rum, spirituous liquor made from fermented sugarcane products. Prepared by fermentation, distillation, and aging, it is made from the molasses and foam that rise to the top of boiled sugarcane juice. Rum, which is produced in Cuba, Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad, Madagascar, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and Barbados, is either light- or dark-bodied. The light-bodied rums are drier and come from Spanish-influenced islands, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico. Jamaica is generally thought of as the best producer of the dark, heavy-bodied rum. Naturally colorless, rum acquires by the addition of caramel a rich brown color deepened by storage in casks. Hot rum drinks like grog, popular in areas with cold, damp climates, such as England, are made with dark rum. Light rum is popular in chilled summer drinks like daiquiris and Bacardi cocktails. Rum has been produced in the United States from colonial times and was an economic factor in perpetuating the slave trade.

bay rum, aromatic liquid used chiefly as a cosmetic and a perfume. It originated in the West Indies, where it was prepared by distillation from rum and bay leaves. It is now commonly a mixture of oil of bay (from a bayberry), alcohol, water, oil of pimento, and oil of orange peel.

Distilled liquor made from sugarcane products, primarily molasses. It is first mentioned in records from Barbados circa 1650. Rum figured in the slave trade: slaves from Africa were traded in the West Indies for molasses, the molasses was made into rum in New England, and the rum was then traded to Africa for more slaves. British sailors received regular rum rations from the 18th century until the 1970s. Two major types are marketed. The light-bodied rums, traditionally of Puerto Rico and Cuba, employ cultivated yeast and are distilled in continuous-operation stills before being blended and aged one to four years. The heavier dark rums, traditionally of Jamaica, employ yeast spores from the air and are distilled in simple pot stills before being blended and aged five to seven years. Rum is drunk straight or mixed and is used in dessert sauces and other dishes.

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