Rum and Its Delightful Indian Origin

Rum is a delightful drink. It is for all seasons. When it rains there is nothing like a bit of rum to keep you company as you watch the rain cascade down. When the sun beats down mercilessly rum can be the basis of cool cocktails. It freezes in winter and this is when you make hot rum punch to warm you up. The general perception is that rum originated in Barbados around 1645, supposedly developed by English colonist. Over time it came to be connected with trade in molasses, sugarcane, and slavery. However, studies show that rum goes beyond the Caribbean and could actually have originated in the Indian sub-continent. Hercules continues this age-old tradition with its fine matured rum.

Ain-i-Akbari

Abu’l Fazl ibn Mubarak, chief vazir of Emperor Akbar, responsible for writing the Ain-i-Akbari or the Constitution of Akbar around 1590 wrote about sugar being cultivated and used for the preparation of alcohol. Back in those days, the cane was pounded with the bark of acacia and the juice was fermented for a week. It was strained and imbibed, possibly inspiring poets and singers to come up with intoxicating renditions. Arrack is the name the locals used for the distilled spirit and the term is still in use in Southern parts of India. Arrack could refer to alcohol distilled from molasses or cashew or from toddy or from mahua flowers. He states further stills were used for distillation. The arrack was distilled again to make it extremely strong and it carried quite a punch. It is not surprising and it is quite logical that sugarcane should be used for rum distillation since the cane grew abundantly all over the Indian sub-continent. The Emperor Darius of Persia invaded India back in 510 BC and found sugarcane that gave a sweet juice. Some historians state that the first sugar appeared in India about 2500 years ago. Possibly it traveled from here to other parts of the world, notably Brazil from where the British took it to Barbados and found a way to use the discarded molasses to produce rum.

Rum even predates Ain-i-Akbari

Rum even finds mention in the History of Firuz Shah written by Zia ud-din Barani sometime during the 1300s. Alauddin Khilji tried to ban the sale of liquor but people took to distilling it within their houses until he removed the ban. The Chinese Buddhist Monk, Zuanzang visited India in 630 AD, traveling through Kandahar and Kashmir. He found that people indulged in drinking fermented juices of grapes and sugar cane. The traders of those times loved the strong distilled spirit made from sugarcane. Historian J H Galloway arrived at a hypothesis that though sugarcane may not have originated in India, this is where it was processed into various forms like sugar, jaggery, and rum. Alexander the Great found Sugarcane here in 326 BC. Raymond Allchin wrote in the South Asian Archeology journal in 1979 that distillation from sugarcane was popular in India in the 5^th century BC and even before that. Excavation at sites such as Taxila and Sirkap led to the discovery of distillation equipment, the design of which is still in use in rural India. Even the Matsyasukta tantra mentions Gaudi, a distilled drink made from molasses and other ingredients.

Hercules continues the tradition

Herculex 3x Rum may not be the somarasa of Vedic times but it does continue the rich cultural and brewing heritage of India, drawing inspiration from those practices and refining it with modern innovations. Each sip is a delight carrying within it the quintessential distilled history of Indian liquor.