As a drinks blogger I now constantly seek out new expressions to taste & review.
I long ago gave up the tribalness & virtue signaling, although somewhat still subject to availability & henceforth historical legacy of the country I’m in.
Living in Ireland Jameson & Guinness have an almost monopolistic control over the domestic market & are very good at promoting a global tribe - you only need to look at the highly successful Split The G campaign.
This can often obscure the many other drinks brands that are out there.
Rum is only a small part of the Irish scene & the history of Ireland’s participation in the Slave Trade - both as slaves & owners - has yet to be explored fully.
Appreciate the read and feedback. I feel it becomes a natural internal push, once you've tasted high-quality beverages, not to "settle" knowing you've only scratched the surface. You'll always have your home base (taste preference) as you rightly noted. And I have no doubts about what you said (Ireland and the reach of its most commercially available booze at home and abroad). I know this is creeping into that very widely available territory these days, but that Redbreast 12 (cask strength)...special whiskey!
As it relates to rum and Ireland, the history is deep, but not fully explored for sure. Loosely related when it comes to rum and the U.S. (whiskey = patriotism = there is no other spirit relevant to us historically), but the past paints a very different image. Here's a bit on Ireland and rum from a previous piece I published that I think you'd find intriguing (https://booksrumandthensome.substack.com/p/part-a-what-is-rum-13) --
“In 1768, Barbadian planter George Frere wrote that 1.4 million gallons of Barbados rum had been “shift to London, Bristol, Liverpool, Lancaster, Falmouth, Whitehaven, and most other parts of Great Britain; [but that] the rum is usually re-shipt to Ireland.” As a result of the new measures, the Irish increasingly became a nation of rum drinkers. Between 1763 and 1772, Ireland imported an annual average of about 1.4 million gallons of rum.” – Frederick H. Smith, Caribbean Rum
As a drinks blogger I now constantly seek out new expressions to taste & review.
I long ago gave up the tribalness & virtue signaling, although somewhat still subject to availability & henceforth historical legacy of the country I’m in.
Living in Ireland Jameson & Guinness have an almost monopolistic control over the domestic market & are very good at promoting a global tribe - you only need to look at the highly successful Split The G campaign.
This can often obscure the many other drinks brands that are out there.
Rum is only a small part of the Irish scene & the history of Ireland’s participation in the Slave Trade - both as slaves & owners - has yet to be explored fully.
A very thought provoking article.
Appreciate the read and feedback. I feel it becomes a natural internal push, once you've tasted high-quality beverages, not to "settle" knowing you've only scratched the surface. You'll always have your home base (taste preference) as you rightly noted. And I have no doubts about what you said (Ireland and the reach of its most commercially available booze at home and abroad). I know this is creeping into that very widely available territory these days, but that Redbreast 12 (cask strength)...special whiskey!
As it relates to rum and Ireland, the history is deep, but not fully explored for sure. Loosely related when it comes to rum and the U.S. (whiskey = patriotism = there is no other spirit relevant to us historically), but the past paints a very different image. Here's a bit on Ireland and rum from a previous piece I published that I think you'd find intriguing (https://booksrumandthensome.substack.com/p/part-a-what-is-rum-13) --
“In 1768, Barbadian planter George Frere wrote that 1.4 million gallons of Barbados rum had been “shift to London, Bristol, Liverpool, Lancaster, Falmouth, Whitehaven, and most other parts of Great Britain; [but that] the rum is usually re-shipt to Ireland.” As a result of the new measures, the Irish increasingly became a nation of rum drinkers. Between 1763 and 1772, Ireland imported an annual average of about 1.4 million gallons of rum.” – Frederick H. Smith, Caribbean Rum
Cheers to tasting wide and far!