National Rum Day

If it's not a drink with it's own "holiday" it's a distilled spirit. The summer months are filled with them: first there was tequila, then the Daiquiri and now there's rum. Yes, this Saturday (Aug 16th) is National Rum Day.

How did this Saturday in August come to have such a special recognition? I get the question all the time and have yet to find the answer. Was it a marketing ploy by one of the rum companies? I know it wasn't Bacardi because I asked. Is it some tribute to rum's early influence on the founding of America? Read Wayne Curtis' And a Bottle of Rum and you might believe this theory. Was it the ingenious idea of some bar hoping to sell more Hurricanes and Mai Tais? That's another possibility and it could have been picked up by others in hopes of increasing sales. Or was it some lone guy, belly up to the bar and a few too many Mojitos in, who declared for the country that that day would forever be known as National Rum Day? Okay maybe I've gone a little too far on this one but you never know.

So the question of the week is... Who started National Rum Day, when did it begin and why? If you know the answer I'd love to be enlightened. Let us not dwell on this mystery too much and instead grab a great bottle of rum, some fresh fruit and start shaking up a great rum cocktail, we have an excuse!