Rum is a distilled alcoholic drink produced directly from sugarcane juice or from sugarcane by-products, such as molasses. The first distillation of rum in the Caribbean is believed to have taken place on the sugarcane plantations there in the 17th century when plantation slaves discovered that molasses could be fermented into alcohol.
The majority of the world’s rum production still occurs in the Caribbean as well as Latin America. Rums are produced in various grades: light rums are commonly used in cocktails such as mojitos, whereas golden or dark rums are usually enjoyed neat.