History of rum: 4 surprising anecdotes about its origins

For some time now, rum has been an integral part of your evenings : you even feel like you know it as well as some of your friends . However, this tasty guest is rich in a fascinating, often little-known past , punctuated by multiple twists and turns through the centuries ! Yes, behind this brandy made from sugar cane lies a real cocktail of French, Spanish, Dutch and British colonial influences . So, sit back and discover 4 surprising facts about the origin of rum ! 💥

Did you think sugarcane originated in the Caribbean, like rum? Not so! Its history seems to have begun on another continent, in Asia. More specifically, in New Guinea.

There, scientists estimate that the cultivation of Saccharum officinarum (the ancestor of sugarcane, for those who swear by the Latin names) began more than 3,400 years ago!

The oldest surviving handwritten account of sugarcane comes from the brave Alexander the Great. In 327 BC, his general Nearchus reported seeing, during one of his travels, an " Indian reed that yields honey without the help of bees, from which an intoxicating drink is made ." Proof that sugarcane had already begun to travel!

After "discovering America," Christopher Columbus was busy. In 1493, he prepared for another voyage to the New World. The Italian took care to pack sugarcane plants in his luggage. At the time, sugarcane was cultivated in the Canary Islands, which belonged to the Kingdom of Spain, for which the navigator worked.

Without further ado, these plants reached the lands of the island of Hispaniola (currently Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and thrived under the local sun. The Spanish soon copied this rich idea in their other conquests, so much so that sugar cane spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean and the Antilles. The history of rum was underway!

With the sugar cane imported by European settlers in the Caribbean, sugar was first produced, a very precious commodity at the time... At the same time, some were already making wine from these tropical plants.

So, where and when exactly did humans first give life to rum? It's difficult to say precisely, as its development must have been gradual and diffuse. But one thing is certain: the Mount Gay rum brand was created in 1703 on the island of Barbados. Still in operation, its distillery can boast of being the oldest known to us today.

Jamaica and Saint Kitts soon followed in Barbados' footsteps. The Dutch, who arrived in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the second half of the ^17th century, also quickly set about crafting this fascinating eau-de-vie. And at Halto, it's precisely Martinique's white agricultural rum that inspires our rum-infused recipes !