Any Excuse To Celebrate: Today Is National Rum Day
There’s a saying, “Every dog has its day.” It’s supposedly a proverb that translates to everyone’s having good luck or success at some point in their lives. Great! But what about every drink having its day? Well, apparently some do! Today, August 16, is National Rum Day! A perfect day for our community, because what sailor doesn’t like rum? OK, we acknowledge there are some, but for the most part, sailors and rum are like Barbie and Ken; they just go together!
According to the website Holiday Calendar, National Rum Day began sometime in the early 2000s. And while we didn’t find a clearly stated reason for the day’s existence, we imagine it was the brainchild of a rum producer who wanted more people to know about their delicious beverage.
Here a few facts and some history about our favorite sailor-y drink:
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the juice or molasses from sugarcane. It is originally a clear liquid and is often aged in oak or charred-oak barrels. The type of barrel and time of aging will contribute to the rum’s color and flavor.
The resulting drink is, in many people’s minds, synonymous with the Caribbean and with pirates. Think Pirates of the Caribbean, which pretty much sums it up. However, the liquid’s origin is disputed. Some say it was first created on the Caribbean’s sugarcane plantations when it was discovered that the syrup created while refining sugar could be fermented and distilled into a spirit, and over time was refined to become the rum we all know and, in some cases, love. Many oral traditions tell the story that the first rums came out of Barbados. There’s also a theory that it evolved from a drink known as “brum” that was made thousands of years earlier by the Malay people.
None of this accounts for the stories of early explorers experiencing rum-like drinks in other parts of the world. Marco Polo supposedly tasted a “wine of sugar,” which some conjecture could be an “ancestor” of our modern-day rum. Other evidence suggests that Brazil and Sweden both had versions of rum. And what about the story that rum was once made from sugar beets in England?
Rum has also enjoyed notoriety as an official drink for sailors, based on the rations that were handed out to crews in early maritime days.
According to National Geographic, British sailors were given their first official rations of rum in 1655, when it was realized that “rum was both stronger and it kept better than beer.”
Here’s another anecdote about the sailors’ “daily tot:”
Between 11 a.m. and noon, a call of “Up Spirits!” would echo through the ship. This was the signal for all men to gather on deck to receive their “daily tot” of rum.
In 1740, Admiral Edward Vernon introduced a concoction of watered-down rum mixed with sugar and lime juice. This “grog” was supposed to reduce drunkenness, but many sailors saved their rations for drinking sprees.
An additional fun fact in that story says that the officer tasked with handing out the rum was the purser. The name was often mispronounced, resulting in the officer’s being called the pusser … Can you see where this is going?
Whatever its origin, and whatever your favorite brand, style or mix, rum is unarguably a favorite among sailors. The drink is credited equally with saving sailors’ souls on a cold dark night at sea and warming their toes while sitting at home by an open fire, and everything in between. For this writer it was the first drink of choice when embarking upon “sprited” teenage adventures.
National Rum Day is celebrated each year on August 16. Please don’t confuse it with World Rum Day, which occurs each year on the second Saturday of July — a much more sensible day, in our opinion. If anyone is interested, today is also marked as National Airborne Day, National Finance Brokers Day, National Roller Coaster Day, World Bratwurst Day, National Tell a Joke Day, National Surveillance Day, and World Calligraphy Day. With all these reasons to celebrate, what better way to do so than with a “tot” of your favorite rum?