Welcome to Bones Rum
The majority of world-wide Rum production occurs in the Caribbean. Few places have a history soaked with Rum more than the Virgin Islands. BONES RUM is proudly produced on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands using a centuries-old recipe, small batch distilling and oak barrel aging. While you enjoy your choice of BONES drink, here are a few little-known facts concerning Rum and some interesting historical trivia
regarding Pirate culture and lore. Bottoms Up!
History of Rum
Caribbean sugar farmers of the 17th century had a serious industrial waste problem. As Wayne Curtis recounts in his enjoyable history And a Bottle of Rum, these planters produced sugar by crushing sugar cane, boiling the resulting juices, and then leaving the boiled syrup to cure in clay pots. A viscous liquid would seep out of the pots, and sugar would be left behind.
That liquid was molasses. Today we know molasses as a delicious enabler of gingerbread and shoofly pies, but as Curtis notes, in the 17th century, planters couldn’t give away the cloying liquid. Slaves and livestock ate some of the molasses, but for the most part, it was an annoying bit of industrial waste. Production of two pounds of sugar yielded a pound of molasses, so colonial planters were swimming in the sticky trash. With no export market or practical use for it at home, planters resorted to dumping unwanted molasses into the ocean.
Luckily for the planters, someone eventually figured out a use for this molasses. By mixing it with the liquid skimmed off of cane juice during its initial boiling and fermenting it, one created a serviceable starting point for distillation. And although the exact etymology is still murky, the liquor this process yielded became known as rum.
Rum Fun Facts
Robert Louis Stevenson gave Rum a place in history (and BONES RUM its name!) thanks to the rum-loving Captain Billy Bones in his classic, “Treasure Island”.
Rum is distilled from sugarcane through a fermentation process. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then aged in oak barrels.
Rum is produced in variety of styles. Light Rums are usually used in mixed drinks, Dark Rums are used for more elaborate cocktails and cooking.
Rum played an important part in the history of the Caribbean and has famous (and infamous) connections with the Royal Navy and Pirates.
Rum served as a form of “currency” throughout history, providing economic aid for the American Revolution and underground barter during the US Prohibition Era.
A small amount of Rum, called a dram, was often added to drinking water barrels aboard ships to kill algae and make the water taste better.
