If you've been following this blog for a while, I'm sure you probably remember my post last year which briefly mentioning that August the 16th has been dubbed "National Rum Day". Last year was the first year I had heard of such a monster and thought I'd make mention of it just because it involves my favorite spirit: rum. Also, I thought I'd mention it as a way to segue into Bacardi's newest spiced rum offering, the OAKHEART, which would be a review I did shortly afterwards.
But that was then, and this is now. It seems that there has been more credence given to this pseudo-recognized day by the press, and maybe it is slowly catching on with mainstream culture after all (thanks to inclusions in Forbes and the Washington Post to name but a few). But why give any spirit it's own day? Why would it merit such recognition?
The honest answer would be, it doesn't. This is just a marketing ploy by the companies to get you to by their product on this day and that is all. It's all about making money, right?
Maybe.
But maybe it does deserve such merit. After all, traveling by ship between the old world and the new was long and arduous. Fresh drinking water was difficult to come by out on the seas. Stored in casks, clean water eventually developed algae and became slimy thereby making it undrinkable and sickening. A solution was needed, and after Britain's conquest of Jamaica in 1655, rum became a viable option as part of a sailor's rations while out on the seas. And for the better part of two centuries, it became regulation in the Royal Navy.
So maybe we should, after all, pay homage to the drink that helped those sailing ships across the Atlantic, affording countless millions the opportunity to start new lives and help found a new country. I can't think of no better reason to have a nationally recognized day than that.
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