... of aged rum. And the mellower it gets, the better it is, as Joseph Ward discovers on his journey through the West Indies

Rumbullion. Rumbustion. The old names conjure the bravado of a world and a time that produced the signature drink of the Caribbean. For most of the second half of the last millennium, the West Indies was a bubbling cauldron. The Spanish began a wave of conquest and were quickly joined by other European powers, as the British, the French, and the Dutch sought territory and a share of the lucrative sugar trade. To the difficulties of governing widely dispersed small islands from great distances add the growing ambitions of the American colonies to the north, throw in the odd unaffiliated entrepreneur (a.k.a. pirate), and serve with generous quantities of rum.

Rum is made from molasses, a by-product of sugar production; more rarely it is made directly from sugarcane juice. Molasses is mixed with water and yeast that has been added to begin fermentation, a process that converts sugar into alcohol. The resulting "wash" or "beer" is then distilled to separate the alcohol from the rest of the liquids and solids. The techniques are basically the same whatever the spirit. Pot stills, similar to those used for whiskey in the British Isles and for brandy on the Continent, became commonplace in the West Indies by the mid seventeenth century. Nearly every large plantation had a still house, and the rums, frequently quite crude, developed an avid following.

At the same time, molasses was being shipped in bulk for distillation in America, where rum was equally popular. Colonizing the New World must have been thirsty work, because the amount of rum being consumed was literally staggering. Rum infamously played a part in the slave trade. It was used as currency to purchase slaves, who were then sent to the Caribbean to produce ever more sugar and, indirectly, more rum.

It is unclear when and where the first rum was made in the West Indies, but Barbados was an early leader. George Washington served rum from Barbados at his presidential inauguration, and more than a hundred years earlier Connecticut specifically banned the importation of Bajan rum.

I began my around-the-Caribbean rum tour in Barbados, not just because of its historical importance but because it specializes in aged dark rums. It is such rums, intended to be drunk straight, that interest me. A piña colada is lovely, perhaps even essential for a Caribbean vacation, but I don't see that it matters what booze you add to a smoothie. The same goes for a glass of Coca-Cola. If a drink alters the essential character of the spirit, then it diminishes the spirit's importance. Rum producers are showing greater interest in the top end of the spirits market, which is dominated by Cognacs and whiskeys. The volumes are small, but the margins are better and the prestige gained enhances the entire range of products.

Mount Gay traces its origins to 1703, making it the world's oldest rum brand. The distillery is in St. Lucy, the northernmost parish on Barbados, and there are a number of aging warehouses throughout the island. The visitors center—located north of Bridgetown, near the cruise ship port—provides a good introduction to the basics of rum making and includes a tasting. Aubrey Ward, a prominent local businessman, purchased Mount Gay nearly a hundred years ago and turned it into an international brand. Ward died in 1948, but his family controlled Mount Gay until 1989, when Remy-Cointreau acquired the majority stake.