In the mid-1700s, as England expanded the American colonies, war loomed between two spirits. The English discouraged distilling with corn, while pushing molasses from the British Sugar Islands. When they taxed molasses and rum imports, Americans revolted and later transitioned the United States into a whiskey country. In the 1820s, Congress actually tariffed rum and molasses imports specifically to aid American whiskey from Kentucky and Tennessee.
That started nearly a 200-year war between rum and whiskey. Today, it looms in the cocktail shaker, in government offices and in consumer perception. Whiskey vs. Rum presents the story of how 1800s-era policies shaped what we drink today, even impacting the rivalry of rum and whiskey for coke inclusion. This seminar sheds new light on a 200-year-old war that’s alive and well. Is there any end in sight?
