum e Coca-Cola.
1998 Cose selvagge
Matt Dillon ordina Rum e Coca-Cola.
1999 Io, me stesso e Irene
Renée Zellweger e Jim Carrey hanno Rum & Coca-Cola.
2000 Chuck & Buck
Mike White ordina un Rum & Coca-Cola.
2000 Giochi di renne
Ben Affleck ordina Rum e Coca-Cola.
2000 Le sorelle Banger
Goldie Hawn si fa un Rum & Coca-Cola.
2002 Morire un altro giorno
Pierce Brosnan beve un Mojito. Quarant'anni prima, James Bond fece esplodere la Vodka Martini e ora fa rivivere il classico cocktail cubano degli anni '20, il Mojito.
2003 Cattivi ragazzi II
Gabrielle Union e Jordi Molla bevono Bacardi Mojitos.
2003 Da Justin a Kelly
Greg Siff ha una Piña Colada.
2004 I Heart Huckabees
Jude Law afferma che in futuro berrà Piña Coladas.
2005 La raccolta del ghiaccio
John Cusack ordina un succo di rum e ananas.
2007 Perfetto sconosciuto
I Daiquiri Hemmingway sono stati ordinati.
2007 Shrek III
Il gatto con gli stivali sogna ad occhi aperti di pescare con una brocca di Mojito accanto a lui.
2008 L'isola di Nim
Il capitano parla di vendere Piña Colada ai turisti.
1843 Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens
"Potrebbe... fumare più tabacco, bere più rum-toddy"
1920 Questo lato del paradiso, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Questo libro ha la prima menzione letteraria conosciuta del Daiquiri.
1958 Il nostro uomo all'Avana, Graham Greene
La prima frase del libro recita: "Wormold si è goduto i suoi cocktail al rum congelati, con lime".
2014 andato ragazza, Gillian Flynn
I mojito sono menzionati.
Elenco degli eventi del Ministero del Rum
Si tiene ogni giugno a Fort Lauderdale, in Florida.
Ultimi eventi della guida al rum
Enorme elenco di eventi rum in tutto il mondo.
Celebrity Rum
Celebrity spirits aren't limited to tequila, vodka, and whiskey. Musicians, actors, and other famous names have also found their way into rum.
Some simply lend their fame to a bottle.
Others actually own the company, help develop the rum, or apparently wake up one morning and think:
You know what my career needs? A distillery.
Blue Chair Bay — Kenny Chesney
Country superstar Kenny Chesney launched Blue Chair Bay Rum in 2013, inspired by the Caribbean lifestyle that has influenced so much of his music.
This isn't simply an endorsement. Chesney's company says he fully owns Blue Chair Bay, and he worked with master blender Mike Booth developing the rums. The line includes White, Spiced, Coconut, Banana, and several rum creams.
The rums are made in the Caribbean from sugarcane molasses.
Kenny didn't just sing about sitting on a beach.
He bottled it.
SelvaRey — Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars is a co-owner and creative force behind SelvaRey Rum, produced in Panama by legendary Cuban-born rum maker Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez.
SelvaRey produces White, Chocolate, Coconut, and aged expressions. Mars became heavily involved with the brand's creative direction, including its packaging, advertising, and tropical-luxury image.
Other investors and partners have included Anderson .Paak and Asian pop superstar Jay Chou.
Bruno Mars selling rum somehow feels considerably less surprising than Bruno Mars selling, say, insurance.
Ten To One — Ciara
Singer Ciara became an investor, co-owner, and director of Ten To One Rum in 2021.
But there's an important distinction: she didn't found the company.
Trinidad-born entrepreneur Marc Farrell founded Ten To One in 2019 with the goal of presenting Caribbean rum without relying on the usual pirates-and-palm-trees stereotypes.
Ciara later joined Farrell as co-owner and became involved in marketing, creative direction, business development, and strategic partnerships.
The brand blends rums from several Caribbean origins.
This is one celebrity brand where the rum came first and the celebrity came later.
Sammy's Beach Bar Rum — Sammy Hagar
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar founded Sammy's Beach Bar Rum.
The rums are distilled in Puerto Rico from cane molasses and include white and aged expressions.
Of course, Hagar was already an old hand at celebrity spirits. Long before celebrity tequila became fashionable, he founded Cabo Wabo Tequila.
Apparently retirement was never going to involve lemonade.
Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum — Chris Blackwell
This one is a little different because Chris Blackwell isn't a movie star or singer—he's one of the most influential people in modern music.
Blackwell founded Island Records, the label instrumental in bringing artists including Bob Marley to an international audience.
He later created Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum, drawing on his Jamaican heritage and family history. The rum launched in 2008 and is produced in Jamaica.
There's another wonderful connection: Blackwell owns GoldenEye, Ian Fleming's former Jamaican home where Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.
Rum + Bob Marley + James Bond.
That's a pretty good résumé for one bottle.
Crossfire Hurricane — The Rolling Stones
This is the newest one—it launched in 2026.
The Rolling Stones created Crossfire Hurricane, a Jamaican rum named after the opening lyric of their 1968 hit “Jumpin' Jack Flash.”
Crossfire Hurricane was developed with respected rum ambassador Ian Burrell and combines Jamaican rums from four major distilleries: Hampden Estate, Long Pond, Worthy Park, and Clarendon.
The project also connects to the Stones' long history with Jamaica, including recording sessions there beginning in the 1970s and relationships with Jamaican musicians.
Two expressions launched: Gold and Reserve, both bottled at 40% ABV.
The Rolling Stones have been around long enough to become both rock history and rum history.
Three Hearts Rum — Johnny Depp
Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp has entered the actual rum business with Three Hearts Rum, working with spirits entrepreneur Robert DeLeon.
The project is intended to showcase traditional Caribbean rum production rather than simply build a celebrity-branded novelty product, with plans for expressions highlighting different rum-producing regions.
There is something almost inevitable about Johnny Depp eventually getting involved with rum.
After five Pirates of the Caribbean movies, apparently someone finally answered:
“Why is the rum gone?”
Celebrity Rum: Who Actually Owns What?
Founder / owner / co-owner:
Kenny Chesney — Blue Chair Bay
Bruno Mars — SelvaRey
Ciara — Ten To One (co-owner; Marc Farrell founded it)
Sammy Hagar — Sammy's Beach Bar Rum
Chris Blackwell — Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum
Celebrity/band-created or partnership projects:
The Rolling Stones — Crossfire Hurricane
Johnny Depp — Three Hearts Rum
The distinction matters because celebrity spirits range from genuine ownership and product development to licensing arrangements and promotional partnerships.
A famous face on the bottle doesn't always mean a famous person owns what's inside it.