Rum

Rum

A glass of dark rum
Type	Distilled beverage
Region of origin	Caribbean
Introduced	17th century
Alcohol by volume	40–80%
Proof (US)	80–160°
Colour	Clear, brown, black, red or golden
Flavour	Sweet to dry
Ingredients	sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice; yeast; water
Variants	rhum agricole, ron miel, tafia
Related products	cachaça, charanda, clairin, grogue, grog, Seco Herrerano

Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Philippines, where Tanduay Distillers, the largest producer of rum worldwide, has its headquarters.^[1][2][3]

Rums are produced in various grades. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, whereas "golden" and "dark" rums were typically consumed straight or neat, iced ("on the rocks"), or used for cooking, but are now commonly consumed with mixers. Premium rums are made to be consumed either straight or iced.

Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies as well as the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland, in Canada. It has associations with the Royal Navy (where it was mixed with water or beer to make grog) and piracy (where it was consumed as bumbo).^{[citation needed]} Rum has served as a medium of economic exchange, used to help fund enterprises such as slavery via triangular trade, organized crime, and military insurgencies such as the American Revolution and the Australian Rum Rebellion.