With Admiral Nelson's help in the eighteenth century rum surpassed gin as Britain's most popular liquor and has become one of the most popular distilled spirits. Rum and cola is the most widely requested mixed drink in the world. The Caribbean is the center of rum production and virtually every major island group produces its own style of rum.

Rum is made from sugarcane and owes its origin to the cultivation of sugarcane in the Caribbean. Christopher Columbus is credited for bringing sugarcane to the New World in the late fifteenth century.

Rum is fermented, distilled, and sometimes aged like other hard liqueurs and comes in several styles: white, gold, dark, spiced and flavored. For centuries many of the Caribbean Island' economies have been dependent on rum for trade, export, and lately part of tourism.

Travel around the islands of our interactive map to learn more about the origins and varieties of this magical elixir, and also some facts about the islands themselves.